An Adversary Called Writer's Fatigue

As writers, we face many hardships, such as rejection, criticism, lack of time, writer's block...just to name a few. But of them all there's one, in particular, that seems to sneak up on us often unnoticed, and we don't realize we're battling it until it squeezes the creativity out of us. That adversary is called writer's fatigue.

It can happen to the best of us, and it occurs in a variety of ways. Perhaps we lost joy in the writing process altogether, or we've run out of fresh ideas. Maybe the act of juggling our writer's life with all our other obligations has become too much to bear.

I've recently had several of my writer friends express this sort of exhaustion with writing but blogging in particular. They've made it clear to me that they've reached a turning point and no longer know what to say. They've become sick of writing, submitting manuscripts for publication, posting new articles, and wish they could just stop. These talented writers had lost not only their joy in writing but also their enthusiasm for all things related to writing...and in some cases even more. They seemed to have forgotten all they had accomplished. They were left drained and downcast. It saddens me to think of them giving up on writing altogether.

Benjamin Franklin used to say: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!"  Wise words indeed, but how can you prevent losing the joy writing brings due to fatigue? Here are just a few things that have helped me in the past to at least mitigate the effects or even avoid burnout  entirely:

Reevaluating the Workload 

I like to look at my to-do list quarterly, and then decide what to keep and what to toss. At this point in my life, my two main priorities are my family (which includes three crazy dogs) and my writing. If my commitments outside my home don't line up with my priorities, then it might be time to reevaluate my to-do list.

Cutting Back on Social Media 

Let's be realistic: Social media is everywhere, and it can be a significant drain on a writer's time and energy. A few months ago, I decided to cut back on the time I spend posting and commenting on my social media outlets. While at first glance, this might not seem like a significant change, it has freed up quite a bit of my time and energy that I can now devote to other responsibilities. 

Chasing the Joy of Writing 

It's that joy that fuels my creativity, and sometimes I forget that I have to consciously look for ways to bring joy into my own life. I find comfort in the simple things of life, like drinking a good cup of coffee, snuggling with my dogs, or reading an exceptional book. Or just scrubbing my kitchen until it gleams - I know, it's weird, but I enjoy it.

Taking Care of Ourselves

Just because we hit rock bottom, the point where we must stop writing for the sake of our well-being, that doesn't automatically mean we have to give up our writing career forever. I frequently have to take a break from writing when my migraines hit me.  It doesn't do me any good if I force myself to keep on writing while I suffer through excruciating pains. So, If I have to distance myself from my writing in order to get better, then that's what I'll do. Self-care is important. If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will do it for you.

Taking a Break

I just got back a couple of weeks ago from a week-long trip to Missouri. And although it was a busy week filled with driving, meetings, dinners, etc., it was still a break from my routine. After my time away, I was ready to jump back into my day-to-day life with renewed energy.

Most writers battle burnout at some point. The trick is to be aware that it is a genuine adversary and to be mindful of the symptoms that may indicate that we are losing our spirit and joy of writing. We have to take conscious steps to recapture the joy that brought us to writing in the first place if we notice that our happiness is slowly being squeezed from us. We can't really expect anyone to love our scribbles if we don't even like what we write!

Have you ever faced burnout or lost the joy in writing? What helps you through the rough times?

by A. Piper Burgi

Piper is the author of several non-fiction books, and recently added five historical fiction novels to her ever-expanding collection of published writings, In the Shadow of Her Majesty, The Country Girl Empress, A Life in the Shadow of the Crown, The Perpetual Traveler, and Excerpts from the Imperial Diary. When she isn't busy typing on her computer, she can be found chasing after her furry children or holding on tightly to a good cup of coffee. Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.

Don't forget to share this post! Choose your platform below:

#WritersLife: Time Management for Writers

This week I struggled with my blog post. Not necessarily with the topic (although, there was a bit of that also), but mainly just finding the time to write. As a devoted dog mom of three high-energy pups, I am in the habit of pouring my heart and soul into each of my furry children every day.  Not to mention all my other responsibilities associated with my daytime occupation, volunteer work and of course life in general. I realized long ago that it is not healthy for me if I continually focus all of my time and energy completely on others and their needs. Fact is, when we give of ourselves every day, but hardly ever re-energize, we eventually find ourselves completely drained. At this point, we just go through the motions. 

We do need to find a way to recharge and refresh from time to time. We can’t just keep on giving when we have nothing left to give. Everyone around us will eventually catch on when we’re frazzled and running on empty. It is essential that we take some time for ourselves in order to re-energize, so that we can keep going. There are countless ways to give ourselves a break from the everyday hum-drum of life. Exercising, painting, cooking and baking, and many others. And although I have many interests, I have found, that writing is one of the best ways I can refuel. 

