Greetings fellow writers,
I'm writing this post today because I don't know who else to ask. I have this problem that I hope somebody can explain or solve for me. Whenever I head out of the house to work on my book, I am stricken with this incredible and instantaneous exhaustion.
When I work on my days off from work, I wake up excited to get to work, get dressed, eat a very quick breakfast, and drive 15 minutes into town to a coffee shop. I grab a coffee and down it quickly, but the SECOND I sit down to work, I start yawning and getting sleepy. I'm lucky if I get 2 hours of work before I need to drive home and nap. It sounds really silly, but this is a legitimate problem I can't get rid of.
It's not excuse making, it's not really laziness, it's just a psychological problem that I have no idea how to fix. I've read certain things like 'holding your breath' for a few minutes to get the blood flowing to your head. I also get up from my seat and stretch. I'll occasionally take a walk for a last ditched effort.
I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem, and if so, how did you fix it?
There are a few things I can think of that might be contributing, but I've never had this problem before.
1) I work a very strange part time work schedule. 5 am - 9:30 am. When I'm done work, I come home to nap for 2-4 hours and when I get up I'm ready to write immediately. Unfortunately, the second I get into town I'm ready to go back to bed. X__x
2) I have a semi-crappy diet. I eat lots of veggies at night, but I rarely eat fruits. I also only really get exercise at my dodgeball nights once a week and while I work my ass off shelving books at work.
3) I'm just a psycho and I've somehow trained my brain to shut off when I want to work. I'm 27, single for over 5 years, I live at home with my parents and I'm dirt poor. I've suffered with depression in the past. Am I going through some sort of depression again? I don't feel unhappy. :S
Am I crazy? Are there other ways to wake myself up? Is it my poor diet? Is my sleeping schedule out of whack?
Somebody help me!
[–]iamfaceless 10 points 8 hours ago
Do you get 8 hours of sleep a day? Go to sleep at 8:30 PM nightly and wake up at 4:30 AM and go to work.
Uh. Fix your diet. Plan out what kind of diet you want to have and what cognitive or physical functions you want to accentuate via nutrition. Learn about diet. Learn about whether or not fruits are good for your goals and why. Learn about what kinds of vegetables promote good cognitive function and which are relatively nutritionally useless.
That's possible but I guarantee 99% of your problem is from your fucked up sleep pattern/schedule.
Get 8 hours. Don't make excuses. Don't say I can't hang out blah blah after 8:30 PM, it doesn't matter. If you work at 5 am, nut up like everyone else who works at 5 AM and get to sleep at 9 PM.
[–]iduscesSelf-Published Author 3 points 7 hours ago
Came here to say this, have an upvote!
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[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 3 hours ago*
I think you nailed it. I can't remember the last time I slept a solid 8 hours. I've been going 6 on 6 or 4 on 4 for the longest time. I'm definitely going to cancel my plans this upcoming week to get back on track.
I suppose cutting the junk food isn't a bad idea either. Thank you.
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[–]britward 2 points 2 hours ago
Getting rid of the junk food will go a long ways to helping. When I'm writing, I consume only two things; water and carrots. And it helps. I'm always energetic with my writing. Worth a try.
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[–]danieljamespike[S] 2 points 2 hours ago
Water and carrots are two things I do love... But I'm nowhere without a cup of coffee. Maybe I'll have the coffee without sugar next time!
Thanks.
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[–]britward 2 points 2 hours ago
Fair enough. That makes me think of that scene from Adaptation, where Nicolas Cage is debating with himself over starting his script. "I need some coffee. No, I should write then reward myself with some coffee." Classic, and something I think most writers do.
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[–]blue58Author 4 points 4 hours ago
Two theories, and they are related.
One, and foremost: try to eliminate sugar from your diet for a week straight. For real. It sounds impossible, but check out /r/keto for how it's done--it could honestly change your life. If you are too poor or really against the concept, buy some magnesium supplements. They're cheap! And take 250mgs twice a day. You will lift your moods/energy.
Two: The fatigue is a form of self-sabotage. It's a symptom of fear. You are pouring an incredible amount of hope, expectation, and desire into the result from your writing. IF you eff this up, you'll hate yourself, right? So your mind is 'protecting' you by offering a legit reason you can't fail. How can you fail if you can't even try? Failure is awful, right? So let's make daniel incapable of creating that failure by making him too sleepy to even make an effort. Now, this could be depression. And don't gloss that over, for it should be acknowledged and understood. But it's also what regular, hyper-sensitive type people do to themselves both on and off depression.
How to break out of it? Well, if it actually is depression, you need to pursue meds. If it is simple self-sabotage, you need to outwit your mind. Exercise will serotonin the sabotage right out of you. So do supplements like Vit B and magnesium. And Vit D if you don't get sun. But just get some sun, dude, it's good for you.
Another method: Power through. Your mind is trying to stop you by any means. If you bully it and make it so you write anyway, it will find its methods aren't working and try some other way. So you can fight the good fight and win.
