Relaxing while work still needs to get done

What do you do when you feel run down and need some rest, but you still have work to do and deadlines to meet?

I closed my eyes, listened to this song a couple of times:



Then I put a DVD of “Children of Men” , starring Clive Owen, to play in the background while I wrote.

Sometimes I need silence to write and the movie would have distracted me. But not today.

Instead of eating lunch at home, I brown-bagged it and went for a walk in the park.


And I chatted to a couple of friends on the phone

And I toured the blogs I usually read, and a couple new sites.

With all that activity, I’m sure you’re wondering if I did manage to get anything done. And the answer is yes, I did.

I set up two interviews (And this time I’m doing them by phone. I’m not driving to Pretoria for love or money!), posted a series of articles on the OneLove web site, wrote a press release, transcribed a video presentation that’s going to form part of my feature article on the public sector and started drafting the article.

So what’s my point?

I guess I wanted to say that even though many of us dreamt of being writers, writing is still a job, and you have to work even on days when you’d rather not.

BeckyJoie over at Rather Be Writing is talking about essay writing, and she’s asking how you write them (the process) and what your cause and motives are for writing them.

And my reply was that I write essays when I’m inspired. But those are personal essays, when I feel strongly about an issue.

But for the bulk of my writing, which involves articles, blog posts, press releases, case studies etc, I write whether I’m inspired or not. I do enjoy the work, but I still write because it is my job.