I think I’m burning out.
Ran my own design studio for a bit now. Deliberately picked charity and social enterprise clients because I wanted work that meant something, not just billable hours. Built a whole positioning around it. Turned people away who didn’t fit etc.
Lately I sit down to start a brief and just… nothing. Not the “ugh Mondays” nothing, more like the thing that used to make me want to open Figma at 11pm just isn’t there anymore. I still deliver and clients are happy. I just feel like I’m performing being a designer rather than being one.
Not sure if this is burnout, or if I’ve actually just changed and design isn’t it anymore, or if it’s circumstantial (been under a lot of pressure outside of work too, which probably isn’t helping separate the signal from the noise).
Anyone been here and come out the other side? Did you take a break, change what you worked on, or just… stop? Trying to figure out if this is a season or an ending.