Many times, work is what we do simply to get paid. We push ourselves to keep going with the consolation of an incoming paycheck. It's no secret that money is a great motivator for the majority of people. And even if you think that you are not motivated by money, you are likely motivated by a few things money can buy.
This means that you may be doing work so that you can put a smile on someone else's face or make something possible for yourself.
What we refer to as Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 have, over time, redefined what work means to us as a generation. We no longer have to be physically present at a location before we can do work. The ones who have benefited the most from this shift are creatives. Right from the time we discovered that we could earn from our works of art, many hobbies have slowly turned into work.
But how do hobbies become work? A popular saying goes thus – "If you love what you do, then you'll never have to work a day in your life." This implies that "work" is what we do but don't enjoy. Going by this, when we start to engage in hobbies beyond just enjoying them, they become work – something we have to push to get done.
Writing is one of such hobbies that could easily switch from a hobby to work. The multitudes of platforms that pay content creators have made it so that people try to push out content consistently whether they feel like it or not.
This drives a lot of people, especially writers, to compromise on the quality of their work in a bid to get rewarded by the community. While they may get away with this for a while, people eventually come around to noticing and this reduces the quality of work on the platform as well as the perception of the creators. Two scenes we do not want in our grand story.
So what happens when writing shifts from a hobby and starts to feel like work? How do you keep going when you don't feel like writing but you have to publish something? How do you stay conscious of, and maintain, the quality of your writing even at times like this?
The answers to these questions somehow revolve around what you already know — you have to keep going. The difference, this time, is that you should find a way to keep going without doing it grudgingly.
Your creative work is best done when the juices are flowing freely but sometimes, like walking, you need to start by taking the first step – writing the first few words.
Your initial draft will most likely be way below standard but think about it like you trying to clean out a really rusty piece – it wouldn't come out shining in your first attempt.
It's okay to take a break. You don't want to keep going just because you think you should keep pushing. Sometimes, your mind only needs a bit of push for it to get the idea mill rolling.
Stepping away from your table to do something completely different gives your mind the freedom to refine the thoughts you already started to pen down.
Sometimes, you will need to discard something you already spent hours working on. Remember that the initial piece is not the goal. The goal is to publish something great eventually. You will want to trust your mind and guts for this one.
Maybe start by writing about you not being able to write, then exploring some reasons why that is the case, touch on other activities you could be doing instead of writing, and then imagine a world where everyone suddenly lost their ability to write and pen down your imagination.
By now, I hope you've been able to realize that even when you do something for work (as a duty rather than a hobby), it doesn't have to always be hard and uninspiring. There's always a way to make it work for you!
Always remember to enjoy what you do!
