Even with the best of intentions to keep writing over the holidays, chances are navigating the various minefields can prove overwhelming. Besides, we all deserve a break sometimes! Here’s how to get back in the swing of things after a hiatus.
For many of us, there’s A LOT happening during the holidays. Between holiday parties, shopping for gifts and dinners, traveling, hosting events, managing kids who are off school, cleaning, cooking, baking, and more…it’s a lot! It’s like suddenly adding a seasonal part time job to your plate, and it can catch you off guard if you’re not paying attention.
So, you may not have gotten the writing done you wanted to. It’s okay. Now that the New Year is here, and normalcy is starting to trickle back onto the agenda, you can make conscious choices about how you spend your time as you recover from the holidays. Set some attainable goals. Choose you (aka your writing) over any last holiday social engagements.
For some writers, the holidays don’t change the schedule much, or it may even present bonus writing time and opportunities. If that was you, take the time now to reflect—and rejoice!—on your progress.
In my opinion (others disagree, I know), it’s okay and even desirable for writers to take time off from writing and be able to return to their screenplays with fresh eyes after the holidays.
At the same time, be aware that stopping for any length of time typically longer than 24 to 48 hours will make picking up your writing more difficult. So, if you did take time off, make a plan for exactly which day you’ll begin writing again. Otherwise the principle of inertia (see #3, below) will work against you and you’ll find yourself staring into the impeccable eyes of resistance this January as you struggle to reboot your writing.
Newton’s first law of motion states that “a body at rest remains at rest, or, if in motion, remains in motion at a constant velocity unless acted on by a net external force.”
In terms of writing, this means if you’re not writing, you’re more likely to continue not writing.
If you are writing, you’re more likely to continue writing, unless you’re “acted on” by an external force. For many writers, the holidays are that external force, disrupting routines, habit and momentum. The best way around this is to keep writing through the holidays—and hopefully most of you managed, even if it was just a few precious minutes a day!
To work your way back up to a full writing schedule (whatever that may look like in your world, from eight minutes to eight hours a day), try:
The holidays can be emotionally challenging for many. Although this time of year is “supposed” to be joyful and cheery, the fact is many people struggle with depression, loss and grief. The holidays can also put us into contact with emotional hot buttons and familial triggers we don’t have to deal with the rest of the year. If you had troubles navigating these difficulties over the holidays, reach out to trusted friends and family, or a good therapist or coach. And know: You aren’t alone in this.
On what might feel like the other end of the spectrum, even positive social interactions may be wearing and overstimulating for the introverted and highly sensitive among us (many writers have these traits). Even the fun has an impact on us and our writing bandwidth.
If you took time off from your writing over the holidays, but didn’t have a chance to really look inward, build in some recovery time now.
On the other hand, your writing can serve as your through line—the thread that carried you through the holidays and keeps you connected to who you truly are. Remember the value of continuing to write to help you stay grounded and centered in the midst of the emotional intensity, no matter what time of year it is.
Sometimes we have family members who don’t support our writing. Annoying as that might be, that’s their business. Your business is doing the work you were put here to do, no matter what. I was delighted to hear from some of my Called to Write community members that they will readily tell friends and family that they have “meetings” or “appointments” in order to create protected and defined time for writing, that their loved ones are more readily willing to support, even while traveling over the holidays. It’s perhaps a half-truth, because it implies that you’re “working,” but writing IS your work, after all, and keeping a meeting or appointment with yourself to fulfill your calling seems entirely in keeping with the spirit of being true to yourself.
***
Your Weekend Writer’s Assignment
Spend a little time this weekend thinking through what your holidays looked like, how personally or emotionally impacted you were, and how you’d like to handle your writing as you navigate the beginning of a brand-new decade.