Content writing and personal crisis! Ah, this may be the worst combination of all. Sounds very familiar, doesn’t it?
Our professional life is sandwiched between agonies and personal crises; bad breakups, divorces, loss of loved ones, etc. A bad stage in personal life undoubtedly takes its toll on our professional life.
One of the professions most affected by this type of crisis is that of content writer. You can be a web content writer, ad writer, technical writer, blog writer, or travel writer. You are in a profession that gives centrality to creativity and the ability to ideate. You may find it hard to fully devote yourself to content writing or creative writing as your mind space is occupied by personal concerns.
Colleagues at your workplace may be understanding at first. But if these personal concerns take a lifetime to resolve, they may feel a little awkward around you. Trust me, they’re not being mean; they mean business. They have content writing projects lined up to be delivered.
Do these questions haunt you?
- Do I have to ditch my dreams of becoming an expert SEO content writer or the leader of a technical writing team?
- Will the content writing projects piled up on my desk go unattended?
Or at its worst
- Should I end my career as a copywriter or blog writer?
- Are those travel writings that I enjoyed the most gone forever?
The answer is no! You can start from where he left off in his career as a content writer. He can even use the insights he gained through these personal crises to improve his copywriting and content writing skills. For that what you have to do is very simple; hence they are called baby steps (BS).
BS 1: Don’t be hard on yourself: Blaming yourself or punishing yourself for what happened can’t help you with your life or your writing career. The first step is to get out of denial mode and embrace self-acceptance. What is happening is happening. Acceptance is the only practical way out of “stuck situations.”
BS 2: Set your goals: With self-acceptance come goals. This means that you need to establish certain pros and cons for your content writing career. For example, set a goal to write a certain number of words, no matter what. That helps keep your spirits up and motivated.
BS 3: Try new things: You heard me right: try new things every day in your life, both professionally and personally. Novelty enhances creativity. For example, if you are a web content writer but have never tried blogging, try writing a small blog post for yourself. If your project leader asks you to try something you’ve never tried before, don’t panic. Take the decisive step!
BS 4: Stay busy, set aside time for yourself: Set small goals, continuously. For example: “At 11:30 I will finish the first part of writing the article” and “At 2:45 I will send the case study to my project leader” “I will read 10 pages of this novel before going to bed”. At night, choose three novels and start reading them. Write down such goals and post them on your cabinet, bedroom wall, and kitchen.
BS 5: Keep a diary: Go to the nearest bookstore, buy yourself a newspaper or a diary. This should be small so you can keep it in your pocket or bag. Doodle whatever comes to mind. Later, when you’ve calmed down, review those writings and turn them into personal blog posts. Keep writing. Simple or silly, keep writing.
BS 6: Reward yourself: Go on a “me date” if you accomplish a goal you set for yourself. Get yourself some fudge or go to a coffee shop and enjoy a steaming cup of coffee while reading a book. Cover yourself carefully. With these six simple steps you can get out of the impasse you are in now in your career as a content writer.