Writing

I Took 4-Weeks off From Writing, Here’s What I Learned

The pros and cons of taking time off.

There I was, sat on my regular old writing chair in front of a blank screen with only a flashing cursor to show for my efforts.

“Why is it so difficult to get started tonight?”

I had a ton of ideas, a drafts list four-hundred strong and yet my mind was blank, the words nowhere to be seen and all I could do was lean back on this old squeaky swivel chair, head tilted, staring at the point where the wall meets the ceiling and hope that somehow I could daydream myself back into action.

A stellar plan, it was not, which is exactly why it didn’t work.

So, with frustration levels hitting the high nineties and before I went into complete meltdown, I decided it was time to take a break from the physical act of writing and re-evaluate my goals.

That was four weeks ago and I have since returned to filling blank spaces with words once again.

However, as annoying as it was to seemingly put my progress on hold for the time being, that short hiatus turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it gave me the opportunity to rediscover some valuable home truths not only about myself but also about my writing process.

Here are some of the lessons I relearned as a result of taking some time off.

It’s Good to Take Time off but Don’t Allow Yourself to Become Complacent

2020 has been a hell of a year so far and who knows when the madness will end.

For most, a well-earned break is in order.

A chance to hit the pause button for a minute, relax, regroup and prepare for round two of whatever else this crazy year has in store for us.

Similar feelings can also come from chasing your goals.

There are times when getting after it every day, constantly thinking about your next move and worrying that you’re not doing enough to achieve your dreams can become overwhelming.

You probably already know that you need some downtime but have seen so many YouTube videos and read so many blog posts telling you that if you do decide to take a day off then you will never achieve your goals — or something to that effect — so you keep pushing on, afraid of failure.

Take a day off!

The world will not end, you won’t jeopardize your future, in fact, you’ll most likely benefit from it and come back stronger than ever.

But, when it’s time to get back to work make sure you do.

Don’t fall victim to your own excuses.

When that little voice in your head is telling you;

“Have one more day off you deserve it.”

or

“It’s getting late now, why not go to bed and you can get back on track again tomorrow.”

You HAVE to ignore it and stay strong. This is where I’ve slipped up over the past few weeks.

I gave in to the temptations, began to believe the lame excuses I was telling myself and eventually I developed the one trait that irritates me most, laziness.

It’s easy to slip into a bad routine and twice as hard to break free from it.

Don’t allow a few days of rest and relaxation turn into weeks.

And here’s why.

The Longer You Step Away, the Harder It Is to Return

There’s a fine line between taking a break and just being lazy.

Of course, no one intentionally sets out to become lazy but it's one of those things that just kinda creeps up on you.

You’re being smart, allowing your mind and body to enjoy a much-needed rest bite. But then the time comes to get after it again and for some reason, you just don’t.

As mentioned above, you make all sorts of empty promises to yourself;

“One last weekend of relaxing then I’m gonna kick things up a notch and focus solely on achieving my goals. No more distractions, no more excuses, no more being lazy. Come Monday I’ll get back on track again, harder than ever.”

But you don’t.

You want to, and at the time of making such claims, you’re adamant that it will happen but something always seems to get in the way.

There’s always a reason not to get started.

And as days turn into weeks, which eventually turn into months if you’re not careful, it just gets harder and harder to break free from this slump.

So, what can be done to ensure your rest period is beneficial and does not impede upon your positive progress?

I believe that in order to stay hungry and passionate about chasing your goals it’s vital to allow yourself some downtime, though I do think there is a right and a wrong way to do this.

For me, switching off completely hasn’t worked in my favour.

It may be the ideal approach for some and if so, that’s great. Do what works best for you.

If, like me, you find that getting started again after some time off can be an issue then why not just dial things down a little as you rest and recover.

Do just enough to keep you ticking over.

For example;

Instead of stopping altogether, you could try writing some morning pages — jotting down your immediate thoughts as soon as you wake up in the morning — or perhaps take to writing a kind of debrief at the end of each day?

Anything to keep your writing flow from ceasing up completely and that makes it easier to return when you’re ready to get back after it again, avoiding the feeling of starting from scratch.

This is how I plan to approach my next period of downtime whenever that may be.

The Importance of Re-evaluating Your Goals and How You Plan to Achieve Them

This was something that came to me one evening as I was relaxing on the couch, watching (staring at) Netflix or YouTube or one of those things and enjoying an ice-cold beer.

Of course, the idea of re-evaluating your goals every once in a while, and how you plan to achieve them is hardly ground-breaking information.

In fact, you’ve probably heard it more times than you’ve had hot dinners.

But how often do you actually take the time to step back, assess your progress, remind yourself of what you’re trying to achieve and, most importantly, be honest with your appraisal?

It’s so easy to stray off course in pursuit of your goals.

All it takes is for one new trend or the success techniques of another individual to catch your eye and before you know it your focus has been shifted from what really matters to what is perhaps less important in terms of you achieving your targets.

A prime example of this would be trying to grow an online presence through social media.

Yes, there are huge benefits of having thousands of followers on your Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/(Fill-in-the-blank) profile, and yes many people have built unimaginable lives for themselves because of it, but to reach those kinds of numbers takes work, time and effort that could be better spent towards learning your craft or writing a new article for example.

Taking some time off gave me the opportunity to reassess what is important and where best to redirect my focus as I aim to continue onwards towards achieving my goals.

It’s probably the most valuable thing to be taken away from this whole experience.

Conclusion

If this year has taught us anything it’s that taking some time off has its benefits, as long as you use that time wisely and learn from it.

Above are some of the realizations I came to after just four weeks of kicking back, spending time with my thoughts and analysing my actions.

They may or may not be of use to you and your situation but I hope you can deem some positives from my experiences and use them to your advantage.

Life, much like chasing your goals, is hard.

Don’t be afraid to take a step back every once in a while, to reset your mind and body.

It could be just the thing you need in order to take things to the next level and one step closer to achieving your dreams.

Thanks for reading.