Let’s Swap All Our Assumptions About Writing Productivity
If you’re not taking yourself seriously… you must be having fun, right?
I decided to stop taking myself so seriously. But first, a story: In 2019, I quit my cubicle minion job that was messing with my mental and physical health to write full-time. I didn’t think I was off the 9–5 path forever, but the more I started to breathe post-escape, the more I realized that I never wanted to go back to a grind that didn’t care about me and didn’t work with my brain. Interruptions and task switching are horribly frustrating for me — they’re hard on everyone and statistically lessen productivity. But for the moment, I was writing “full-time”; the plan was to pour 40 hours a week into my writing projects.
I hit the ground running. I had platforms I was already writing on occasionally, and I started regularly producing content. Because you’re only a writer if you’ve written today — or so I unhealthily reminded myself.
I’m 100% okay with being responsible for my own productivity. And I don’t care if anyone reads what I’ve written.
I didn’t have the external pressures of a manager to please, but I had my own pride and stubbornness. And I cared much more about how…
