Changes I Made Post-Burnout: Lifestyle

Having told you about my experiences with the dreaded BURNOUT (see previous post), I thought I’d write up a post about changes I made to my writing process and routine in an effort to avoid burnout in the future, while simultaneously working to get my writing speed back.

Today we’re going to talk about the LIFESTYLE CHANGES I made. But first . . . a little rabbit trail about Clifton Strengths.

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I’ve already sung the praises of Becca Syme in my Burnout Post, but it bears repeating—she is a FABULOUS resource for authors, particularly indie authors. Having utilized her materials while dealing with Burnout, I was curious to take her summer online conference and see what I could learn about refining my writing process/business model.

It was . . . illuminating.

For starters, I was encouraged to take the Clifton Strengths Test to delve into my key strengths as a professional. Anyone who knows me will not be terribly surprised to find that my Top Three strengths were all Executing Strengths.

-          Discipline

-          Focus

-          Achievement

Yeah. You might say I’m on the driven side.

BUT . . . what does that actually MEAN in a practical sense? How do I take the awareness of these strengths and transform them into superpowers as I create my Best Writer Self?

(Which, let me be clear—will be different from YOUR Best Writer Self. We all have different strengths and combinations of strengths. I’m not writing any of this as a how-to model, because we are, most likely, VERY different people. I’m just sharing what I have done.)

Following the conference, I made a series of changes to my writing life/process that enabled me to write two complete 100K word manuscripts in 3 months  . . . a personal record of production for yours truly!

And when you consider that exactly a year ago I was deep in Burnout and unable to write so much as a grocery list . . . the difference is amazing.

So what did I do exactly?

(As stated above, today I’m talking about LIFESTYLE changes. Next I’ll post about WRITING PROCESS changes. Both were equally important.)

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LIFESTYLE CHANGES TO SUPERCHARGE MY WRITING SPEED

 

First – I start writing by 5am every workday morning.

I have long known that I am a quintessential Morning Person. The earlier I get started on writing for the day, the better a writing day I will have. I can work a standard 8 hour day, but if that 8 hour day STARTS at 5 am, I will get more writing done than if it starts at 8 am . . . and FAR more than if it starts any time after 9 am! I don’t know why. It’s just the way I’m wired.

Second – Starting at 5am means ACTUALLY STARTING.

As in, I have to open my manuscript at 5 am. No emails. No other projects that might be siren-calling my name. NO SOCIAL MEDIA.

It MUST BE be my current work-in-progress.

Third – Exercise.

This job is SO sedentary, and if I don’t prioritize moving my body, I simply cannot keep up the writing pace that I want. So these days, I set my alarm for 4:40 am. Which means I’ve got 20-ish minutes for stretches (while my tea kettle boils) and weights (while my tea brews), before sitting down to the manuscript at 5 am sharp.

Then I work until about 6:20 . . . when I pause to write my children their school lunchbox notes (my oldest gets an ongoing story each day - my second is in kindergarten, so he gets a different funny smiley face). Sticky notes written, I pop on my running shoes, grab my tap-dancing-with-eagerness dog, and it’s out the door for a run.

Now here’s the thing . . . I do NOT like exercise.

What I do like? HABIT. And DISCISPLINE.

I am such a creature of habit, it’s not even funny. If I can build up a habit pattern that includes exercise, then I become obsessed—NOT with the exercise itself, but with maintaining the discipline of exercise. Showing up. Same time. Every day.

I don’t know—it works for me!

Once I get back from my run, Handsome has the kids dressed and breakfasted, so I’ve got time to style some hair, help with some shoes, hugs and kisses out the door . . . then it’s time to feed my gaggle of rescue cats, quick shower, and back to work by 8am.

But NOW, when I sit down to work at 8 am, I’m not just getting started for the day. I’ve already put in an hour-plus of work. I’m already in the creative zone.

Fourth – No social media in the morning.

I’m actually down to almost no social media for work these days (more on that in the next post). But I don’t even let myself check my personal, non-professional pages until at least noon.

I don’t keep my phone in my room overnight—it charges in the kitchen.

I don’t bring my phone into my office—it STAYS in the kitchen.

I’ve deleted all the social media apps. If I’m going to post something, I’ve got to download the app, post, and then delete it again.

My mantra: WE DO NOT LET SOCIAL MEDIA POISON OUR CREATIVE BRAINS.

Fifth – Healthy eating habits

This is an ongoing process, but it's worth mentioning. In order to write at the pace I want, I have to actually FEEL good and strong and clear-headed. Which for me specifically means no sugar. Sugar gives me headaches and makes my body sluggish. If I want to write and keep up my speed, a sugar-free diet is essential.

(Okay, I’ll admit . . . I’m not TOTALLY sugar free! I do add a teeny, tiny ¼ teaspoon dabble of sugar to my tea. But that’s it, I promise!)

I also eat (mostly) Keto, practice intermittent fasting, and drink COPIOUS amounts of water.

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So there you have it! Some of these things I’ve been practicing for a few years now (like the diet), but many of these are changes made within the last year. And they have WORKED for me.

I went from struggling to get 2 books written last year to having knocked out 4 books this year, even with a 2-month break in the summer.

And we'll see how much more I can write before Christmas! Probably not a whole book (because my next project is LONG). But I feel good. I feel strong. I feel creative and energized and don't really want to slow down.

I’ll be back tomorrow with the Writing Process Changes I’ve made to augment my writing speed. But that list would be incomplete without including the lifestyle changes first.

Because being a professional novelist is a lifestyle! Quite a unique one . . . quite a challenging one. Add mothering a brood of littles into the mix, and it borders on insanity some days.

But it’s also the absolute best. And I wouldn’t trade for anything.