Confession: I burned out. But this is how I’m dealing with it.
Lately, I’ve felt frozen. In September, my personal brand finally started to take off. One video brought me 20k new followers, which is amazing. But, strangely, it’s had the opposite effect on my productivity. Instead of inspiring me to do more, it kinda… paralyzed me.
On top of that, I’d just wrapped up a 30-day challenge where I posted every day. I was pushing, and by the end of it, I burned out—hard. And here’s the kicker: I’m still burned out.
It’s been tough. After posting into the void for over a year, I finally started to see real progress—and now I’m hit with this gnarly combo of burnout and analysis paralysis. It feels ironic and frustrating all at once.
When I take a step back, I notice that I still feel excited about certain parts of the process. I still love storytelling. I still enjoy creating. What’s burning me out isn’t the work itself—it’s the pace, the pressure, and the constant focus on growth. And the end of the day all of those expectations and pressure are coming from one place. me.
I’ve been so caught up in the numbers, that I forgot why I was doing this in the first place. Because I love creating and connecting with other people.
So here’s what I’m doing to recover:
Scaling Back: I’m allowing myself to slowdown. I dont have to post every single day. I’d rather be focused on quality than quantity.
I’m Letting go of perfection realizing that not every post needs to be a ground breaking post.
Focusing on other aspects of what I’m building: like my Mentorship program. Helping other tell their stories and break away from the conventional life is something I'm passionate about, and I can't do that if I'm only focused on pumping out content on socials.
Taking breaks: Sometimes I just need to not do this, and thats okay. Some times I need to focus on my relationship, or on jiujitsu, or play call of duty with my buddies until 3 am.
So if you’re feeling burned out just know youre not alone it happens to all of us. It isnt a sign to quit but it may be a sign something needs to shift. For me thats storytelling, and honestly, just making stuff. Cutting cool visuals to dope music just for the sake of it.
By the way in case you missed it, I released a free Storytelling Checklist recently. This is a template I run my ideas through to help sharpen them up.
Shoot Tighter for Cinematic Looks
Going tighter instanty creates a more cinematic feel. Shooting at 50mm and above (sometimes even 35mm) compresses your background and helps to isolate your subject.
This goes for establishing shots as well. Instead of just zooming out wide to capture your scene, try staying on a tighter lens and backing your camera up. I only shoot super wide when I'm in a cramped space and have no other option.
The holidays have me scrambling. I just flew from Atlanta to LA to start a new gig. In a couple weeks, it’s back to Atlanta, then driving to Arkansas for Christmas. After that, we’re off to Puerto Rico to visit my girlfriend’s family (and sneak in some kiteboarding) before finally flying to Vancouver to wrap up my gig. I’m exhausted just typing this.
Oh, and this guy wandered into our neighborhood. After weeks of searching for his owner with no luck, I guess we’ve got a new family member. He's a little stinker.
Until next time, I hope this helps.
Caleb
