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When You Don’t Feel Like Writing, Do You Take a Break or Keep Working?

written by Stefanie Flaxman
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When You Don’t Feel Like Writing, Do You Take a Break or Keep Working?

I write every day, which means I make time to write every day.

And there’s a moment I frequently reach during my writing sessions when I start to feel a bit tired. I have a decision to make:

Do I take a break or keep working?

If you want to position yourself to do your best work, it’s an important assessment. Sometimes a break is necessary, especially in between writing and editing. It could be a short one for food or fresh air, or you could need a day or more to clarify a concept.

The length of your break will also often depend on your schedule and commitments. Doing something other than what you’re supposed to be doing is part of being a writer. Just don’t miss your deadline.

Hold ’em or fold ’em?

Whether it’s a self-directed writing project or an assignment from a supervisor or client, writing requires discipline.

Taking a break will always sound appealing, but you’ll never build a solid writing portfolio if you continually opt for doing something else instead of focusing on your content.

On the other hand, when you return to your writing with fresh eyes after doing something else, you’ll often have a creativity boost that enables a level of richness, depth, and nuance you didn’t yet have access to during your original writing session.

So, how do you determine if you should keep polishing your ideas or take a break to rest and clear your mind?

Enter: The Lazy Test

Since I regularly encounter this scenario, I’ve come up with a quick test that helps me choose the right path. 

Ask yourself:

Is your creative energy truly drained or are you just feeling lazy?

If I think I’m feeling lazy (honesty is required here), I keep writing … but the test isn’t finished.

I’ll give myself another 20 minutes to work on my current task. That’s a fair amount of time to refocus and gain momentum.

If I was indeed just feeling lazy, I’ll perk up (maybe with help from some inspirational quotes for writers) and typically continue working another one to two hours.

If I can’t get back into a groove after 20 minutes, I know it’s time to take a break or do other work before I return to that writing project.

Over to you …

We all have to develop habits that optimize our productivity.

How do you manage your creative work? What keeps you going when you don’t feel like writing? Are breaks beneficial or distracting?

Share your experiences in the comments below.

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Reader Comments (7)

  1. One of the main thing that keeps me going is remembering why I started in the first place and what it would mean to me if I accomplish my goals. I prefer writing in the morning when my head is still fresh and late at night when the craziness of the day is at zero.

  2. An absolute goldmine. I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember and I battled these problems myself. I used to quit writing for days because I couldn’t find the creative energy. Sometimes I’d simply find myself at loss of words.

    I have tried meditation, music and even caffeine just so I could stick a bit longer. Eventually I’d give up because what’s the point if you can’t bring out your best. So whenever I’m not in the zone, I do exactly what you do. Take a break or indulge myself in something else.

    P.S. I find your blogs raw (not in bad way) and connecting. Without any superficial element.

    Thanks for sharing, Stefanie.

  3. Sometimes taking a short break from writing is beneficial. It helps to brainstorm a lot. Even I write every day for my website but sometimes it feels like writing the same thing again and again. So, taking a break is beneficial, just telling my experience. That doesn’t mean it works for everyone. :).
    Thanks for the interesting read.

  4. Like you, I take a break because I get angry that I am already zoning out without completing that writing task, but then I remind myself that it’s better to write the best quality piece or article than writing just to complete a task.

    Taking a break helps a lot and gives your mind and head the fresh air it needs to get more creative.

  5. Thanks for the great tips! I’m torn on this one. I tend to push through and look for something to inspire me to keep writing, but I also think it’s healthy to take a break and republish something old once in a while.

  7. I’ve been in that head space lately where I’m finding it almost impossible to find motiviation for either client projects or my own. I’ve been waiting for it to pass, thinking it’s a phase, but a few weeks later I’m thinking it’s time to force the issue. Either take a 100% break for a week or 2, or set time limits and just get on with it.

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