You know those days I'm talking about, the ones where the last thing you want to do is work!
Perhaps you'd rather spend all day sleeping, or there's that video game that has been calling out to you for months. For some (like me), instead of working to pay the bills, I'd much rather work on my true passion: writing my novels.
I get pretty frustrated because I spend so much of my day sitting at a computer. I have to get all of my regular work out of the way in order to be free to do the "unpaid" work of writing my novels. So when it's first thing in the morning and I'm sitting down to write another boring article on the same topic I've covered a hundred times, it's tough to get started.
Thankfully, those days don't come around all that often. I had one of them a few days ago, but already I'm feeling much better. But when that day rolled around, boy was it hard to find the motivation!
One of the problems is that I feel I don't have a choice when it comes to my day job. The financial burden for our family rests pretty squarely on my shoulders, so it's tough to take a day off to work on my "extracurricular projects". I have a wonderfully supportive girlfriend who is always telling me to take a day off if I need it, but it's just not that simple. I have responsibilities, articles that need to be written every day or every week. Taking time off is a Herculean effort of rearranging the workload and spreading it out over other days just so I can have a few extra hours of sleep and some relaxation.
I'm sure I'm not alone in this problem. Most freelancers face the same burden of having to work every day, and "vacation" is a word that carries the same mythical connotation as "unicorn" or "delicious fish oil supplement". Everyone who works has those days when they hate what they do, and they'd so much rather be doing the thing that makes them passionate.
What works to help me get over these days? Unfortunately, the only solution I've found that actually works is "just suck it up". As a father to four, I can't afford the luxury of saying "I don't want to work". In a way, that's a wonderful thing, because it eliminates any chance that I'd give in to that lazy, unmotivated attitude.
What works to help you get through those days? Leave a comment below and share your secrets…
One of the problems is that I feel I don't have a choice when it comes to my day job. The financial burden for our family rests pretty squarely on my shoulders, so it's tough to take a day off to work on my "extracurricular projects". I have a wonderfully supportive girlfriend who is always telling me to take a day off if I need it, but it's just not that simple. I have responsibilities, articles that need to be written every day or every week. Taking time off is a Herculean effort of rearranging the workload and spreading it out over other days just so I can have a few extra hours of sleep and some relaxation.
I'm sure I'm not alone in this problem. Most freelancers face the same burden of having to work every day, and "vacation" is a word that carries the same mythical connotation as "unicorn" or "delicious fish oil supplement". Everyone who works has those days when they hate what they do, and they'd so much rather be doing the thing that makes them passionate.
What works to help me get over these days? Unfortunately, the only solution I've found that actually works is "just suck it up". As a father to four, I can't afford the luxury of saying "I don't want to work". In a way, that's a wonderful thing, because it eliminates any chance that I'd give in to that lazy, unmotivated attitude.
What works to help you get through those days? Leave a comment below and share your secrets…