What You Need to Know About Self-Care to Enjoy Creative Success

Self-care is a popular buzzword these days, but are you doing it right?

Everybody’s talking about self-care as a way to improve health and well-being. Writers need to be especially conscious about it because the writing life can lead to health issues like back pain, weight gain, burnout, and depression.

Unfortunately I’m seeing a lot of misleading messages out there about self-care. Yes, taking a warm bath, getting away for a few days, and spending an evening out with friends are all good ideas when it comes to easing stress and maintaining creative motivation.

But self-care involves so much more than that, and writers and other creative artists who want to enjoy a lifetime of creative activity need to understand exactly what self-care is really about.

To that end, here are three things that self-care is not, followed by three things that it needs to be. Knowing what you need to do can help you to feel your best most of the time, which can only lead to a more productive creative life!

3 Ways Writers Get Self-Care Wrong

Are you making these mistakes when it comes to self-care?

1. As long as I stop and do something healthy now and then, I’ll be fine.

Writers who think this is what self-care is about may take a break once a week to go take a walk, or may schedule a four-day getaway once a year.

Maybe they’ll think about healthy eating once in awhile, or sign up for a yoga class that they take for six weeks, after which they give it up, unable to work it into their daily lives.

Self-care remains something that is thought about only occasionally, and stays on the fringes of life as something that one does when it’s convenient. Unfortunately, this sort of approach often leads to a rude awakening when the writer’s physical health or mental well-being suffers.

2. I’m really not into facials and massages, so I won’t worry about it.

Unfortunately, in some circles, self-care is seen as a New-Agey, self-indulgent ritual reserved only for the well-to-do who can afford weekly facials, seaweed wraps, and kale smoothies. The term itself can turn some people off, as it seems to refer to a self-indulgent type of attitude favored by the narcissists among us.

“Wellness is often dismissed as frivolity,” writes Rachel Monroe in The New Yorker, “another way for wealthy white women to spend money and obsess about their bodies.”

“I hate that self-care has become a ‘trend,’” says Nikisha Brunson, co-founder of Urban Bush Babes and creator of Folie Apothecary. “Society has made it look like this luxurious thing you do every once in a while, like going to a spa or relaxing getaway.”

Writers may then avoid thinking about self-care at all, believing it’s just another fad that will come and go with time, and more specifically, that they don’t want to “waste time” on something that’s just a form of naval gazing anyway. This approach robs writers of the true creativity-boosting and health-promoting benefits of real self-care.

3. Yes, I know I need to take better care of myself, but I don’t have time right now.

Writers are feeling the pressure to be more productive, more creative, and “on top of their game” all the time.

They’re not only fitting writing into the rest of their busy lives, but they’re also trying to boost their website and blog stats, grow their email lists, and educate themselves on writing and marketing.

All this busyness leaves very little time for self-care, and writers think it’s okay, as they’ll get to it eventually, once everything calms down. Problem is, in the writing life, things don’t calm down unless you make them calm down.

3 Ways Writers Can Get Self-Care Right

True self-care is not self-indulgence, doing what we want when we want, or engaging in the occasional activity we think is good for us.

“I’ll take a hot bath tomorrow after I collapse of exhaustion.”

“I’ll do something nice for myself later, after I get this chapter done.”

“I’ll exercise today so I don’t have to tomorrow.”

“I’m going away for a few days this weekend, so I’ll be fine after that.”

Self-care is, instead, an approach to life that understands we must captain our own ships. As captain, you have to make sure that your “ship” is in good condition, and that you’re maintaining it as best you can, because you know that it needs to get you through 90 years or more (hopefully).

It is a type of stewardship over your body and mind, a responsibility you have to not only keep yourself in optimal operating condition, but to be aware of things that may harm or damage you, and take steps to protect and prepare yourself.

1. I have a disciplined daily routine that includes a number of self-care activities.

Writers who get self-care right have daily routines that incorporate the things we know help preserve health and wellness.

They exercise at least 30 minutes a day, they eat healthy foods and keep unhealthy treats to a minimum, they avoid overuse of alcohol, they practice some sort of daily stress relief, they get 7-8 hours of sleep per night, and they make sure they have some downtime each week to relax and restore themselves.

Scientific research has discovered something very exciting: we have a lot of control over our future health and well-being. As noted in a previous post (“5 Things Writers Can Do to Live Longer”), people who avoid smoking, exercise at least 30 minutes every day, eat a healthy diet, maintain a normal weight, and limit alcohol intake:

• live 12-14 years longer than those who don’t,
• are 82 percent less likely to die of heart disease,
• are 65 percent less likely to die of cancer.

