Writer’s Burnout
Freelancing can be taxing, so it’s important to remember why you started. This lesson took me a while to figure out. When I first began to take my writing seriously on another platform, I had one goal in mind — Write as much as possible, as quickly as possible. I figured this would help me build a base for my career, and it did. But, it also brought me down.
Shortly after I began churning out order after order, my desire to write waned. Unfortunately, I didn’t take this sign for what it was and continued to push through. Towards the end, I didn’t put much effort into any of my work. The pieces were all different but felt the same.
The joy I had for writing was slowly dissipating before my eyes. After I delivered a large sum of work on the platform, I stopped writing for well over a month. In terms of how often I had been writing before, this was a notable change. Just looking at the site made me unhappier than ever. Maybe it was time for a change.
I previously heard about Medium within a Facebook group a few times before but never thought to look into it. Though, by this point, I was ready to try anything else. How unfortunate that I had overlooked it for so long!
Instead of writing by strict order guidelines, I am free to write content that makes me happy. I can share my learned experiences and knowledge with anyone who will lend an ear, or I can write work-style content. The possibilities seem limitless and much less restricting.
There has been a tremendous change in the work that I have written thus far. Who would’ve thought that writing in a way that made me happy would reignite my passion for words?
I don’t know how I disregarded something so important. While writing for work is a salient task, it is also imperative that you create for you. Neglecting to work in time for yourself will only hurt you in the end.
Having spent the last few days writing for both work and myself, it has been quite a positive step in my journey. I hope anyone in a similar rut reaches their breakthrough as well.
Remember why you started, remember where you’re headed, think of how great it will be to get there, and keep going — Ralph Marston
