Simple Strategies for Keeping Your Design Energy High
By Robin Callan
Being an interior designer is rewarding – and demanding. Recharge your creative reserves with these anti-burnout strategies.
1. Do a small project for yourself. Nothing in the world is more liberating to a designer than having complete creative freedom on a project. You are the one client in the world who fully understands and trusts your own creative vision, so taking on a personal design project means no one will veto your great ideas. This doesn’t mean you have to take on a budget-busting makeover—moving your existing art, furniture, or accessories around can be just the refresher you need to stimulate your creativity.
2. Schedule a 1-hour makeover giveaway via your Facebook page, Twitter, or your blog. Speaking from experience, this can really get your creative juices flowing because you’ll push yourself to make as much impact as possible within this small time constraint. It’s also a great way to eliminate some of the merchandise you probably have lying around your office—on makeover day, load your car up with those non-returnable pillows or lamps that didn’t work on a previous project and put them to good use. You’ll make someone’s day and clear out your clutter at the same time—BAM, a twofer!
3. Schedule a bi-weekly visual field trip. As a creative, you can’t survive without seeing something new that flips your thinker switch once in a while. Visit an art museum or gallery and feast your eyes. Head to a store you’ve been meaning to check out and spend 30 minutes wandering aimlessly. Take a night off, pop some popcorn, shut off all of the lights and stream a movie that has won an Oscar for best art direction or cinematography. All of these activities can inspire your next great design.
4. Small indulgences. Enjoying a gourmet snack or cool summer beverage, misting your face with mineral water between appointments when it’s hotter than Hades outside, lighting your favorite spendy candle, or stepping out of the office for a ten-minute backrub are all great attitude adjusters. A friend told me about a conference she attended recently where every afternoon they broke for ten minutes to douse cloths in lavender water and gently pat down their faces, breathing in that relaxing scent before they moved on to another workshop. How’s that for a quick pampering break that screams self-care?
5. Set aside a monthly “Feng Shui Your To-Do List” day. Part of what leads to burnout is the sense that there are tons of items on your to-do list that always get pushed to the backburner, haunting you for what feels like forever. Take one day per month to clear the mental clutter of those lingering action items and you’ll feel too productive to be burned out.
These five go-to game changers are easy ways to shake off designer burnout. Of course, a luxurious five-day spa vacation now and then doesn’t suck either.
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Robin Callan is the founder of Room Fu, an Austin, Texas interior design firm and two-time Best of Austin winner. Her blog, Fu for Thought, features steals and deals, design-related musings, and interviews with celebrity designers.
