Common Reasons for Freelance Writing Burnout
In many ways, being a freelance writer is much better than a traditional office job. But at the same time, writing is not always an easy thing to do, day in and day out. Every project requires special care and attention to detail. To go along with this, it can often be difficult to leave your freelance writing work behind and enjoy the rest of your life. In the long run, all of these potential downfalls can lead to burnout. Many writers never suffer from this, but there are quite a few who are going through this problem right now or will encounter this situation in the future.
Here are three reasons that you may begin to suffer from freelance writing burnout:
1. Do you feel like you have “maxed out” as far as your income is concerned? This can definitely lead to burnout. When you feel that you are stuck at a certain level of income, it is time to reassess your career and determine what you can do to increase your productivity. With all of that being said, this is not always a bad thing; especially if you are sitting at an income that you are comfortable with.
2. It is common for freelance writers to get bored because they feel as if they are doing the same thing everyday. There used to be times when I would run into this problem, but as of late it has not come up nearly as much. The best way to avoid this issue is to accept a wide variety of projects, while also working on tasks that are not 100 percent freelance writing related. For instance, I run this blog as well as my writing course. Both of them allow me to bring diversity into each day.
3. Are you feeling the pressure of working for yourself? Do you miss the security of a 9-5 job? These feelings can lead to burnout sooner rather than later. This is perhaps the most serious situation that you will have to deal with. After all, it will force you into deciding between continuing your freelance writing career or heading back to a job with more security.
As of late, more and more freelance writing professionals have been asking me for help overcoming burnout. Unfortunately, this is usually a problem that you have to deal with on your own. Even though there are some basic reasons for burnout, each writer has different feelings and unique ways of dealing with these problems.
June 25th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Chris,
After an insanely hectic month a few mnths ago, I was beginning to feel a bit burned out. Since I couldn’t just stop writing altogether, I did one of the things you suggested in your post and decided to explore another area of freelance writing. It really did help a lot by giving me a new area of focus.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Great insight. All three of your points have affected me in some way but I had yet to put my finger on them.
Another one is indecision. Sometimes work comes your way that’s not right for you, but it can take a while before you realise this, accept it, and then decide to say no.
Until you make the decision part of your energy is still being drawn away by the problem, taking away from everything else you do.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Alex, one thing that is helping me overcome taking on projects that aren’t right for me is defining my deliverables more narrowly. When I try to be a jack-of-all-trades, I don’t focus on targeting the right market for my niche.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Interesting post. I’ve just begun the freelance lifestyle–with the drastic step of quitting my day job right off the bat–and I’ve already experienced something that may or may not be the equivalent of burn-out. Last night as I lay in bed, so many possibilities–all my queries and separate freelance ventures, like my website–combined to roil and rumble in my head to such a degree that I became dizzy if I closed my eyes and I eventually became nauseous… I’m very tired today, slightly less excited about the opportunities I’m pursuing, but a good deal steadier. Is this a common experience do you think? A type of burnout?
June 25th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Robert - I’ve had days like that as well. There is no denying that it can be difficult to keep track of all your projects, ideas, etc. Try to take it one day at a time!
June 29th, 2008 at 11:00 am
[...] that you do not deserve a break. In fact, a day off here and there can help to protect against burnout. How often you steal a vacation day is up to you. I know some freelance writers who only work four [...]