INSPIRATION

What Frustrates Me As A Writer and What I Want To Do To Cope With It

Creative ideas from Josh Balerite Acol on how to juggle between a day time job and writing

I know this is overwhelming and scary at first, but in time, I’ll get there. Mark my words! — Josh Balerite Acol

I admit I am not an excellent swimmer but I know a bit about floating!

(inhaling deeply)

Hi there, my dearest One! I am now diving in and will try to actually test the waters for the 100-Day Challenge For New Writers!

100 Day Challenge For New Writers

How to grow and become a top writer on Medium in three months

medium.com

I can’t fully say I am new, just midway between a newbie and a middle-aged new.

At this moment I am on a daytime job and mind you, it was my first love for it is the main reason why I am still alive. You see, it is where I get my sustenance.

It was just recently that I found out my true love really is writing — how I wished emphatically I could quit my full-time work.

But, as I pondered along, and as much as I want to focus more to hone my skills, I hate to admit this, but I am not financially stable enough to stop.

So, how should I go on, and be with my true love — penning while having a workload during the day?

PLEASE DO TAKE NOTE, my main frustration is to write consistently every.single.day.

Basically, I have gathered a list of lists to manage this and I hope I could give awareness and relief to you who are on the same boat as me.

1. Identify the perks and drawbacks between having a daytime job and your true love, i.e., writing.

Having full-time employment gives you the following amenities: >stability,

>company gains for your retirement, like pension and healthcare benefits.

>a chance to meet new acquaintances in the person of your coworkers

>you’ll have an easier chance for job promotion,

>an increased salary annually

>a fixed schedule, but you can avail days like sick leave, or days off

On the other hand, you will feel dismayed and unable to grow because:

>you are tucked in your fixed schedule, | > you will feel stagnant as you are only able to attend seminars and conferences sparingly in a year or more so when the company is understaffed like mine

> you’ll do most of the heavier tasks especially if you are the head of a department

> I haven’t included the fact that oftentimes, you are always on an ‘on-call basis’, which meant even after office hours, you are bound to perform your tasks because there is no other worker aside from you, especially in a government office setting that is undermanned

> you are not free to decide for your own itinerary, as you should follow your boss’ or the company’s advancement purposes

>you are always working for your boss and your company, not for your own, naturally

Meanwhile, here are the benefits of being a writer or becoming a freelancer, that is, working from your own home:

>you will be your own boss

>you can decide what time of day you can work on your tasks depending on when it is most convenient and productive for you

>you can wear anything comfortable like PJs while having or doing your writing job

>you can plan ahead your vacations any time, and anywhere you like

>you will have more chances and the ability to expand your learning

>you will meet more new friends online (wait, this is also mentioned when having a full-time job)

>gaining more chances to grow as a penner

>you can spend more precious time with your loved ones (this part is what I love most

To achieve your goal of being successful having writing as your career, while having a full day time job:

Foremost, you must be a good, law-abiding employee.

You should never ever use your company’s resources or time for advancement purposes in your aspired, soon-to-be goal, writing business. Promise yourself to love your work and be a good employee — that is, during working hours at day time, you should only focus on your actual daily work and not on your writing or freelancing.

Shht.. that’s code of ethics 101.

Be laser-focused.

2. Keep in mind you can first use your free time before and after your work in perfecting your writing skills, even just for a few hours a day, and more on your weekends

3. When you have assessed the precise time to do your penning, outside of work, soon you’ll get used to it, not realizing you are gracefully fine-tuning your hidden talents

4. In time you will achieve confidence, be able to pitch for freelancing writing jobs, and at the same time, making friends and connections across the globe!

5. You don’t have to over-commit to writing as you are still having your work, to avoid having a burnout. I can say this is a big no-no as I personally experienced this. Sleeping less than 8 hours every day, having little time to relax and rest is a very unhealthy practice.

Dammit, don’t ever sacrifice your health.

I have tried not sleeping for full hours and committing only for 3–4 hours and what the heck.

I feel so sleepy in my work and it is so hard to focus and think.

From that time on, I promised myself I don’t have to have burnout ever!

All of these you can do through organizing your schedule and your to-do lists.

Finally, to recap what I have discovered as an effective approach for what frustrates me as a writer,

I am still devising an attainable evaluation and docket that really works for me as a full-time worker if I want to succeed as a writer-freelancer in the future —

If I am working on weekdays maybe I could commit an hour or two each day and have my free weekends full time if I can.

That’s it for now guys! Just a succinct kickoff for my 100-day writing challenge.

I would like to thank and tag the instigator of this writing feat, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, and several others, whom I do wish are also joining this challenge, Bhavna Narula, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), Ntathu Allen, Sahil Patel, Dr. Preeti Singh, Dr. Fatima Imam, and my friend, Keno Ogbo.

Thanks a million, and much more thanks for reading! Be safe and well ever.