Why Taking a Break From Writing Can Be Good For You

One of the most popular pieces of writing advice to receive is that you should write every day if you want to be a writer. 

While this is decent advice to give a new writer, it's not the end-all-be-all-advice that you have to listen to. 

Telling a writer that they have to write every day is the same as telling someone training for a marathon that they have to run every day. Sure it sounds like good advice, but it will do the naive writer (and runner) more harm than good if they aren't aware of the repercussions of pounding keys and pavement every day. 

As a writer who writes every day and a writer who is training to be a marathon runner, you should learn from my mistakes. 

The Body and Mind Need To Heal 

When I first started running I ran every single day because that is the advice that I saw most often online when it came to learning to go from couch potatoes to marathon runner - you have to break yourself before you can put yourself back together. 

Well, I broke myself. I was tired, I was in pain, and I needed a doctor. I wasn't giving my body any time to rest, recharge, and heal from the long sessions I was putting it through. I thought I needed to just get through and push past the pain and I would come out the other side feeling better than before, running faster than before, but instead, it got to the point where I could not run for months. 

I could barely walk. 

The same thing happened with writing. 

I tried and still try to be one of those writers that write every day, but if you were to see me when I am writing it's about as silly a sight as seeing me try to run when I physically could not put one foot in front of the other anymore. 

At my desk, there is the world's most cushioned wrist rest for both my keyboard and my mouse as well as a stack of compression gloves and wrist wraps because I failed to listen to my body telling me it needed a rest, now as much as I would love to continue to power through writing, creating a backlog of articles and pushing through my edits to move forward with publication - I only have so long before I'm in too much pain to continue typing. 

Humans are not meant to be 24/7 constantly moving and thinking machines. Sure some of us have brains that never seem to want to quiet but we find ways to lull the noise into the background through music, movies, and other leisure activities that help lessen the thoughts. 

As much as the body, the mind needs time to rest, relax, and heal, so it can continue being creative for as long as possible. 

You do not have to write every day to be a writer, you do not have to push through and make yourself write on days when your mind or your body is telling you that it needs a break. 

If you push it too far there might be a point where it's going to be impossible to come back. 

Take a break, spend time with family, and friends, feel the sunshine on your face, and recharge your body, mind, and soul. 

Learn from my mistakes, before it's too late. 

Best of luck. 

With love, 

B.K. xo xo

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This story was originally posted on Medium.

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