Why Taking Time Off From writing is Stressful

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Why Taking Time Off From writing is Stressful

It’s a paradox of sorts, taking time off from writing is something I find incredibly stressful. For the past four years, I have written thousands of articles for various industries and businesses, along with ghosting columns and press releases. Every time I decide to take a break, it always feels as though something is amiss.

Take this Easter holiday. I decided to take a break from the keyboard and instead I’m snacking on reading ferociously, anything I can get my hands on. I feel like a heroine addict that is making do with methadone as they wean themselves off their addiction. You see the problem is, unless I’m writing or researching for an article or book, it feels that my day is unproductive.

I always get this way, and find holidays and vacations stressful, like playing truant the day before a big exam. My comfort zone being a string of ideas gathered together into my head and transmuted into the written word with the hope of some semblance of coherence. As I write this, my hand is tempted to hit the file on my desktop where I keep my research and half finished notes and articles…But NO, I promised, I would spend the next couple of days doing normal things such as the Mr. Ben marathon I have planned.

After speaking to friends, I find I am not alone, regardless of their jobs and careers, they too tend to spend holidays fretting about work, whether they enjoy their jobs or not. I suppose the trick is to live in the moment, not the past or the future and enjoy every second with forgetfulness of time…which I’m aware, sounds a contradiction in terms.