Hey everyone! Sorry that this post is a little late! I got sick last week and then this week has been super busy. But that means that you get two posts this weekend! Exciting! Today I’m posting this post since it's late and tomorrow I’m posting the post that was meant for today just a day late. Then we’ll be back on schedule. So, without further ado…
Care for Writers: Welfare Part 2
Last post I discussed how the welfare of a writer when doing self-care is related to their happiness in general. Last post I discussed the first half of that care which was related to hobbies that you enjoy that are or aren’t related to writing in some form. This post I want to discuss just a little bit about non-hobby activities that can help you to take a step back form writing and care for yourself.
I know that for a lot of writers, including myself, stepping back from writing entirely is either impossible or feels like abandoning something. Some people need longer breaks from writing than others. At one point I took a whole two-year break from writing anything new and it actually made me feel better about my writing when I finally did come back to it and I was finally able to feel like my old writing self.
For many writers they aren’t sure what they can do if they step back from writing because all of their hobbies are related to writing or books in some way, and it makes them feel sad to step away from all that. I want to talk in this post about some ideas for activities that you can participate in that could help you care for yourself.
Local Community Activities
No matter where you live there will always be local community activities. Some of them might be more appealing to you than others but there will always be a couple of them around. Try to find one that you feel like you could participate in and enjoy outside of writing even if it’s for a limited amount of time.
If you are more interested in theater, find a local theater group you could assist with, a local city council you could volunteer with, a language learning center, a housing group etc. There are plenty of places to volunteer at in your community that you could enjoy doing.
If you are more of an introvert and not much for talking to people, try finding the parts of the volunteer work you could do from home. I knew a lady who worked with your local theater group whose whole job was to format and send out the emails before every production. She enjoyed that volunteer job and only had to take a couple hours twice a week.
Daily Outings
I had a friend in college who was really burnt out to the point that even her hobbies were not interesting to her anymore. One thing that her therapist told her was to go out every day and do something. It didn’t matter what it was as long as she talked to one person a day that she wasn’t already friends with or lived with.
I started doing these with her sometimes and sometimes on my own after I noticed that it also helped my own mental health and care for myself improve. So, take daily outings. Go out everyday and do something. This could be something as simple as taking a walk around your neighborhood and greeting whoever you see, going somewhere in your town you’ve never been, traveling to the next town for something, or even just going grocery shopping.
Sometimes when I would take my daily outing it was literally just to go to the library to sit and read for an hour or check out a new DVD to watch while I ate dinner. I would always try to talk to at least one person when I was out even if it was just to tell them I liked their shoes or their hair or something as simple as that. It really helped with my overall welfare.
Find new hobby activities
Sometimes you can simply find an activity that could become a new hobby. Try a new activity that you haven’t tried before. Go rock climbing, join a yoga class, go on a hike, try out a new sport, take up cooking or baking. There are hundreds of hobbies out there that you might not have tried to experience. You may like it, or you may not. You never know until you try.
There are all sorts of activities that I have saved as something I want to try when I feel like I need a break from my regular hobbies. They include things like, learning to paint, going to a stained-glass class, learning how to do claymore earrings, trying resin making, jewelry making, or tie-dye. There are plenty of activities I haven’t tried that I would love to do someday.
That’s all of the suggestions I have for today. I hope that this was helpful. There are plenty of things to do in the world that don’t exist in our own fictional ones or within the walls of our own homes. Sometimes part of taking care of yourself is doing something you haven’t done before and stepping away, just for a moment, from our everyday routines.
I hope that today’s post was useful. I’m sorry once again for it being a week late. Keep an eye out tomorrow for the next post in the series which could be on the third part of the definition of care. Hope to see you guys tomorrow! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, become a blog page member, share, and follow me on social media at the links below. And remember,
Get Up, Get Writing, and Get Published. See you next week!