Everyone needs some time to relax, rejuvenate and regroup. Even more so if you’re a writer, believe me. Writing can be a solitary and (very) frustrating career path to choose. Here are some tips and ideas on what to include in your current self-care routine for Writers. If you don’t have one yet, you can create your own routine with these ideas and adjustments of your choice.
Self-Care Routine for Writers #1: Daydreaming
This is my favorite self-care routine for writers so it’s the first. Some writers might include this in their work routine (no kidding), but I consider it a must for your self-care routine. It allows your mind to wander freely, and daydream about anything and everything. This usually leads to ideas, though, so there’s nothing wrong with grabbing your writer’s journal at the appropriate moment and jotting some of those golden nuggets down. If you are wondering why daydreaming is good for you, check out this interesting article.
Self-Care Routine for Writers #2: Sleep in
Sometimes your body needs it more than you know. Sleep is good for your overall health, especially if you tend to stay up late writing your manuscript (or daydreaming about it). Prioritize sleeping in (or perhaps taking a nap during the day) if you feel like you’re sleep deprived. If you’re fortunate, you can have a dream of hanging out with your original characters, too!
Self-Care Routine for Writers #3: Organize your notes
I know you have plenty of those, scattered everywhere. A good way to take care of yourself and your writer’s soul is to take a bit of time to organize all the quick scribbles on post-it notes, screenshots of quotes on your phone or put your manuscript in the right folders on your computer. See what needs your attention the most and tackle that first. No need to do it in one go if you are usually pretty disorganized (creative mess, I am sure you tell yourself, huh?) but do take some time to tackle one thing, at least.
Self-Care Routine for Writers #4: Physical activity
This is an absolute must because as a writer, I am sure you sit at your desk a lot (or in your bed, I don’t judge). To counter all the awful cons of sitting for a long period of time, we need to make sure we do some physical activity at least once in a while. It is perfect as a tool for regular self-care, especially if you like long walks in a nearby forest or by the beach. If something else is more up your alley, you do you.
Just make sure to move, alright? Even light stretching can improve your well-being tremendously if you do it consistently. If you’re unsure what you like yet for some physical activity, grab your writer friend by the hand and try out some different things together.
Self-Care Routine for Writers #5: A Hobby (or Ten)
Since writing is probably more than just a hobby to you (how bold of me to assume you want to get paid for your writing, right?), you might need something entirely different to unwind once in a while. It could be reading your next favorite book, or learning a new language. Perhaps you prefer learning a musical instrument instead? If you haven’t considered having a hobby other than writing (that’s probably more than that, anyway), do try out several different things to see what you enjoy and what helps you relax. Perhaps you’ll even find more than one thing that you like to dabble in, too.
All these ideas are just a quick guideline for you. Some of these might be what you already do, but haven’t considered self-care, or perhaps some of these were on your radar by now, however, you haven’t gotten to this yet. Well, either way, this is your cue. Pick something and do one (or more) thing for yourself and your well-being today.
Did you find this post interesting? Check out our guide to building a writing routine.
