Happy Monday!
Took a week off from newslettering to enjoy vacation with the fam. We had a pretty great time and I actually feel like I got to rest and recover, which I’m super happy about.
Vacations are great, but we’re back at it this week.
There I was (again), lying in bed at 11 am on a Saturday morning.
I rolled over to look at my girlfriend next to me. Same situation. Our bellies craved food and coffee, but neither of us had the will to get out of bed. The Friday-Night-Out Express had run us right the hell over.
That day I didn’t do squat for my job or online business. I spent it being lazy with the woman, binging TV shows, and devouring Waffle House a la Uber Eats.
Fast forward to Sunday night. I wasn’t dreading the morning or wishing for a longer weekend. Oddly enough, I was chomping at the bit to start working again.
It’s rare that I get drunk enough to incapacitate myself the entire next day. But when I do, I’m always motivated as heck to get shit done. Sometimes, getting blitzed is exactly what you need to stay motivated.
Here’s how it works:
Burnout is the Killer of Dreams
“I can’t believe we drove around all day, and there’s not a single job in this town. There is nothing, nada, zip!” Yeah! Unless you wanna work forty hours a week.”
— Harry Dunne and Lloyd Christmas, Dumb and Dumber
Since graduating college, 40 to 50-hour workweeks have been my norm. I started as an engineer, moved to project management, and am now a program manager (for an engineering firm).
I’ve got plenty to do during the week, which is why five years ago when I started writing, I figured it was just another short-term hobby that would fizzle over time.
But here we are.
For some reason, I need to write. I can’t help but come back to it. One time I forced myself to quit, but that only lasted a month before I accidentally responded to a Quora answer. I don’t know man, I just had to write something.
I’ve noticed throughout the years that the only thing that’s been successful in halting my writing is burnout, which happens more than I’d like to admit. It only disrupts my progress for a week or two, but it’s enough to be an annoyance.
If I were not obsessed with writing, burnout would 100% win. As a young kid, I quit baseball because I got sick of playing year-round. I loved the sport, but not enough to endure. This is sadly the case for many people who go too hard too fast at their endeavors.
Burnout will kill dreams if left unchecked.
I never want to quit writing the way I quit baseball, which is why, this year, I’ve started aggressively managing burnout. I don’t know why, but it took me a long time to realize that working through my weekends wasn’t accelerating my progress, it was hindering it.
Rest and Recovery are Important
Some people can go balls to the walls with no regard for their well-being or social life. Personally, I think it eventually bites them in the ass, but who knows, hopefully not.
I’ve tried my best to work through the weekend for years. But when I do, my brain never gets a chance to rest. All I do is think about ideas, articles, what to write next, new strategies, and *gulp* ways to make more money.
I get obsessed with working, and then I get overwhelmed.
And then I burnout.
I’ve had plenty of time to study my writing patterns over the last five years. Though I’ve churned out hundreds upon hundreds of articles, my writing‘s been far from consistent. This year, that changed. Part of my strategy included two key things to help manage burnout:
1. I lowered my expectations
I didn’t need to write a 1,500-word article to consider the day a success. I just needed to publish something. A tweet or Quora answer was just as effective, if not more effective, for improving my writing habit long-term than a lengthy article.
2. I stopped forcing myself to work on the weekends
Working for hours each day on the weekends led to an awful lot of resent. And for what? A few extra articles each month? To me, it wasn’t worth it, which is why I no longer schedule work on the weekends or during vacations. I do still enjoy keeping up with my daily writing habit, so I’ll publish a tweet or Quora answer and call it a day.
The result? A great success.
I enjoy life way more
I feel much less stressed
I actually get more writing done (amazing what avoiding burnout can do for consistency)
“Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder”
With my weekends off-limits, I’m free to enjoy life and do whatever the hell I want. Every now and then, that includes a whiskey on the rocks, some craft beer, or occasionally a few shots of tequila while playing Yahtzee with the neighbors.
It’s always a good time with great people, and it’s nice to enjoy life without the pressure of performing or showcasing your success.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m still ALWAYS thinking about writing. One way or another it finds its way into my brain. The key is that I don’t do anything about it.
When my girlfriend and I were doing the semi-long distance thing, we often used the quote “distance makes the heart grow fonder” as a way to ease the time spent apart. This same concept holds true for my writing.
By doing nothing, both my guilt for not writing and my desire to write build rapidly. It doesn’t take more than a day or two before I’m chomping at the bit to start working again.
This feeling just so happens to be exponentially greater after a night where I choose to be a piece of shit and drink myself silly. I take my rest days on the chin, but you can bet that I’m dying to get back into the arena on Monday.
No, You Don’t HAVE to Booze
I love boozing just as much as the next guy, but I also know that it’s not the best habit to partake in. That’s totally fine because as it turns out, getting really drunk with friends is just one way you can unwind and avoid burnout.
There are many others:
Host a cookout
Lay out by the pool
Go for a hike or peaceful walk in nature
Take a weekend trip to a place you’ve never been
Play board games or video games with your friends
Learning how to enjoy life for what it is (and not having to work for something) is one of the most important skills you can ever acquire, and it’s one that I’m focused on this year.
If you want to turbocharge your life and motivation, I suggest the same for you too. You’d be surprised how much more enthusiastic you are about your work when given the time to rest, recover, and rebuild desire.
Here’s the TL;DR
When you combine all my above ramblings together, here’s what you get:
Work on shit you love. If you can’t get it from your day job, side hustles are great.
Work hard during the week. You’d be surprised at how efficient you can be when given the constraint.
Get really drunk on the weekend. Or, just enjoy yourself however you see fit.
Experience the hangover. This could be an actual hangover or a metaphorical one. Let the guilt and desire grow, but don’t act on it.
Make Mondays your bitch. Repeat the process all over again.
My mom would be so proud of me.
Have a good (no, great) week.
Best,
Jason