A Zen Writer’s Guide to Reducing Stress

It’s funny how sometimes you go along, mired in stress, thinking about work after hours, losing sleep (literally), and then it hits you:

You don’t have to write like this.

Since early April 2020, I’ve been swimming in projects. That’s 19 months of working nearly nonstop on what amounted to (and still amounts to) roughly 15-18 projects monthly.

Yea, that level of stress.

But something changed during this last vacation. (And yes, I was that busy that vacation had to wait until October. Even then, getting away was challenging.)

I had an epiphany.

Actually, I had a few. But when it came to removing stress from my life, I was in the midst of doing some Fall cleaning. I dropped those things that were causing me residual stress, those things that no longer fit. It was better, but not perfect.

I hadn’t addressed the real issue — work stress.

[bctt tweet=”Are you handling your #freelancewriting stress or letting it build?” username=”LoriWidmer”]

But with last week being blissfully slow, I realized something pretty significant:

You don’t have to write like this.

I’m repeating it because if I’m feeling this way, you might be, as well.

There are better ways to do this freelance writing career. Much better ways. It took a week off and a slow re-entry for me to realize what I wanted this freelance career to be.

I wanted it to be better.

That means less stressful. So here’s what I’m doing that may help you:

Stop owning the stress.

Jeezuz, why do we think we have to wear the job everywhere we go? Because we live and die by our reputation as a professional writer or editor. If we screw up, we’re sure we’ll never recover. Our lives will be in tatters, no client will ever hire us again ….

Enough. Mistakes happen. Clients go bye-bye. We live through it. And no client’s net is cast so wide as to completely destroy your entire credibility (and if they tried, they’d be committing slander or libel, depending on the medium used).

Stop trying to get it all done.

This one is where I fail every time. I have clients who feed me multiple projects at a time. In my haste to clear the desk, I overdeliver. WAY overdeliver. That’s not good for a few reasons:

• It sets an unrealistic precedent
• It stresses me out
• It wears me out mentally
• It is pointless

So my new tactic is this — when the work comes in, I put it in the queue. If there are many projects from the same client, I ask for prioritization. Then I work on them as time permits. And that brings me to my next point:

Manage client expectations.

I am fortunate to have great clients. So when I told them I just couldn’t plow through several projects at once, they weren’t surprised because they never expected it. There’s a revelation for you — I was the only person putting that much pressure on me. Wow. So these tight shoulder muscles and stress headaches aren’t caused by someone else?

Add time for just you.

Because I was so busy (or thought I was), I passed on my morning meditation. I skipped my intentional breathing, my asanas, and more importantly, the chance to set the tone for my day. Now, before I come downstairs for my first cup of tea, I give myself that time to find my balance and envision how I want the day to go.

Just those few simple shifts have made me an easier person to be around. Instead of seeing eight interviews and articles per week on the calendar, I see one day, one project at a time. I get work done, but I do it in a way that doesn’t have me eyeing retirement communities and the slow lane so much. And my clients are still getting results. Maybe not as fast, but they’re also getting a more focused writer as a partner.

Writers, how’s your workload? How do you manage multiple demands for your time and attention?
What do you do to reduce your work-related stress?