Getting Back Into Writing After a Break

Get back to writing after taking a break. - AllFreelanceWriting.com

Before the holidays we talked about preparing to take time away from writing or blogging and how you can set yourself up for success on your return to work. Well, today is that day for me -- my first work day of 2015. And getting back into the swing of things has been both exciting and challenging

I had a rougher start than I'd like because I didn't sleep last night, at all. Between hubby, the pup, and the wind howling so loudly I thought it would drop a tree or two on the house, sleep just wasn't happening. On the plus side, I got out of bed at 3:00 am -- an entire hour before my target time. I thought getting back to my early schedule would be a bigger challenge. On the downside, I crashed late in the morning for a few hours, so I have no idea what that's going to mean for tonight's sleep schedule. You win some, you lose some.

At this point in the year, I'm basically running on excitement. I get positively giddy about the fresh start of a new year, seeing all of my progress from the year before, and making plans to do even bigger things this time around.

If you enjoy that same kind of "New Year's motivation," I'd love to hear how you make the most of it (so leave me a comment and tell me what you're up to!). Here are a few ways I put it to work for me:

1. Write Blog Posts in Bulk

A beginning-of-the-year energy surge is the perfect time to write extra blog posts and either schedule them or save them as drafts. Then, when you don't feel like writing something new, you have posts ready and waiting to be published. This works especially well for blogs I only update monthly or bi-weekly. Squeezing in an extra post or two is fairly easy, and it's nice not having to worry about some of those blogs as much later in the month.

2. Knock Out One "Big" Project

Or at least I try to focus on something bigger than the daily grind. This year that meant making customizations to a new blog theme on Day One so I'd get a jump on a new site I'm launching. It wasn't a massive project, but it was big enough to be something I might procrastinate about later if I didn't knock it out quickly. That's when the extra enthusiasm really comes in handy.

3. Read More

It might sound counter-intuitive to set aside more time for reading rather than "doing" when you have a bit of extra energy and motivation behind you. But give it a try. Pull out some e-books or reports you've been meaning to read. Catch up on blog posts you bookmarked but haven't read yet. (New here? Check out my collection of featured content for a place to start.) There's no time like the present to learn something new. Then you can put your new-found knowledge to work in your writing business.

How are you making the most of the New Year? Is it business as usual? Or do you find January a more productive time than usual?

Profile image for Jennifer Mattern

Jennifer Mattern is a professional blogger, freelance business writer, consultant, and indie author. She runs numerous websites & blogs including All Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing Pros, NakedPR, and Kiss My Biz.

Jenn has 25 years' experience as a professional writer and editor and over 20 years' experience in marketing and PR (working heavily in digital PR, online marketing, social media, SEO, new media, and thought leadership publication). She also has 19 years' professional blogging and web publishing experience (including web development) and around 18 years of experience as an indie author / publisher.

Jenn also writes fiction under multiple pen names and is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association.

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