How to Practice Self-Care during a Pandemic: 3 Tips for Writers

Photo by Karol Stefański on Unsplash

“What’s my future? I don’t know. These are the questions I address before I go to sleep.”-“Over My Head” Judah & the Lion

We are collectively navigating through unchartered waters. As a writer, and definitively a “creative type,” I tend to over-think, if not to panic. Last Monday, along with 3.3 million Americans, the majority of my income was wiped out in one fell swoop. While my short stories and content work bring in sporadic income, I was left reeling and wondering how to afford base-level survival.

I spent that first week in a blur. I knew that I needed to continue working on various writing projects, and I knew that I would feel relief from a tsunami of emotions by doing so. Ironically, left with an ample amount of free time, I sprinted to the end of each day with my time eaten up and nothing much accomplished.

I did create a kick-ass “Apocalypse” playlist on Spotify. I binge-watched entire seasons of television. And, I made up raps and one-man musicals as I folded my laundry. That’s another way of saying that I did absolutely nothing. I didn’t change my perspective. My time wasn’t full of fresh starts or altruistic pouring into my community. The first draft of my new novel still sits in a laptop wasteland. There were no new hobbies or feats of accomplishment. Waves of joy crashed over me if I woke up without tears. I was…