Alternatives to burnout by Cassi Camilleri

Writing for a living requires one to generate boat loads of content all the time, and I’m not going to lie – I struggle. I consider myself a productive person, and thankfully operate that way naturally, but the pressure still takes its toll.

Burnout happens and some weeks I fail to come up with even one idea I like. Be it for a blog post or a scene, or anything else I’m working on. And yes, when your income depends on that, it’s scary. This is why I find mindfulness so important.

Today’s Morning Mindfulness session led by yoga therapist and employment lawyer Louisa Caine saw over 70 screenwriters coming together to check in with themselves and taking a moment to set up for the day. Louisa introduced a few key techniques anyone can implement.

We started simple; stretching and pulling shoulders away from our ears (which is where most of us keep them somehow) and grounding through the feet. We gave our mood a number as a reference point. Then we honed in on the breath. 

What I find is that as soon as my attention shifts towards my breathing, the body responds and starts to slow down. As someone who was literally unable to breath from anywhere other than my chest, I’m throwing in a personal recommendation for this one. Box breaths (also referred to as square breaths) are fantastic too. For me, they do away with the maddening idea of ‘clearing your mind’, which a lot of people roll their eyes at. 

Finally, Louisa asked us all to think of a word we want to take away from the session. Many said they wanted calm, others energy; for me, it was kindness. And in just half an hour many of us in the room felt that the mood score they noted earlier rose by one or two. Just like that, we were all on better footing to dive into our writing process.  

What sessions like this morning’s and the LSF writing rooms show is that we do crave connection, even if writing is often a solitary process. Acknowledging that, rather than trying to fit the stereotype of loner keyboard gremlin many try to put us in, is helpful. Making the time for that in between all the learning and the excitement (and there is LOTS right now) can be life changing.