Overall, if indeed you are so afraid of success or failure that self-sabotage is your MO, then you need to pull that weed out. Figure out what could be worse than not knowing the result of your manuscript. That's what powered me through. I kept imagining myself on my deathbed looking back. Published or not, I couldn't forgive my past self for not allowing me the memory of finishing my vision. It trumped all the other crap and my own personal sleepy-subterfuge went away.
Good luck to you.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 3 hours ago*
I'm definitely going to attempt to cut the sugar. You're also right about me being hard and hating on myself. I nearly won a prestigious screenwriting competition last year, and after getting interest followed by rejections of every major studio, it was a little hard to handle.
Ah well.
gets back up on the horse
I'll look into the magnesium too. Thank you!
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[–]StochasticLife 3 points 7 hours ago
Exercise every day. Yoga is fantastic for this; 20 minutes of yoga every morning will dramatically improve your life. Just give it 2-3 weeks.
Meditation helps a lot as well. It's difficult to obtain meaningful rest and to relax the mind. The mind is a muscle, and if you keep it tight all the time, it will cramp.
Eat better, sure, but that's easy advice to give and can be difficult to actually do.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 3 hours ago
Does getting up off the couch to find the TV remote count? D:
I have some friends who've been trying to get me to join in cardio. Might not be a bad idea to contact them.
Thank you.
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[–]LuniOPS 3 points 5 hours ago
High Fructose corn syrup does this to me. since its in everything its hard not to keep out of ones diet. I bet if you activately avoid it and make sure to eat your complex B vitamins (responsible for over 3000 uses in your body, including nourishing brain cells) and Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil), you will see and feel a cognitive boost in as little as a few days. It definitively works for me.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 2 hours ago
I drink way too much pop. Lol that shit is eeeeeevil. After trying to give it up 3 times this year, maybe a fourth time might get me there. Hmmm.
I also have stupendously dry fingers. Maybe that's a sign I need more vitamin B like you said.
Thanks!
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[–]irishspice 3 points 4 hours ago
Well, I do this and I know it's my depression kicking in. Writing is hard work even when you're having fun. it's also stressful and can cause worry. Poor eating and a lousy sleep schedule don't help. I write at home and take a nap when I hit the wall and then get going again. I take breaks over on tumblr or reddit and find that also helps.
Experiment around with diet. I've switched to veggies, frutis and cottage cheese for protein and I feel much more alert. Good luck with this. I feel your pain.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 2 hours ago
I feel you. Thanks for commenting and sharing that. It's much appreciated.
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[–]LadyLarkAuthor 2 points 7 hours ago
Yoga is good. Also remember, your brain runs on healthy fats (think avocado, fish oil, etc.) so if you're not eating enough, it's gonna be hard to focus and think.
Also, you're training your body to need a nap around 10am. Try getting enough sleep all night and then exercising rather than napping when you get home from work.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 2 hours ago
I'm not very Yoga-friendly. Lol I tried it once. I wore a new sweatsuit and looked like a snake that just ate a horse.
A few Charlie horses and embarrassing farts later, I decided to drop the lessons.
Maybe I'll start up on my own again.
Thanks!
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[–]elkmache 2 points 7 hours ago
The others have brought up great points about what you can do to help strengthen your body and mind.
That said, I wonder what you could do situationally to help; could you change your hours at work? Or is your job the only of its kind? You say it's part time, and part time work is not necessarily hard to come by depending on your location, comfort zone, experience/skill set, preferences, etc. I'm the kind of person who can get four hours of sleep and as long as I'm waking up past 9 AM, I'll somehow manage. There have been times in my life, however, where I've had to wake up at ungodly hours (4-6 AM). No matter how much sleep I got the night before, I was tired all day. I think it might have something to do with it not being light out when I was waking up. I'm very light sensitive. Even an overcast sky is better than it being dark out.
My head doesn't work right when I'm on the kind of cycle you're on. It just doesn't. 9-10 AM is my sweet spot in terms of waking up. Still morning, but light out. AND you say that you go home and sleep for around 2-4 hours after work; the time you're napping during is the time of day with the most concentrated amount of sunlight.
I'm no expert on these things, but when I miss out on as much daylight as you, I become depressed and lethargic. My emotions are solar powered for sure. If you can't switch your work hours, maybe try one of those lamps that mimics sunlight. I think you're supposed to sit in front of them right when you wake up, which might be helpful anyway if you have more seasonally affective depression (you didn't specify, but if you do, a light box might not hurt).
[–]LadyLarkAuthor 2 points 5 hours ago
Oh, good point about the sun. If you have to miss prime daylight hours, you might try adding some Vitamin D supplements
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[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 2 hours ago
Changing my hours at work/finding a new part time job isn't a bad idea. It's starting to take a physical toll on my back with all the heavy lifting of books I do. Been to the clinic 2 times about it already. Blah.
Also, I'm sure working at a big name bookstore does nothing for my self esteem either.