Over the past eight years, I’ve written and published eleven books. My next historical fiction piece EXCERPTS FROM THE IMPERIAL DIARY is almost ready for the editor. Not to mention that part five and six of The Country Girl Empress-series as well as several other writing projects are in the works. Some of the questions I’m asked frequently are, “How do you balance everything? How do you manage to find the time to write AND do all this other work, plus volunteer work?”  I openly admit, it is never easy to juggle the growing demands of a published writer's life, with everything else. As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the midst of a struggle right now. But it helps me to keep in mind that writing plays a big part in my renewal process. Writing is a unique gift, which provides me with a creative outlet, and a way to connect with others. But how can we find the time to write with all of the other demands on our time? 

Here are some techniques I use to juggle writing along with all my other responsibilities: 

Pencil it into your daily planner or block it off on your online calendar. I like to block a little bit of time in the early morning hours before everyone else awakens. Everything else is a bonus.

It's a fact...we simply can’t do everything, no matter how hard we try. When we fill our lives so full with going here and there, we often lose out on the downtime that we hold so dear. It is, after all, the time we can let our creative juices flow. 

Otherwise, we will never get around to writing. Whenever possible, I like to begin my afternoon writing session after everyone has been fed, cleaned and all other responsibilities have been taken care of (or put off until tomorrow?!). Many times that means that my writing time is full of interruptions, but I write anyway...or at least I try. 

...once a week, if at all possible. Due to the less than ideal conditions throughout the week, I make it a point of taking a large block of writing time on the weekends. Sometimes it's just easier to focus when our surroundings are calm.

I know, it's not always easy to ask others to help out, and not everyone is blessed with a very supportive husband as I am. But when I take writing seriously, others (including my husband) are more apt to follow suit.  

...for taking the time to write. I sometimes struggle with this, because there are days when I feel I really should be doing something more productive with my time. But then, writing is also a productive activity, and when we can pursue our passions, we are our happiest. Now, who can argue with the pursuit of happiness?

So, what about you? Do you take the time to refresh on a regular basis? Do you ever feel guilty for spending your time writing?

by A. Piper Burgi

Piper is the author of several non-fiction books, and recently added four historical fiction novels to her ever-expanding collection of published writings, In the Shadow of Her Majesty , The Country Girl Empress, A Life in the Shadow of the Crown, and The Perpetual Traveler. When she isn't busy typing on her computer, she can be found chasing after her furry children or holding on tightly to a good cup of coffee. Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Goodreads.

Don't forget to share this post! Choose your platform below:

#WritersLife: Time Management for Writers

This week I struggled with my blog post. Not necessarily with the topic (although, there was a bit of that also), but mainly just finding the time to write. As a devoted dog mom of three high-energy pups, I am in the habit of pouring my heart and soul into each of my furry children every day.  Not to mention all my other responsibilities associated with my daytime occupation, volunteer work and of course life in general. I realized long ago that it is not healthy for me if I continually focus all of my time and energy completely on others and their needs. Fact is, when we give of ourselves every day, but hardly ever re-energize, we eventually find ourselves completely drained. At this point, we just go through the motions. 

We do need to find a way to recharge and refresh from time to time. We can’t just keep on giving when we have nothing left to give. Everyone around us will eventually catch on when we’re frazzled and running on empty. It is essential that we take some time for ourselves in order to re-energize, so that we can keep going. There are countless ways to give ourselves a break from the everyday hum-drum of life. Exercising, painting, cooking and baking, and many others. And although I have many interests, I have found, that writing is one of the best ways I can refuel. 

Over the past seven years, I’ve written and published seven books. My next historical fiction piece A LIFE IN THE SHADOW OF THE CROWN - A Country Girl Empress Novel is almost ready to be released, along with the recipe book 'TIS THE SEASON FOR CHRISTMAS COOKIES. Not to mention that part three and four of The Country Girl Empress-series as well as several other writing projects are in the works. Some of the questions I’m asked frequently are, “How do you balance everything? How do you manage to find the time to write AND do all this other work, plus volunteer work?”  I openly admit, it is never easy to juggle the growing demands of a published writer's life, with everything else. As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the midst of a struggle right now. But it helps me to keep in mind that writing plays a big part in my renewal process. Writing is a unique gift, which provides me with a creative outlet, and a way to connect with others. But how can we find the time to write with all of the other demands on our time? 

