Support for Indie Authors discussion

How do you get motivated after a long day?

I work in retail, and the past few days it has been crazy with the switch over from Halloween to Christmas stuff, and it is just going to get more crazy the closer to Christmas it gets. I know I need to get some writing done and I have all these ideas going off in my head but I am just so tired and I can't seem to get motivated to sit down and write. I end up reading or watching a movie and falling asleep before I intend to.

So, when you have had a long day, what gets you motivated to write? or do you?

In a situation like yours, I don't. Now, if my lack of motivation went on for a while, I might give myself a kick, but in the end, taking care of you takes precedence. If the words aren't there, there is no need to burden yourself with stress. You might find that if you let yourself off the hook, you'll come back to it naturally. You never know, you just might also find it to be a good way to get over the stress of your work day.

Yep, unless you want to sacrifice sleep by overdosing on coffee and energy drinks after work.

Dawn wrote: "I work in retail..."

Ooo! I'm sorry to hear that. I worked for Wal*Mart as a second job for about a year a while back. This was a nasty time of the year to be there.

Some ways I might get motivated in a situation like yours:

* Listen to some of my favorite music. Music often inspires me and I'm one of those odd writers who writes better when I have music blasting in my ears.

* Watch a good movie or TV program.

* Play an online game.

* Take a nap.

* Take a walk.

* Read over something I wrote recently.

* Sit and type and type and see what happens.

But, more importantly, don't push yourself. If you're just not into it right now, you're just not into it. Writers deserve a break now and then, too.

Now, as for part of the problem you mentioned - falling asleep before you intend. I have, for years, had a problem like that. I can fall asleep easily most any time and often end up going to sleep early without wanting to, which can cut into writing time. My solution? Get up earlier than normal and write. Sometimes I will get up for a couple of hours in the middle of the night, write a while and go back to sleep.

It may or may not work for you. I will tell you my relationship with sleep has never been healthy, so don't deprive yourself of sleep like I sometimes do. Especially when you're working a tough job where you're on your feet all day.

What I use probably won't help you, as it isn't your typical means. None the less, I find a good joint gets me right and ready to write just about anytime. Then again, weed's not really the greatest when it comes to motivation! #HurrayILiveInWashingtonState

Try searching for articles online about successful writers who also worked day jobs. Just reading about how they juggled both lives might give you a boost and realise that you're not alone in the struggle to get your ideas down.

I go for an hour's walk... I tend to find it similar to meditating and clears up my mind and the structure I have been trying to resolve gets resolved...

Dawn wrote: "I work in retail..."

My condolences. I spent twenty-seven years in retail. Nothing scares me anymore, and most holidays mean nothing to me.

I don't really have to motivate myself to write. I can pretty much pick up any of the notebooks and start writing. The problem I have is carving out time to actually write.

I remove motivation and the muse from the equation. Just sit down in your dedicated space every day and the same time for 2 hours. No TV, No Facebook or internet.

Make it a habit.

For years I wrote from 5 to 6 am every morning and then went off to my day job. I produced a lot of good work during those years.

I am with KC. Early AM when the neurotransmitters are at full bore. Get 500-1000 words out and then deal with reality.

I kinda wish I were a morning person. I do my best work after midnight.

Dawn wrote: "How do you get motivated after a long day?

I work in retail, and the past few days it has been crazy with the switch over from Halloween to Christmas stuff, and it is just going to get more crazy..."

I agree with the folks who suggested writing first thing in the morning (or working on it first thing, whatever time of day you wake up). I found that putting my writing first energized me with a sense of accomplishment, which then encouraged me the next morning and so on. I also found that later in the day while I was working at my paying--but much less satisfying--job, my mind would naturally spin through ideas and solutions to any writing problems I encountered earlier that morning (and a pocket-sized voice recorder was handy for capturing the most important ideas).

Good luck with figuring out your situation (I know there are always so many variables in each of our lives), but I'm betting if you truly love writing, you'll feel more energized and in control of your life and its trajectory if you flip your priorities and make writing the very first thing you do everyday, not the thing that gets worked on when you are exhausted and can't write as well anyway.

