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I didn’t even realise it was happening.

I wasn’t lying on the floor crying. I wasn’t about to quit my business.
But slowly, quietly—I was burning out.

And the worst part?
I still thought I was doing okay.

Because technically, I was working.
Answering emails. Fixing invoices. Rewriting proposals. Following up on late feedback.
But the thing is…
None of it was design.

And I didn’t become a designer just to feel like a glorified admin assistant.

The Kind of Burnout No One Talks About

There’s this quiet version of burnout that’s so sneaky, it disguises itself as being productive.

You’re not slacking off. You’re busy.
But it’s the wrong kind of busy.

Designers—and especially freelancers—are so used to carrying everything ourselves, that we often miss the signs.

📌 The “quick edit” that derails your whole morning.
📌 The 10pm email that you reply to “just quickly”… again.
📌 The resending of invoices. The chasing of feedback. The second-guessing of your own boundaries.

It’s exhausting.
And it’s everywhere.

A recent study showed that 76% of creatives say they feel burned out.
That’s not just a few of us—it’s the majority.
And honestly? I’m not surprised.

My Story (Maybe Yours Too)

When I started my design studio, I was fuelled by pure passion.
I was so excited to create—to solve problems, to bring ideas to life.

And then the work came. The clients grew. The deadlines got tighter. The admin got heavier.

Before I knew it, I was up at night fixing invoices.
Not because I was a bad business owner—because I was too available.
Because I hadn’t drawn the lines. Because I didn’t even realise I needed to.

And somewhere in there, the thing I loved most—designing—got pushed aside.

I remember thinking:
“Wait… when did I become a secretary with a MacBook?”

The burnout didn’t come from the creative part.
It came from all the stuff around it.

So… Are You Creating, or Just Managing?

That’s the question I want to leave you with today.

Not as a judgement. But as an invitation to pause.

Are you spending most of your days in your creative flow?
Or are you just putting out fires?

Studies show freelancers spend nearly 40% of their week on non-billable tasks.
That’s two whole days lost to admin, management, and inbox babysitting.

No wonder we’re tired.

But here’s the good news—
You can change the rhythm.

My Burnout Reset Plan (That Actually Helped)

This isn’t about quitting everything and running away to Bali.
It’s about small, intentional shifts.

Here’s what helped me:

1. Audit your time for a week.

Write down what you actually do hour by hour.
Prepare to be shocked.

2. Batch the boring stuff.

Stop letting admin leak into your creative space.
Choose a block—Tuesday mornings, Friday afternoons—and stick to it.

3. Create templates.

Proposals, onboarding docs, invoice emails.
Write them once. Reuse forever.

4. Set boundaries and don’t apologise for them.

Being unavailable 24/7 doesn’t make you rude.
It makes you professional.

5. Use tools that lighten your load.

I built the Playbook Desk for this exact reason.
It’s a Notion-based hub with all the templates and systems I wish I had 10 years ago.

You Are Not Lazy. You Are Carrying Too Much.

If you’re nodding along, just know—
You’re not broken. You’re not a bad business owner.
You’re just human.

A creative one.

One who deserves space to think, feel, explore ideas, and design again.

So maybe today, the reset is simple.

Let go of one thing.
Say no to that urgent email.
Block your Friday for deep work.
Build that one template.
Take a proper weekend off.

Let it be small.
Let it be gentle.
Let it be enough.

Ready for a Reset?

If this blog post felt like a mirror—you’re not alone.

I created a free Creative Reset Challenge just for this.
No fluff. No overwhelm. Just daily prompts to come back to yourself again.

You can sign up here.

And if you’re ready to simplify the backend of your freelance business, my Playbook Desk has everything from client emails to pricing calculators—so you can stop managing and start creating again.

Thanks for reading.
Your value isn’t in how fast you reply to emails.
It’s in how deeply you design.

Take care of your magic.
And as always—

Design your life.
xx
Nelett