I’m a copywriter and I think my job is great! How many times do you hear that? How many people do you know do what they really want to do for a living? Not many, right?

Sometimes It Really is Work

As much as I love writing, as much as I love my job, there are times when I just don’t want to do it. It’s not my curtain call or my final departure from the page, it’s just that there are times I don’t want to do the work of writing at that particular time. Other things may be distracting me, or the load may seem overwhelming.

What’s My Problem?

I know you’re probably thinking if I love writing, can I really not want to do it? The thing is there are times when several deadlines converge on the same day in the same hour. And I know when I meet them all, the cycle only begins again. Basically, the list of stuff I gotta do looms larger than it really is. I have to add back into the mix, breathing space, room to rest and resume, because, as a friend says, No sitting, no soaring.

What’s My Solution?

Inspired by the need to press on, I’ve developed a few strategies to keep writing. I use these to infuse my writing sessions with space, room to breathe throughout my writing projects. These 7 are my favorite guides and breaks.

1. Have a schedule. Sounds obvious but many skip this part because writers are supposed to be free-wielding I guess. Keeping my goals ahead of me is how I pace myself.
2. Know the audience. Not only the external audience, but also know the owner audience. These help to set the tone for your project. After all, who wants a blog post that sounds like a white paper? And, more egregious is the reverse.
3. Follow idea leads. Researching often reveals tangential topics that interest me. I allow myself to follow these to some end. I record the related links with brief a explanation in my Google documents.
4. Take time to think differently. Draw. Make things. Graphic design and Lego® blocks work well for me. Meditate. I take a couple of minutes to do a B.R.E.W. meditation to clear my head.
5. Exert yourself. Take a brisk walks. Take a camera on your walk. At home, safe from laughter, I dance too.
6. Write notes. There’s life apart from writing and sometimes things that really need to get done insist on intruding on my thoughts. When that happens, I entertain them long enough to write them down.
7. Write junk. Write drivel and nonsensical stuff. For me it works well when it’s unrelated to my work. I can always delete it after.

Try these if you get struck. As you get more comfortable with working through the sluggish times, you will come across things that work for you. Take note, and save them for when you need them. And if you get time, come back and share some things that work for you.

Remember to enjoy your writing life.