Here are some techniques I use to juggle writing along with all my other responsibilities: 

- Schedule your writing time. Pencil it into your daily planner or block it off on your online calendar. I like to block a little bit of time in the early morning hours before everyone else awakens. Everything else is a bonus.

- Prioritize your activities. It's a fact...we simply can’t do everything, no matter how hard we try. When we fill our lives so full with going here and there, we often lose out on the downtime that we hold so dear. It is, after all, the time we can let our creative juices flow. 

- Don’t wait for tomorrow or the perfect moment! Otherwise, we will never get around to writing. Whenever possible, I like to begin my afternoon writing session after everyone has been fed, cleaned and all other responsibilities have been taken care of (or put off until tomorrow?!). Many times that means that my writing time is full of interruptions, but I write anyway...or at least I try. 

- Plan for an uninterrupted writing session for once a week, if at all possible. Due to the less than ideal conditions throughout the week, I make it a point of taking a large block of writing time on the weekends. Sometimes it's just easier to focus when our surroundings are calm.

- Get your family's support. I know, it's not always easy to ask others to help out, and not everyone is blessed with a very supportive husband as I am. But when I take writing seriously, others (including my husband) are more apt to follow suit.  

- Try not to feel guilty for taking the time to write. I sometimes struggle with this, because there are days when I feel I really should be doing something more productive with my time. But then, writing is also a productive activity, and when we can pursue our passions, we are our happiest. Now, who can argue with the pursuit of happiness?

So, what about you? Do you take the time to refresh on a regular basis? Do you ever feel guilty for spending your time writing?

by A. Piper Burgi

Piper is the author of several non-fiction books, and recently added two historical fiction novels to her ever-expanding collection of published writings, In the Shadow of Her Majesty and The Country Girl Empress. When she isn't busy typing away on her computer, she can be found chasing after her furry children or holding on tightly to a good cup of coffee. Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Goodreads and Google+.

Time Management for Writers

This week I struggled with my blog post. Not necessarily with the topic (although, there was a bit of that also), but mainly just finding the time to write. As a devoted dog mom of three high-energy pups, I am in the habit of pouring my heart and soul into each of my furry children every day.  Not to mention all my other duties and responsibilities associated with my daytime occupation, volunteer work and of course life in general. I realized long ago that it is not healthy for me if I continually focus all of my time and energy completely on others and their needs. Fact is when we give of ourselves every day, but hardly ever re-energize, we eventually find ourselves completely drained. At this point, we just go through the motions, and may even be ready to give up. 

However, we do need to find a way to recharge and refresh from time to time. We can’t just keep on giving when we have nothing left to give. Everyone around us will eventually catch on when we’re frazzled and running on empty. It is essential that we take some time for ourselves in order to rejuvenate, so that we can keep going. There are countless ways to give ourselves a break from the everyday hum-drum of life. Exercising, painting, cooking and baking, knitting, and many others. And although I have many interests, I have found, that writing is one of the best ways I can refuel. 

Over the past six years, I’ve completed two photographic travel journal and two full-length wartime memoirs, a canine health book, and my debut novel. My next historical fiction novel The Country Girl Empress is almost ready to be released and several other writing projects are in the works. Some of the questions I’m asked the most are, “How do you balance everything? How do you manage to find the time to write AND do all this other work, plus volunteer work?”  I openly admit, it is never easy to juggle the growing demands of a published writer's life, with everything else. As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the midst of a struggle right now. But it helps me to keep in mind that writing plays a big part in my renewal process. Writing is a unique gift, which provides me with an outlet, and a way to connect with others. But how can we find the time to write with all of the other demands on our time? 

Here are some techniques I use to juggle writing along with all my other responsibilities: 

- Schedule your writing time. Pencil it into your daily planner or block it off on your online calendar. I like to block a little bit of time in the early morning hours before everyone else awakens. Everything else is a bonus.

- Prioritize your activities. It's a fact...we simply can’t do everything, no matter how hard we try. When we fill our lives so full with going here and there, we often lose out on the downtime that we hold so dear. It is, after all, the time we can let our creative juices flow. 

- Don’t wait for tomorrow or the perfect moment! Otherwise, we will never get around to writing. Whenever possible, I like to begin my afternoon writing session after everyone has been fed, cleaned and all other responsibilities have been taken care of (or put off until tomorrow?!). Many times that means that my writing time is full of interruptions, but I write anyway...or at least I try. 

- Plan for an uninterrupted writing session for once a week, if at all possible. Due to the less than ideal conditions throughout the week, I make it a point of taking a large block of writing time on the weekends. Sometimes it's just easier to focus when our surroundings are calm.