Hope this helps in some small way.

How do i get motivated? Go into "hibernation." Stop messing with social media, get away from people who want to interrupt you as soon as you get something started. (locally) You can't write if someone keeps coming in and asking you questions, or if you're tweeting or looking at Facebook.

I am not a morning person, so I can't write in the morning. I try to write as soon as I'm home from work. I try not to let anything distract me.

Erin wrote: "I am not a morning person, so I can't write in the morning. I try to write as soon as I'm home from work. I try not to let anything distract me."

That sounds like a good approach too. Everyone has to find their own process. The key, in my humble opinion, is to find (or force) a way to put writing higher on the list of daily priorities (and to do it when you have more energy, not less).

Charles wrote: "I kinda wish I were a morning person. I do my best work after midnight."

Whereas I can write at any time, but I procrastinate a lot. I know that once I start writing, I'll not snap out of it until maybe 4 hours later. So it's difficult to do that and actually sleep.

6:45 out of bed
7:30 bicycle to work
8:00 arrive at work
8:30 get coffee and breakfast after shower (nice having those at work)
9:00 in seat and working
6:00 change into ciclying clothes, ride home
7:00 arrive at home, cool off, fix dinner
9:00 finished dinner

That leaves about 1:45 min to do something if I want 8 hours of sleep.

So my real answer to the OP is: Do your writing on your days off (assuming you're lucky enough to have any; when I was in retail, I worked over 80 hours a week during the holiday season).

Biking to work sure would help jump start the morning.

Charles wrote: "Biking to work sure would help jump start the morning."

It does. Great for developing writing ideas I'm unlikely to have time to write. ;D

Hopefully I'll be in an area that's more conducive to long, peaceful walks soon.

To answer the OP, I think of all the millions of copies I'm going to sell once the book is published. Then I get cracking. Totes just kidding.

Actually, I distract easily, so it's usually a challenge. But when I get into it, I'm there for a while. Music sets the stage, then I fiddle on my phone until my fingers salivate at what my mind has concocted in those moments. That's when I begin.

In my early days of writing, non-fiction, I worked to a meter. Most of my research was (and still is) done in the evening when I am at my least creative. I then put everything together at weekends & holidays. Now I am retired, woweee! time is my friend, but what seems to have dwindled is that meter, that pressure when you are working to get up and write. I find with so much time on my hands I am doing bits and bobs but not focusing on one piece of writing at a time.

Colin wrote: "In my early days of writing, non-fiction, I worked to a meter. Most of my research was (and still is) done in the evening when I am at my least creative. I then put everything together at weekends ..."

I'm experiencing the same thing. In retirement, I can pretty much write at any time of the day, and there's the trap: if I don't schedule a writing time, the day goes by and I don't get any writing done.

I don't have the discipline that my old work schedule imposed on me, so I have to discipline myself. Sometimes it doesn't happen.

When my hours were nuts I had a mini personal tape recorder. As soon as I got in the car, or got home, I would say the ideas into the recorder and they would be there when the hours waned. Then I was more motivated hearing the ideas in my own voice, recorded when the ideas were fresh and exciting.

The three Ds.

Discipline, Deadlines & Desperation - they all motivate me :)


But usually, when I'm tired I turn to my favourite music

I'm not a big fan of reality, and writing makes it all go away.

If you work in retail, you're probably standing all day. Maybe if you associate your motivation to write with sitting then you might find, "Ah, I can sit and write" and be able to get a few words out that way (even if you do fall asleep in your chair after a while).

I have the opposite motivation problem, I have a desk job and when I get off work I have to motivate myself to write because I've been sitting all day. My recent solution is a standing desk for after work/writing.

I would agree with the other authors that writing first thing in the morning has made a big difference for me. I wake up early and don't let twitter/goodreads/facebook get in my way. :)

Another thing I've done, is that I plot all my stories now. I used to be a pantser and it took a lot more energy to write. With the stories basically plotted out, I don't need to come up with something to write about. I already know what I'm going to write about so I can just let it flow.

Good luck! I hope you get back to writing soon!

Like it.hibernation is ideal..also, keep aloof from distractors and social media as you said.