As someone who has worked from home for about ten years, I know how easy it is to work your way into a writing absence due to laziness. Sometimes a freelance job runs out and you aren’t lucky enough to have something lined up so you go on a little bit of a break.
There’s nothing wrong with a break, but how do you make sure that your break doesn’t turn into a long writing absence that could hurt you professionally and financially?
And if you do find yourself in that situation, how do you get back on track?
Sticking To The Script
When you have a workload that is diminishing or a project you can foresee is coming to an end, obviously, it’s a good idea to start looking for more work sooner than later. And of course, that doesn’t mean that you are going to find more work right away. So yes, it’s entirely possible that your workload could be a little light for a while.
I found that even if you have come across a little bit of a hole in your day-to-day writing responsibilities, a break is not always a great idea. If you need one that’s fine, but if you don’t need a break, then you need to stick to the script to avoid a long writing absence.
Write some blog post for your blog, do some guest post or something like that to keep those fingers moving and mind moving. You can update your website, spend part of each day looking for writing gigs, and always keep in some type of contact with your past and current clients you have worked with. You never know when something might pop-up and you can beat out other potential writers to good-paying gigs.
Need A Break, Take A Break
I’ve been there before, I’ve had projects that were so grueling that when I was finally finished I just took a little break. Sometimes it’s not a bad idea to take a short break after a long project. If you have to change voice and tone for a different writing gig, you have to get the previous voice and tone out of your head, and a little time away from the keyboard to rejuvenate will help.
I also find that sometimes when I’m involved in a big project that’s important, I tend to let some none-writing responsibilities slide. The short break that I take becomes a good time to take care of some of those responsibilities.
How To Get Back To Business?
First and foremost, don’t take too long of a break. I know it’s easy to take a long break when you don’t have a nine-to-five or a boss to worry about, but a long break just ends up becoming longer and longer.
When you feel rejuvenated, you have to get back to the script as soon as possible. That means leaving the T.V. off, shutting down your social media, and getting back to the routines and schedules that worked for you in the first place. I know it’s hard to stop watching your favorite T.V. shows, taking mid-day naps just because, playing on your social media sites, searching the web for anything and everything, but the longer your writing absence due to laziness last, the harder it is to get back on track.
I found the best way to make sure you get back on track when it’s time to do so is by simply picking a date/day and designating it for back-to-work day. Just like if you had a responsibility to go to a nine-to-five, you need to take this just as seriously. That means for me, my work starts the day before the day I designate to go back to work.
To ensure I don’t wake up and just go back into the “I’ll worry about it tomorrow mode,” I make sure I have everything that I need, everything set up, and a definite plan ready to be set in motion to start getting work done the day before so there is no pussyfooting around the day it’s time to go back to work.
Get Back To Writing Before You Miss Out
The freelance writing world is very competitive, and what does that mean? Every day you spend loafing around in your writing absence due to your laziness is another day you might be missing out on some golden opportunities.