The Winter Funk Finally Got to You: 4 Tips To Get Back to Writing When You Don’t Feel Like It

There is a funk going around, isn’t there?

In almost every conversation I am having, people are feeling a bit down.

Maybe it is the fact that even after making a conscious effort not to follow politics, Musk and Trump still manage to do something outrageous that can pierce your information barrier; maybe Netflix canceled your new favorite show after only one season, or maybe you are upset your favorite Thai restaurant changed their Thom Kha Kai recipe.

Believe me, I have been there.

(Come on, Netflix, The Crew was just getting good.)

It might be different for everyone, but it doesn’t seem like many people are going through it.

I was reading a thread from Ryan Holiday, who I read every day, and how he wasn’t feeling good about the state of the world, so he took his kids out to pick up garbage and bribed them to do it with iPad time.

My wife forwarded me an email from Dr. Becky, whom we read and listened to for gentle parenting advice, who wrote about a complete meltdown she had over coffee after putting her kids to bed.

All too relatable.

My youngest daughter has been home sick for the past two weeks. Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, both my daughters went to school, and we got some things done. That afternoon, my wife picked up my oldest daughter, who had a 101-degree fever.

I was in disbelief.

So, believe me when I say I get when you don’t feel like writing or doing anything creative.

However, I am also obsessed with making sure that five in the morning always finds me writing because I know the benefits of writing and sorting through my emotions with artmaking and creativity outweigh the benefits of sleeping in or giving in to the challenges of fate.

Here are a few ideas to get you back to writing, journaling or storytelling.

1. Forget outcome expectation

If no one expects your piece, don’t press yourself to push it out. Along with this principle, there is a corollary: lower your quality expectation. Maybe this won’t be your best piece, but keeping your wheels turning makes sure you are sharp when you feel better. Any writer and artist will tell you how pieces they muddle and struggle with were hits in ways they never expected.

2. Keep it short

You might be unable to write the 2,000 words you typically push out or fill ten diary pages, but you can fill one page. You can write one paragraph; you can tell one anecdote; you can write one joke.

Even when life is most chaotic, you can steal five minutes for yourself. Isn’t that funny? That you need to steal time for yourself? But when you have a life revolving around serving your work and your family, it does feel like stealing time. So steal time back for you for five minutes and spend it with your practice.

3. Have a trusty go-to structure

If there is one thing I harp on when it comes to writing, it is having your predetermined structure. You can download the structure I use for my personal essays here. Having a go-to structure means not having to reinvent the wheel when you sit down to write. You know how to structure a story; you just need to fill it in. You might not need to do a whole essay at once, but you can use tip #2 in this post to keep it short and focus on one short part of the anecdote.

Using this principle in my funny stories newsletter, Unequivocally Ambiguous, I’m talking about a time I was in Kauai, and on impulse and prompted by my daughter, I climbed a tree to get a coconut. I have one more post to go, but out of the three posts I worked on, they all started short and used this principle.

4. Remember to play

There is a reason you chose the medium you chose. Whether that is personal essays, short fiction, or drawings, you chose your medium because it fills you. Make sure you come back to playing with it and just having fun. Fun is why you keep coming back. 

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