One of my clients in the 12-month group coaching program asked me this week: “I can't seem to find a rhythm that works for me and accommodates necessary schedule changes when life gets in the way. How does everyone else manage it?”
I want to share what I said in response because I think it will help you too – what with holidays, an illness, or other things that interrupt your creative flow and take you away from your writing.
And I’m curious to hear from you about what works to restart the writing after an interruption of days, weeks, months, or even years.
Writers often come to me from such breaks, yearning to get started again but not knowing how.
I am not immune to wrangling with this issue. I’ve had huge gaps between writing for on and off for years, and most recently over the holidays this past season.
I don’t have THE answer, because there isn’t one. But what I do have are principles that I’ve found helpful in getting reconnected to my writing.
These are things that have worked for me. :)
Please take what's useful and leave the rest.
Also, consider writing down what works for you, so that you can remember them for the next time life interrupts your writing practice. (How dare it!)
Guidelines for Re-Starting Your Writing After A Break
1. Accept that your writing routine will get disrupted.
I often see writers upset at how their writing routine got interrupted, due to life's unforeseen events -- maybe an illness, a trip, an accident, a family member's emergency, or something else completely out of your control.
Life happens. Your routine will get disrupted by something you couldn't predict. Expect it and accept it.
The lesson then is to develop a "reset habit" that can be added to your writing routine.
Then you can use it anytime something throws your writing routine off-track.
Like an emergency kit, you need a "reset kit."
What goes into your "reset kit"? We'll explore that next.
2. Your reset habit needs to be reasonable, doable, and easy.
As a suggestion, restart your writing routine by starting small. Create a short time frame or small amount of words to write or edit. Even 5 minutes of attention on your book will help you touch base and get into it. Or, maybe you write or edit only 100-200 words.
The point is you only need a small amount of time to start the reconnection between you, your habit, and your story. Experiment to discover what works for you.
People often think they need a massive block of time to get re-started. That isn't the case.
Like a muscle that needs warming up, a restart routine starts slow. Soon, maybe after a few days of slow or minimal work, you'll pick up steam, and your strength and enthusiasm will return. You'll get back to the high-flying rhythm you love so much and have experienced before.
3. Be kind to yourself.
Be gentle with yourself during this restart process and don't make yourself wrong for whatever you do accomplish as you ease back into a routine.
In fact, as a good parent would say to a baby taking their first steps, say "Yay!" at everything you do on your book.
Celebrate every step. It is a re-learning period, so be gentle and encouraging.
4. Anticipate and prepare for known upcoming interruptions.
Look ahead into your coming weeks and see if you can anticipate what could or might require you to shift your writing routine. Then visualize how your writing time can be adjusted during those times. In other words, anticipate the upcoming changes and ask yourself what you can do to prepare.
I'm no expert at this, but do this on a weekly basis, as best I can. For example, I'm due to take a business trip soon, and visualize editing in small pockets of time, in between my other obligations.
5. Downtime: Rest, relax, rejuvenate.
Make sure you build in downtime to your schedule. Burnout is real and really destroys confidence and connection to the creative flow.
If you think you need to be working all the time, you’re not honoring the needs of all the parts of you that need a rest. I know -- I've been there! (Repetitive stress injury, adrenal fatigue.)
Honor and guard your downtime and cherish it. You need it to feed your soul and heart and body-mind. So that you can come back to your book refreshed and re-invigorated.
6. Guard your writing time.
Block off time on your calendar to work on your book and make that time inviolate, just as you would any important appointment.
Protect it and say NO to anything else that wants to be there, including people, pets, and other projects. Learning to say NO to what isn’t your core work and obligations can free up so much mental and emotional space.
Each time I say NO to something that isn’t in my core work I feel liberated and energized and excited to work on my book.
That’s it for now. I'm curious what resonates with you, what tips or principles work well for you, and anything else you'd like to share on this topic.
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