The Uninspired Freelancer

These past few days have been tough. I have a new project with a steady client, but I’ve been uninspired.

And to think that this client of mine just recently was gushing over the last sales letter I had made for him.

But for this next one, I find myself stuck. Uninspired. I just can’t seem to get myself to write a single word of copy for it.

Usually, I would distract myself and do something else for a while and return with a fresh outlook. But this time, because of a looming deadline, and because I’m going out of town this weekend, I am pressured to get this done–fast!

A Serious Situation

Being uninspired is a serious matter for freelancers.

It makes our work that much harder to do. We feel like we’re climbing uphill, fighting little battles just to meet our deadlines.

And unless we produce the work, we don’t get paid.

More importantly, producing work that’s obviously uninspired can have dire long-term consequences. We’re only as good as the last work we produced, so if it’s not always our absolute best, we risk losing a client–as well as every other client he or she would have referred to us.

Tsk, tsk, this is not good.

As I always do when facing a challenge, I asked I asked my Twitter friends for advice. Here’s the advice I got:

Disengage from the task at hand

This is the solution I almost always take. I go and do something totally unrelated to the work. I trust that my subconscious mind is working on the task while my conscious mind is busy with something else.

Usually, when I go back to the task, I find that I’ve gone over the hump somehow and the words and ideas flow.

Take a fresh approach to the work

I have to admit, I haven’t tried this before. But it makes sense.

If I’m uninspired because I’m bored or uninterested in the project, then this could be the ideal solution.

Unfortunately, my client has made specific parameters for the copy, so I can’t try this technique right now. I’m definitely keeping it in mind for the future, though.

Analyze and Strategize

Self-knowledge seems to be the idea behind @NicholasGroen’s advice. Sometimes, it helps to first identify the problem before we can move on.

With this approach, I would get all the negative feelings I have towards the work out of my system. Sometimes, all we need is to acknowledge our feelings. That may be enough to get “over” it and move forward.

Other times, you’ll have to identify ways to address the negative feelings.

Just do the work!

I recently finished reading “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield. My number one take-away from that book is that artists simply need to do the work.

Creative individuals usually appeal to “muses” or, as in my case, “inspiration” to create our works of art.

But in fact, the very act of sitting down every day to do the work is what attracts inspiration in the first place.

So we can’t sit around doing nothing in the guise of waiting for inspiration to hit. Instead, we have to get over ourselves, get over Resistance, take flight even if our wings feel as heavy as lead… and trust that inspiration will blow in to sustain us.

Got Advice?

Have you ever felt uninspired to do your work? How did you get over it?
Share your advice and help another freelancer out.

PS: By the way, in case you’ve been wondering about “The War of Art,” I do recommend it for those who think of themselves as artists. As a Catholic, I don’t agree with everything Pressfield says. However, I do find his personal stories inspiring, and his suggestions practical. I have always believed that if you’re a writer, you write. Every day. Rain or shine. For money or not. You write. Same thing goes for everybody else, no matter what kind of artist you are.

photo credit: TheeErin

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