According to another study, about 40 percent of all cancers are caused by things we have the power to change, including smoking, unhealthy eating, alcohol, and obesity.

True self-care is really about being disciplined in how you approach your daily life. It’s like being your own parent—sometimes you have to make yourself exercise when you don’t want to, or find ways to help yourself avoid late-night snacking, or revisit how you may be able to relieve some of the stress you’re feeling.

We all tend to go back and forth. We feel healthy and well for awhile, but then life happens, and our good habits can go by the wayside. That’s when we have to be our own best advocates, and say, “Hey, it’s time to get back to that daily exercise routine,” or “Hey, how about we have a salad or soup today instead of that burger?”

Self-care is not about self-indulgence—it’s about having the discipline you need to make the best decisions for yourself, even when your inner child screams to get its way.

2. I think ahead so I can prepare myself for times when I need more care.

Writers who get self-care right are forward-thinking writers. They look ahead and spot those times when they know that their regular routines are going to be thrown out the window, and figure out ways to adapt so they can still take care of themselves.

Let’s say a writer has a book launch coming up. He’s scheduled several book signings, podcast interviews, media interviews, guest blog posts, and a big party-like launch event all in the same month. Looking at this schedule, the writer who gets self-care right is going to understand that the next few weeks are likely to be exhausting, and he may get run down before the month is over.

Knowing what’s coming, he makes an effort to ward off some of the potential negative effects before everything starts. He schedules in daily exercise around his events and deadlines. He asks for extra help at home and delegates tasks at work. He hires some help if needed for childcare, pet care, or lawn care. And he makes sure that each week, he has at least an hour to take a walk in the park and truly relax.

“How will this affect me?” the writer asks. “How will this launch, this writer’s conference, this trip to research my novel, this writing critique, effect me, and what can I do to mitigate the effects on my body and mind?”

Let’s say the writer is getting a critique. Understanding the criticisms will hurt, she outlines a plan to deal with it. She has her writer friends ready so she can call and vent if needed. She promises herself that she will do nothing to her story for at least a week after getting the critique, to allow the comments and her reaction to settle. She plans to do something fun the day she receives her critique—go out with friends or a significant other—so she has something to look forward to after reading through the comments.

The key is to prepare in a way that takes wellness—both physical and emotional—into account, so that difficult and challenging times don’t set you back anymore than necessary.

3. I’m aware of how my life is affecting me, and I take time out to reflect and change, if necessary.

Finally, a writer who gets self-care right has a healthy sense of self-awareness. She knows when she’s starting to slow down, or when she’s starting to suffer from her busy schedule. She senses when her body gives her signals that all isn’t well, and takes the time needed to tend to it. She realizes when she’s more irritable or anxious than usual, and steps back to find out why.

Self-awareness can be difficult at times, as we get so involved in our lives that we tend to ignore or sidestep the signs that we’re starting to buckle under the pressure. Maybe you’re pursuing a schedule that’s getting to be too much, or your diet is really starting to go downhill because you’re not getting enough sleep, which is causing you to crave carbs and sweets.

Maybe you’re feeling down or depressed about your writing, and you’re comforting yourself with fatty, salty snacks during your writing times. Or you could be frustrated at where your career is, and start soothing those frustrations with too much alcohol.

How well do you know yourself? What are your weaknesses? Where do you tend to neglect yourself when things are going wrong—or even when things are going right?

Understanding your own tendencies and being in tune to what your body and mind are telling you gives you a type of bird’s eye view into what’s going on. You can step back, see yourself and your actions, and then find ways to correct course if needed.

“Taking care of your basic physical and emotional needs should really be the backbone for getting stuff done,” says writer Kristin Wong, “but ironically, self-care is usually the first thing to go.”

Writers who get self-care right make sure that self-care is always factored in, no matter what.

What do you do to ensure self-care is part of your daily life?

---

Sources
Jaslow, R. (2011, December 9). Lifestyle changes can prevent 40% of cancers: Study. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lifestyle-changes-can-prevent-40-of-cancers-study/

Monroe, R. (2017, October 9). How Essential Oils Became the Cure for Our Age of Anxiety. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/10/09/how-essential-oils-became-the-cure-for-our-age-of-anxiety

Wong, K. (2016, April 14). Why Self Care Is So Important. Retrieved from https://lifehacker.com/why-self-care-is-so-important-1770880812