Are You Having Any Fun?
November 20, 2008 by John Hewitt
Lately I have been talking about building a sustainable writing career. A sustainable career can stand the test of time. It is a career you can be successful at today, tomorrow and years from now. I’ve discussed some of the elements that lead to a sustainable writing career, such as good planning, hardiness in the face of problems, health and marketing. Those are all important, but perhaps the most important question is, are you having any fun?
Don’t Dread Your Days
No matter what career you choose, you won’t have fun all of the time. Every career has ups and downs. If you are going to spend eight or more hours a day doing something though, wouldn’t it be nice to enjoy what you are doing? The opportunity to get up in the morning without dreading the day in front of you should not be overlooked, especially if you expect to be doing the same thing five, ten of fifteen years down the road.
Strike a Balance
It can be difficult to strike a balance between what can earn you money and what brings you happiness. Tradeoffs have to be made sometimes, especially if you have a family to support and bills to pay. Just be sure that you aren’t trading away too much. I’ve spent time at jobs I hated before, and in the end my body just rejects those jobs. The stress gets to be too much and I get sick for days and weeks on end. At some point I can’t make myself go somewhere that I hate, even if the money is great.
Look for a career that can make you happy. If you find yourself in a job that you dread going to, make a change. Either fix what is wrong with the job or find a new job. Do what it takes to make your days worth living, because you only have a limited number of them.
Related links
- Building a Sustainable Writing Career: Increase Your Hardiness (0.517)
- Building a Financially Sustainable Writing Career: Body Work (0.500)
- Don't Make Your Freelance Writing Career Just About Work (0.500)
- How to Set Personal Boundaries (0.407)
- The Realities of a Freelance Writing Career (0.171)
Contact John Hewitt
Writing Content and Web Consulting
Email: hewitt@poewar.comPhone: (520) 261-6104
LinkedIn: poewar
Twitter: @poewar
Facebook: pwar2
Great thoughts, John. I would get up every morning at my last few jobs and absolutely dread the day ahead, dread the commute, dread the long days and months stretching ahead with no end. My freelance career eliminates that.
Another idea about dread – if I find myself dreading talking to a client, sweating a client project, or feeling violently ill just when thinking about a client, I often realize that that client is wrong for me. Yet another way the body talks to and through you!
QuietRebelWriters last blog post..Writer Profile: Jenni Prokopy, Freelance Writer, Editrix and Chronic Babe
My writing career so far has lasted 25 years. I suppose that is sustainable. While I’ve been challenged more than once to keep at it, I have and the effort has paid off. Perseverance is certainly key.
In recent years I have stopped marketing myself as a writer, and have used other position titles that are more encompassing, like some kind of consultant. Business and technical writing have always been central to my skill set, and still are, but I also have gained a lot of experience doing things that got the writing done, like systems analysis, business analysis, organizational analysis, business process analysis, and information architecture. I have been hired under such titles, but I’ve always found that the writing never stops — there is always a need to capture knowledge if you have the skills.
My point is that when the advertised writing jobs dry up, it’s possible to market yourself under other job titles and still keep on writing.
Very good advice. My father was a professor and loved his job. I figured that is what I should expect for myself. It hasn’t been quite that easy but I continue to strive for such a balance. Make the effort to figure out how to make a living doing what you like. It isn’t easy but it is worth it.