What I’m reading: Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
I’m still in Maine, but I’m leaving vapor trails. I hope I’m enjoying either a good book or a good shopping trip. Maybe both. I’ll be working, but depending on the WiFi connection, it could be sporadic at best.
So as I relax and remember what life felt like before work stress, I wondered if all writers fail to schedule their free time. Or are we more like this: we make plans to relax, but the phone rings and it’s a client or a project is taking longer and we want one more hour to hammer it out, or we let anything work-related cause us to cancel our plans to just be quiet somewhere, anywhere.
You do that, too? Welcome to the club.
So how can you make time in your work week to recharge? Schedule your time and guard it fiercely. Try scheduling something like:
Coffee with a friend. I take two hours in the morning to meet a friend every few weeks. We meet early enough that I’m missing maybe half an hour of work time, but it feels like I’ve stepped away for days — I return home relaxed and refreshed. Try it.
Exercise time. Mine is usually right around 4 or 5 in the evening, depending on the workload. You may think it’s too hard to maintain the exercise routine, but if you schedule it and look at it as a reprieve from stress, you’ll stick with it. Make it the same time every day and you’re more likely to follow through. And nothing melts away stress like kickboxing or running or anything that tests your physical endurance.
Vacation time. You know you need it. So why do you deny yourself even a long weekend? Will the world stop spinning if you take off on a Thursday night and don’t return until Monday? The hit to your income will be nonexistent. And if that’s not true, you need to rethink the work you’re taking on. Any writer should be able to take one day off. Try a week — save for it, and do it. You’ll be glad you did.
Book time. I’ve been known to take an extra hour for lunch just to read. Usually it’s a business book, but if I want to unwind completely, I pick up some fiction. Where can you fit 30 minutes to an hour into your day for a good story?
Phone a friend. Not everyone has time to chat with you (especially your freelance friends), but maybe your sister, your cousin, or that neighbor who doesn’t work would love a chat. I use down time to talk to my sister or my mother.
Write. Didn’t expect this one, I bet. Why not use your free time to journal or write something just for you? I argue that you should be doing this every day anyway, but if you don’t, now would be a great time.
How do you recharge? What gets in the way of you taking time for yourself? How can you change that? What would it take for you to give to yourself?
8 responses to “Freelancers and Fun”
Before I can save up to take a week off I need to save up to have the chimney fixed, among other looming structural repairs. (I can push off the cosmetic home repairs a bit, but not the structural ones.) If I did take a week off it would probably be spent painting window trim or doing major yard work, so I'm in no hurry. LOL. Darn my Scandinavian work ethic!
I do plan occasional days off – sometimes I even take a spontaneous day off when I don't have a looming deadline or any interviews scheduled. I also have lengthy conversations with a couple of friends now and then. I've been known to take mid-day doggie walks – it helps recharge the brain cells and keeps Doggie Lily happy.
I do it all except it's been ages since a real vacation… but I read, schedule time with friends and now am including Tai Chi an Qi Jong and occasionally write gathas or short poems… and yeah, I'd like not to need to work, but….
My daughter had a golf tournament this morning, and I had every good intention of sitting in the clubhouse and doing some phone calls and transcribing while she played. Then…I got conscripted into being the Parent Scorekeeper for her group. Oy. A 3-hour unscheduled "funcation," right?
And before you ask, no, my daughter didn't want me following her around the course. It took a lot of psychological energy, because you're not allowed to cheer, talk, hand signal, give advice, etc., like we do when we play together. She played OK, but I know I could have saved her at least 5 or 6 shots!
I am so guilty of planning a day off but then checking my email numerous times, which makes it feel as though I'm still working. So far the only proven way for me to unplug is to head to the Caribbean, where the Internet connection is so slow it's not even worth the effort. This summer, though, I'm determined to take an extended break as opposed to the long weekends I've been doing for the last five summers. I am burnt out!
Krista's comment really resonates with me – how can you keep away from email? What if an urgent assignment comes in?! On this side of the Atlantic, the Caribbean is sadly inaccessible to me, but I do think the way forward on this is to put yourself into a situation you can't escape from. I love coffee with friends, but it's too easy to excuse myself. A planned afternoon or evening out or away is more of a commitment, and eliminates that itch to get back to your desk. Works for me, anyway!
Alex
I find looking at paintings is a wonderful way to refresh. My favorite way.
In NY a few weeks ago, I gorged myself on art at Christie's and the Met.
I agree Alex! My compulsion to check email (and the need I feel to respond immediately) is a big reason why I've held out on getting a smart phone. 🙂
Back from Maine! Wow, I can't believe I went a week with only an hour of Internet connection. So much for the advertised WiFi.
Paula, you of all people need a day or two off! Time to plan a vacation, woman. It will recharge you like nothing else.
Anne, needing to work and taking time off needn't fight each other. You can take time to re-energize without it killing the income.
Jake, spoken like a true golfer. 😉 I'd say three hours is a decent break, so yes, a "funcation" counts, too.
Krista, great plan! Include ways to get out of the house and away from it. Coffee shop, mall, park, whatever works!
Alex, I've found that rarely is there a true writing "emergency" that would require me to answer an email instantly. Don't make the mistake of being at the beck-and-call of clients. They'll come to expect it and when you go on a real vacation, they'll be banging down the virtual door. As long as you get back to your clients within 24 hours (or you have an automated vacation reply on your email), you're fine. They can't expect to be your only client.
Art is wonderful, Devon. We saw some great pieces in the Wiscasset Bay Gallery (his favorite haunt). He may get in touch and buy the one he can't stop thinking about.