How to deal with burnout?

[moontokkym]

So I currently work 3 part time jobs plus doing my comic to try and get that going into job number 4, and recently because one in particular is getting into busy period I'm getting a bit overwhelmed.
The thing is because up until now the bulk of my hours were on self-employed work, whenever it got too much I could just take a break because I'm the type of person to try to be early to everything. Now I can't anymore. The deadlines are deadlining and though I have an ok amount of headway, if I slow down now I'll really hit a wall in April which is going to be the busiest time of the year.

I want to work on these projects, I'm blessed to genuinely love all of my jobs and have amazing coworkers and bosses, I really WANT to give my all at all of them. I just feel my energy draining by the minute whenever I'm at my desk or at a job and I can't focus or sustain activity anymore. I'm pretty sure this is burnout but it doesn't feel "earned" like previous times I've been in burnout because all the previous times were directly related to a horrible work environment and workplace abuse, like I don't feel like I have a right to be burnt out now that everyone's kind, I guess?

My question is really: have you ever experienced this? If so, did you manage to cope for a bit without slowing down? If so do you have any tips on how to stay strong and get though it? I only have to keep up until the end of April, then it'll be calmer and I can take some rest, so even temporary fixer-upper solutions should help.

(Because I anticipate this answer: caffeine of any kind makes me violently sick, unfortunately I cannot chug a red bull to get through it.)

[thepenmonster]

I quit my job in Korea and moved to Japan. I also stopped making comics at that time. Ditching both worked miracles for both my physical and my mental health.

...

Then the ticking time bomb in my genes went kersplow! and all of the family health issues hit me all at once. Hopefully your body won't betray you that way.

[cherrystark]

There are a lot of times online on how to deal with burnout. I'd highly recommend looking into them. I'd also highly recommend looking into getting one full-time job over having multiple part-time jobs. While it's not glamorous, I found in my own life that having a set schedule does HEAPS for maintaining some semblance of sanity rather than trying to nickel and dime enough hours to make ends meet. You still might need to pick up another job, you'll have a set schedule.

The other thing I'd highly recommend is making a realistic plan for your comic or novel. I struggled for months trying to produce content on a tight publishing schedule. It takes a lot of joy out of the art, and then you start to worry about the quality of your work. It starts a spiral. I do a novel but I get WAY more dopamine out of self-publishing now that my views = actual money rather than likes alone.

[annuskabriar]

I try to take care of my mental health in general and take breaks when needed. But I'm on disability and can't/don't work, so I'm a lot less busy than most people. Still, my mental health isn't great and makes me burn out anyways, haha

[skullforceagents]

I’m so sorry that you’re dealing with burnout. I’ve been there and can absolutely relate to your feelings.

First of all, you’re not perfect and you’re not always going to do a great job at everything you do, and that’s okay.

When I’m burned out, I fall back on the little things that make me happy. I’ll have myself some waffles, build some legos, watch baseball, smoke a cigar (don’t do this if you don’t already), just the little things that help me slow down on life’s busy speedway. Give yourself time to get back to it and understand you’re only human. You’re the best you that you can be and that’s pretty cool.

[MrVandrin]

Sorry you're dealing with it, man. I remember when I had a bad burnout.

What I did to calm down was take a break away from art and just do what I need. Read some books. Take a bit of a hike. Just try and get out of that environment. Everything to get your mental health better. What is more important is that you recollect yourself.