"Look at all these books I didn't write!"
Anyhow, thank you for this. I sincerely appreciate you saying this. As much as I loathe sunlight I'm going to work in my parent's garden tomorrow because you said this!
Thanks!
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[–]jpthesane 2 points 6 hours ago
Personally I have had this problem too. Whenever I do write, I'll write twelve pages and the next time I sit down to write I pretty much discard and start over fresh. I think depression might be it, even though I took yoga for almost a year, twice a week. I lost my mom to a brain aneurysm two years ago and haven't really gotten over it. Now everything I write seems like shit and the fatigue, and I can't possibly even feign emotions, less so for the characters in the story.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 2 points 2 hours ago
I'm sorry to hear that.
:(
And I think I have problems. Sometimes I'm not grateful enough for the little things I have, like having a mom to take my temperature when I'm sick. I'm sincerely sorry and wish you all the best with your craft. Thank you for humbling me and sharing that.
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[–]jpthesane 1 point 1 hour ago
I'm in the same spot, though. It doesn't matter if it's a loss or if it's just life getting to you. I've been through a lot of shitty jobs, unusual schedules, shit in the family, and I'm not surprised that my escape into writing is no longer that. I've been thinking about buying a book to immerse myself in but I don't even know what I would read. It's a cycle of shit. I'm here to get the same ideas on how to approach dealing with this spell of non-confidence in my writing. If this wasn't already here when I went through Reddit today, I would've written this too. Thanks for writing this; there are people out there who appreciate knowing they're not the only ones dealing with this problem.
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[–]coatrack68 2 points 5 hours ago
Sounds like you are burned out on writing. Try planning out what you are going to get done before you get there. Maybe write the first sentence or paragraph the day before or maybe free write your first ten minutes there.
I have depression too so this sounds similar, and it sounds like its messing with your motivation.
Diet and exercise will help, but you need a writing plan too.
Good luck.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 2 points 2 hours ago
I did just take a big break and it was really helpful for a couple weeks. But it seems I have so much on the go lately, I burn out like a candle in the wind.
Elton John pokes his head around the corner and approvingly nods
I never thought of implementing a writing plan though. I've heard the waiting and anticipation of a project helps a great deal.
Thank you!
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[–]LadySmuag 2 points 5 hours ago
Sleeping too much and loss of interest in your usual activities (even if you want to write, you're struggling to focus on it) are symptoms of depression, but you would need to talk to a doctor to find out if that's really the problem.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 2 hours ago
I have! My past depression was a result of befriending some really shitty toxic people. Fortunately now that they're out of my life things are considerably better!
I'll see what my doc thinks. I have no history of manic depression but a mild case of seasonal depression. Perhaps a change of scenery is all I really need.
Thanks for your comments!
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[–]I8NY 2 points 5 hours ago
Sometimes I get this if I've been thinking a lot about the story I'm trying to write. It's like my brain has been doing heavy lifting and I'm worn out as a result. It's like an app on my phone keeps running in the background or something. My mind is churning that story even when I'm not consciously aware of it. If I'm trying to work out some complicated plotting, well, I might as well do it in bed because that's where I'm going to end up.
What's your writing process? I found after doing a couple of NaNoWriMo's that if I just sit down and write with no more than the main character and the ultimate destination in mind I can keep going and it's fun. Make me outline and oh boy, do I burn out. Of course by being a pantser that means I have to do a lot of rewriting and editing, but that's the way it is for me.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 1 point 2 hours ago
If I outline too much I get lost in a labyrinth of structure and bullshitty plot points. I'm a relatively new/aspiring author so I'm still trying to figure out my craft.
Usually if I loosely plot out what I want to happen, write short character bios and know my ending, I can easily hammer out some decent pages.
I'm considering trying NaNoWriMo for the first time this year. It always sounded like a kind of lame exclusive club to join for writers, but my assumptions are always stupid. I'm going to look into it!
Thanks!
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[–]lwatson74 2 points 3 hours ago
Just a suggestion, but try seeing a doctor. Have your vitamin B levels and your D levels tested. Deficiencies like this are common. If you want, you can get a b-supplement and a vitamin D supplement (I think 4000iu per day would be safe.)
Hope you figure it out.
[–]danieljamespike[S] 2 points 2 hours ago
Thank you! Seems like Vitamin B is really a common answer. I'm going to pick some up tomorrow! Cheers.
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[–]ratwithrelish 1 point 1 hour ago
I agree with a lot of the other comments about health and diet. Personally for integrating change I've found it's a lot easier to focus on one big routine change at a time to get it to take and not become discouraged. If you want to sleep better, focus on just that for like a month or two and then when it has become habit move on to diet and exercise.
Armchair health diagnoses aside, it also sounds like you're bored. Maybe you could try changing your routine? Changing your writing environment might help. Could you grab your joe and go to a library or park? Maybe take a break from writing for a few days and try doing some other creative or invigorating activity? It sounds like you might need some time to recharge and refresh your perspective on your work.
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