How to Write When the World Feels Heavy

The world feels heavy today…

This blog or whatever you want to call it should be about freelance writing. Practical freelance writing tips for newbies. Another space where I can give back to the community outside of Facebook groups and Linkedin.

It should be SEO optimized. 

Yes, if I was smart, I would be doing SEO posts on the how to-s of freelance writing. Because that’s what serves my community. That’s what writers need. That’s what you, my reader, need. Or at least that’s what Google says you need. 

I am creating a course for freelancers. So I should be creating blogs that show up on Google. I should be building my list. And Substack is a great way to blog and build lists…and maybe to SEO optimize and pop up on the first page of the Google real estate? 

These are the should-s. 

But should I do what the should-s say? Follow the program. I was never good at following the rules. 

“Shower before entering the pool.” That’s just one rule I break. But I guess nobody showers before entering the pool. That doesn’t make me a rule breaker. 

But I break way too many other rules. And I am terrible at following the prescribed program outlined by society. I’m 38, I don’t have a house and I don’t want to, I can’t drive, I am child-free by choice, and I am running a freelance writing business instead of climbing the latter at a company.

But I digress.

Fuck the should-s of the world. 

My heart wants to write more personal-style essays, posts, whatever. More real and personal blogs. Listicles about the how-s of freelance writing don’t light up my soul. I want to show reality. My reality at least. No, not the kind of reality where I brag about my bank account or show curated pictures by the beach. 

I live by Lake Michigan. The beach is currently frozen anyways. I haven’t traveled since the pandemic hit. That’s terrible for a nomad (or I guess, a former-nomad, a wanna-be-nomad-again, at this point?). But that’s a story for another time.

The world feels heavy today. To be honest, the world always felt heavy for me. {Insert a novel about childhood traumas, abuse, fear, and so on.} The world has been feeling particularly heavy for the past two years. The pandemic. I am sick of it too. Global warming. The lack of security in this society. Not having some basic human rights (healthcare? anyone?). My personal traumas. Fun stuff… And then, Ukraine…

The world feels particularly heavy today. 

Googling the possibility of WWIII and a Nuclear War. Trying not to watch the news. But I can’t stop. Tearing up at every video. I’m doomsday.

Fast forward a few months. Another school shooting. Women’s rights are on the line. What else is coming?

The 2020s taught me not to trust anything anymore…

Tomorrow I will take action. I will go to a protest. I will write to my representatives. I will do what I can with the little power I have. But today, the world feels heavy. Yet, I still have work to do.

But then how do I handle life if everything feels heavy? How do I write? How do I take care of my client work when the world feels so heavy?

Yes, this is how all this existential bullshit ties to this blog about freelance writing. 

Freelance Writing When Life Is Hard: My Honest Tips

How can you take care of your freelancing writing business when the world feels heavy…when you feel heavy…when everything just feels so hard.

I don’t have an answer. Or rather, my honest answer is: I just do.

Deadlines with a Hint of Anxiety

Deadlines help. I am innately terrified of deadlines, so I am always done ahead of time. It’s always been like this. While other students crammed and pulled all-nighters the day before big papers were due, I was done several days before and felt bored while everyone was working hard. How responsible of me. Nah, it’s anxiety.

So yes, deadlines and anxiety help.

Loving my work does too.

Loving the Writing Process

I genuinely love writing. Yes, this absolutely includes client work. I love researching my topics and writing. I wouldn’t call it a creative flow (though maybe it is?), but writing client work does put me in some sort of a flow. It is in a way relaxing. I feel at home at my work. No matter how heavy I feel, once I actually start, it usually comes naturally.

Keeping Part-Time Hours

Keeping part-time hours works too. I made a conscious decision early in my business to keep part-time hours. It’s true. I never hustled. Fuck the idea of hustling and over-working with the hope of eventually slowing down. I never did. I could make more money if I took on more clients, if I worked full-time, or if I pulled 60-hour weeks. I don’t want to. Keeping part-time hours helps me navigate my mental health and physical health issues. It helps me get through times like this. It helps me enjoy mid-day runs, long walks, or have time for my creative work…or let’s be real, for reading, binging shows, or contemplating life…

Joining Co-Working or Writing Groups

I never used to write with writing groups. This is new. Last month I joined an online writing co-working group. It helps. Though my idea is to use this time to work on my course, this newsletter, and my creative writing, I can see that co-working groups would be amazing for forcing me to work on client work. If I feel behind, I know that it would be here to pick me up and force me to get my shit together.

Working with What Is

The world feels heavy today. It felt heavy yesterday. It will feel heavy tomorrow. It will likely feel heavy for a long time. Instead of trying to change what I can’t, I need to learn how to work with it. I won’t be single-handedly stopping a war or global warming or other major world issues. And I likely won’t be able to stop feeling so heavy about it. Fuck that Instagram story I listened to yesterday about focusing on your little bubble and not bringing your community down with negativity (meaning: by talking or posting about the war or threats to LGBTQ+ rights or other upsetting things in the world). Fuck that. I will likely be upset and feel heavy. So I need to accept that, be gentle with myself, and work with the heaviness.

I don’t have the answers. I don’t have any answers. This is simply how I feel. If you can relate, if you are feeling heavy, if you are struggling with life right now, you are not alone. But remember, you can work with the heaviness… 

And if not, if today is too heavy, just be gentle with yourself and give yourself a hug. Pour yourself a cup of tea. Congratulate yourself for what you’ve been able to accomplish — even if that’s no more than making that one cup of tea. Try again tomorrow. Remember, we are all just doing our best trying to navigate this…

Are you interested in creating a sustainable freelance writing business without the hustle? Check out my freelance writing course with a step-by-step process of exactly what you need.

What do you do when the world feels heavy? How do you still take care of your work and responsibilities when it feels heavy?