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Labor Day For The Writer

shuttleby Catherine L. Tully

As a freelance writer, holidays are usually a bit atypical. For example, I will be working this Labor Day. I work a little bit on most holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. That said, I want you to know that I also totally blew off the last two days. I did nothing. Zoned. Spaced out. Watched television.

Sometimes the fact of the matter is–you need a break. Don’t get trapped into thinking you can’t take one just because you are working for yourself. You need to do it from time to time so you don’t burn out. Most of us work at a frantic pace, and it can be very hard to sustain.

If you are feeling a little fried, my advice to you is this: get caught up on those things you have to complete and then go have some fun. Catch a sunset. Take a drive. See a movie.

After all…the boss is usually pretty cool about stuff like that.

Labor Day

  Hope you have been having a relaxing weekend! Today I salute you, and all the other writers out there who work their tails off in search of publication and profit. If you have any interest, take a look at the history of this holiday and see how it came about.

Now, after my salute, here is my suggestion: from this day forward, resolve to work smarter, not harder. Sometimes it pays to quit heaping on the small paying jobs and maneuver for the bigger ones. What does this mean for you? Only you know. Are you working on small projects so much that you don’t have the time to send out queries and look for better paying work? If so, perhaps it’s time to scale back–just a bit.

It’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of working to get by. If you don’t take some time to invest in yourself and move forward, it won’t happen on its own. This career isn’t magic, it’s maneuvering. It’s all about maintaining your inspiration and letting the bad days go. You need to have dreams and you have to work toward them. So, on this day that we have set aside to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers, take a moment to reflect on what you are doing and where you are going. And make sure you are nurturing your dreams…