- Get your family's support. I know, it's not always easy to ask others to help out, and not everyone is blessed with a very supportive husband as I am. But when I take writing seriously, others (including my husband) are more apt to follow suit.  

- Try not to feel guilty for taking the time to write. I sometimes struggle with this, because there are days when I feel I really should be doing something more productive with my time. But then, writing is also a productive activity, and when we can pursue our passions, we are our happiest. Now, who can argue with the pursuit of happiness?

So, what about you? Do you take the time to refresh on a regular basis? Do you ever feel guilty for spending your time writing?

by A. Piper Burgi

Piper is the author of several non-fiction books, and recently added her debut historical fiction novel In the Shadow of Her Majesty to her ever-expanding collection of published writings. When she isn't busy typing away on her computer, she can be found chasing after her furry children or holding on tightly to a good cup of coffee. Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Goodreads and Google+.

More Time for Writing

This week I struggled with my blog post. Not necessarily with the topic (although, there was a bit of that also), but mainly just finding the time to write. As a devoted dog mom of two high-energy pups, plus one foster dog and her nine puppies, I am in the habit of pouring my heart and soul into each of my furry children (yes, I do count my foster furbabies!) every day.  Not to mention all my other duties and responsibilities associated with my daytime occupation, and of course life in general. I realized long ago that it is not healthy for me if I continually focus all of my time and energy completely on others and their needs. Fact is when we give of ourselves every day, but hardly ever re-energize, we eventually find ourselves completely drained. At this point, we just go through the motions, and may even be ready to give up. 

However, we do need to find a way to recharge and refresh from time to time. We can’t just keep on giving when we have nothing left to give. Everyone around us will eventually catch on when we’re frazzled and running on empty. It is essential that we take some time for ourselves in order to rejuvenate, so that we can keep going. There are countless ways to give ourselves a break from the everyday hum-drum of life. Exercising, painting, cooking and baking, knitting, and many others. And although I have many interests, I have found, that writing is one of the best ways I can refuel. 

Over the past four years, I’ve completed one photographic travel journal and two full-length wartime memoirs. Another two books, One RV and Three People at Denali National Park, and Living with Canine Epilepsy are in the works and almost ready to be released. One of the questions I’m asked the most, “How do you balance everything? How do you manage to find the time to write AND do all this other work, plus volunteer work?”  I openly admit, it is never easy to juggle the growing demands of a published writer's life, with everything else. As I have mentioned earlier, I am in the midst of a struggle right now. But it helps me to keep in mind that writing plays a big part in my renewal process. Writing is a unique gift, which provides me with an outlet, and a way to connect with others. But how can we find the time to write with all of the other demands on our time? 

Here are some techniques I use to juggle writing along with all my other responsibilities: 

- Schedule your writing time. Pencil it into your daily planner or block it off on your online calendar. I like to block a little bit of time in the early morning hours before everyone else awakens. Everything else is a bonus.

- Prioritize your activities. It's a fact...we simply can’t do everything, no matter how hard we try. When we fill our lives so full with going here and there, we often lose out on the downtime that we hold so dear. It is, after all, the time we can let our creative juices flow. 

- Don’t wait for tomorrow or the perfect moment! Otherwise, we will never get around to writing. Whenever possible, I like to begin my afternoon writing session after everyone has been fed, cleaned and all other responsibilities have been taken care of (or put off until tomorrow?!). Many times that means that my writing time is full of interruptions, but I write anyway...or at least I try. 

- Plan for an uninterrupted writing session for once a week, if at all possible. Due to the less than ideal conditions throughout the week, I make it a point of taking a large block of writing time on the weekends. Sometimes it's just easier to focus when our surroundings are calm.

- Get your family's support. I know, it's not always easy to ask others to help out, and not everyone is blessed with a very supportive husband as I am. But when I take writing seriously, others (including my husband) are more apt to follow suit.  

- Try not to feel guilty for taking the time to write. I sometimes struggle with this, because there are days when I feel I really should be doing something more productive with my time. But then, writing is also a productive activity, and when we can pursue our passions, we at our happiest. Now, who can argue with the pursuit of happiness?

So, what about you? Do you take the time to refresh on a regular basis? Do you ever feel guilty for spending your time writing?

Related Posts:

Is Your Writer's Life What You Expected?

Ever Feel Like Giving Up Writing?

by A. Piper Burgi

Piper is the author of military lifestyle books and RV travel journals. When she isn't busy typing away on her computer, she can be found chasing after her furry children or holding on tightly to a good cup of coffee. Follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Goodreads and Google+.