Curing my creative burnout in the great outdoors

[Music] still learning how to use the espresso maker correctly but i' say that was pretty good I'm getting there how's it going everyone hope your day week is going well today's video is going to be a little bit of a departure from what I'm usually sharing on here and it's because I've been thinking a lot about what I want this channel to be and I really want to start sharing a little more of my other big passion which is being in the Great Outdoors some of you already know that I'm really big into mountain biking camping um just general exploring of cool outdoor places don't worry this channel will still mostly be about the projects I'm working on and that is not going away just with a little bit of this outdoorsy stuff sprinkled in with that said I have been feeling a little burnt out lately I think balancing all of life's demands especially when you're someone like me who has to be creative at their full-time job and then also has Hobbies um and a side hustle like YouTube where you also need to be really creative it's just really easy to start feeling depleted of any new and unique ideas and just feel burnt out creatively so this weekend I've booked a campground along the coast we're going to take the teardrop trailer and I think that'll be a really nice reset but right now I'm really itching to get outside cuz that is not until tomorrow so I'm going to grab my Sketchbook my mountain bike and head out on a little ride I do have to get in about an hour because I have a race coming up but afterwards I'm going to find a little quiet spot um in a field and just sketch for a while as I mentioned I was feeling pretty tired fired and burnt out avoiding burnout can sometimes be quite a challenge especially for those of us deeply immersed in creative and artistic Pursuits I think it can be easy to find ourselves glued to our screens or workbenches struggling to look up take a step back and gain some perspective [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] J my solution to this has always been getting outside on my own or with friends and just soaking up what those spaces have to offer it's an absolute fact that being in nature has a direct positive effect on your mental health there are many studies that highlight this for example one 2021 study published in the international Journal of Environmental Research and public health found that being in nature improves cognitive function brain activity and overall mental health in addition to physical benefits for myself being in nature allows my brain to relax and wander freely I find it stimulates my mind in different ways providing a much needed break from the constant mental strain of coming up with new and original ideas that creative jobs and hobbies demand lately I've been forcing myself to get outside on my bike on a walk even on the days when I don't feel like it and it's really and truly been good for me [Music] I'm very lucky that I live near some really beautiful outdoor spaces with many trails to choose from and because we've been having all of these really early spring showers everything was so vibrantly green and wild flowers were popping up all over the place as well as a lot of wildlife out and about [Music] almost ran over that little guy so I had to stop and move him for e yeah it's just it's just a perfect day like this is these are some of my favorite kind of moments outside this is getting me really excited for spring and just more of this type of weather such a beautiful day I this is like exactly what I needed I I Can't Describe to you how much the Stress and Anxiety I was kind of feeling today about all the things I had to get done just is lifting off of my chest right now um just a good reminder to make space for days like this or not even days but just like a couple hours out of the day to come outside to maybe sketch or just lay and just sit in the quiet and peacefulness of this environment and take it all in really this is my form of meditation and I think in 2024 I want to make a lot more time for this because I just find that not only is my mental health and my well-being better when I make time for being in spaces like this but I also find that my creative output the work that I do is so much higher quality if I prioritize being outside especially like moving outside and getting my blood moving um it just makes so much of a difference so today was just a really good gut check on that I've always wanted to be one of those designers and creatives who takes a Sketchbook everywhere and sketches all the time you know you hear about like famous artists and designers doing this we're still early in 2024 and I am setting myself a new goal to try to make it out at least once a week and do some sketching some scribbling in this notebook today for example I was just scribbling out some shapes and such that I was seeing out on the trail when it comes to sketching I like doing more abstract and like less literal Renditions of things can't completely Escape Society still got planes as much as I enjoy going to museums art exhibits and scrolling online to find inspiration I feel like the root of almost all unique creative ideas come from what is first seen in nature a vibrant color an interesting texture a process a shape so returning to that Source seems the most sure bet for sparking your own Solutions and ideas all right it's time for me to pack up and get heading out I've been out here a while and I don't want to Tire myself out too much cuz we still have camping and I'm supposed to get in a 2-hour ride um this weekend so I should head [Music] home when I got home I finished off a few of the sketches and started getting ready for the rest of the [Music] weekend we're about to head out on a little camping trip I'm going with Kyle and a friend to this um Beachside Campground which we're really excited about and we're meeting up with a bunch of friends tomorrow to go mountain biking overall I think it's just going to be a good weekend we packed and left for the campground right after work and rolled in right after Sunset to set up camp our close friend Erica came to Camp with us which made me very happy not only because she's a great human but also just because being with friends outside is very refreshing mentally in its own kind of way watch out watch out for the we might have to be careful of that clothes line effect the sky was eerily beautiful as we went to bed with a bright moon that lit up the night sky [Music] in the morning we plan to get in a 2-hour ride but first we grabbed some coffee and headed down to the beach to take in the view that we missed last night [Music] as much as I crave and benefit from time alone outside connecting with others in these beautiful places provides its own kind of mental relief it's it's nice to just take in the fresh air while making breakfast admiring a view and talking about nonsense with friends not thinking about deadlines or all the tasks on your to-do list and as much as the mountains have my heart there's just something about the coast and the coastal Greenery that really makes me happy nobody judges my wh whis technique they're like Erica Erica Erica she can't whisk the eggs man the internet could be so critical of a girl just whisking her eggs don't J [Music] me afterwards we made some breakfast cleaned up camp a bit and then hit the trails [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] that ride was a little intense nice 2hour ride for um a race that I'm trying to train for that ride definitely made me realize I need to up my training and that I've been slacking cuz the race that I'm working towards is in a couple months um and I'm definitely not ready so yeah good wakeup call for sure anyways I'm trying to chill for a second because we have some other activities planned today and then we have some friends who are going going to be joining us this evening for just like some fire pit time and games [Music] to two three four five seven settle down after the Sun [Music] [Music] here it goes on team whisk again touch me more butter though I think yeah never enough butter you know sorry I'm like touching it with my hand Oh no you're I just washed them I swear don't worry we're camping not too concerned I was going to say I feel like you know we're already in the sleeping in the dirt sleeping in the dirt yeah I just dug a hole and slept in the dirt I didn't even sleep in this teardrop get down in the ditch get go get down in the ditch down be cold get down in there that's going to be full of water get down in the ditch that bit that bit and then the dog the oh yeah ah he won't buite he won't stab you he might he might lick you to death he might lick you to death so funny next day having it for breakfast so we actually got back uh the other day but I didn't have a chance to film a little outro so I'm doing that now yeah that was just a perfect weekend of spending time outside especially with friends I feel like that always just um makes me feel a lot better when I'm starting to feel a little creatively burnt out and I was just in desperate need of some quality time outside to just you know feel a little more creatively rejuvenated and just ready to jump into some new projects um and I think that between some of the mountain bik we got done this weekend the camping I definitely feel much better place than I was before this [Music] weekend again I know this was a bit different but I appreciate you all coming along for this little Adventure this weekend just confirmed to me that I need to reset my priorities and spend more intentional time in the Great Outdoor because it's so easy to get caught up in the work that you forget to make space to recharge so you can continue to enjoy your passions thanks again for watching and I hope to see you in the next one

Channel: Elena Makes

Views: 12,693

Keywords: camping, mountain biking, female mountain biker, outdoors, creative process, burnout

Id: SLMb_YxazRQ

Length: 17min 41sec (1061 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 13 2024