By Denene BroxTwo years ago this month I went full time as a freelance writer. I quickly found that there’s a big difference between freelancing part time and writing full time. I often wondered how full time writers manage to get everything done.I came out of the gate running fast – working all day long and into the night. I quickly found out that it’s easy to get a bad case of writer burnout. I knew that I needed to take a break from the grueling schedule I was keeping and re-evaluate my writing business.I’m happy to say that I no longer feel extreme burnout. I’m looking forward to new projects. Here are the ways that I worked through my writer burnout.
- I Took a New Job.It’s not something that I hear many freelancers complain about, but working at home all day long can be hard. I longed for more community.So I found a part time job a local college. Not only did getting a job give me some much needed breathing room, it also gave me the community that I was craving working at home alone.If you’re dealing with burnout and you’re a full time freelancer, look for volunteer, part time, or on-site opportunities. If you want to ditch some of your workload (see below) you’ll probably need to get a paid job to make up for the missed income.I don’t think my job makes me any less of a freelance writer. Instead, I believe it makes me a smart writer. The flexibility of freelancing is what I love the most. I can write around my job with no problems.
- I Got Organized.When you’re engrossed in client work, it can be hard to take a break and organize. Everything from my clip files to my receipt files were in disarray. So with my new-found breathing room I took some time to organize my home office. It was an eye-opening exercise because it gave me an opportunity to really look at all that I’d accomplished in my six years of freelancing.
- I Learned Something New.My job at the college has some cool perks. One of them is a discount on classes. I had wanted to learn web design for years so I signed up for HTML and Photoshop. I also took a digital photography class at an arts college in my city. Learning these skills has opened up many new opportunities to diversify my business as I’m now working on freelance web design projects. This can only mean great things going forward. I’m gaining many new skills to supplement my writing and loving every minute of it. Had I not taken a break from writing so much, I wouldn’t have had the time to explore my passion for website development. Now I have even more bankable skills to offer my clients.
- I Focused on Personal Projects.One of my website projects is a personal one. I launched Freelance-Write-Now.com, a site that focuses on freelance writing for beginners. I am enjoying building content that’s useful to others wanting to get started writing for magazines and online publishers. Again, I wouldn’t have all the time I now have to devote to this project if I was still engrossed in a lot of client work.
- I Let Go of Draining Clients.I let go a few draining or lower paying clients to free up my time to do all of the above. I think it’s important for writers to stop and assess who they’re writing for on a regular basis and ditch clients that offer very little ROI (return on investment).
Those are the major ways that I’ve battled burnout over the past year or so. I’m curious, how do you overcome burnout? Let’s discuss! See you in the comments.
Denene Brox is a freelance writer based in Kansas City. She has written for 30+ online and print publications including Salary.com, AOL, Bankrate.com, and Heart & Soul. She is also the webmaster of Freelance-Write-Now, an informational website for beginning freelance writers.Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.