Working from home comes with its own share of pros and cons.
It’s all fancy when seen as not having to commute to work, combining work and chores, being a present parent, setting your own deadlines and not having a boss breathing down your neck.
But the same reasons that make it fancy, could also make it boring and unsustainable, if you are not highly disciplined.
Lack of discipline could lead to you taking a long, mostly unintentional break.
Apart from indiscipline and procrastination, life also happens, leading to long breaks from the computer.
It could be relocation, health, new baby, or just anything.
When life happens, you focus on getting things back to normal and may not have realized how much time has passed.
Whatever the reason for the break, the good news is: you can always come back and restart your career.
Whether you’re picking up exactly where you left off or starting from scratch, these steps will help you restart your freelance writing career with confidence.
Before You get Started, Ask yourself: Why Did I stop?
What led to the break in writing productivity?
Critically analyze why you stopped writing.
Was it a lack of motivation?
ll health?
Unmet expectations like not meeting your set financial goals, blog and social media visibility?
Could it be the several rejection emails by those you pitched your work to?
Interference of machine writing (AI)?
Why did you pause your writing?
Or did you keep procrastinating until the days piled into weeks, months and years?
Deal With the Reason(s) Why You Stopped Writing
When you’ve identified why you stopped writing, you have to deal with it and ensure you’ve put models in place to avoid a repeat before you go on.
This is very important because if you do not deal with the reason why you left, there’s a high possibility that you will stop again, soon.
Reconnect With Your Why
What inspired you to go into freelance writing as a career?
While for some persons, writing comes naturally and they cannot imagine themselves doing or being anything else, yet some others have a compelling reason why they chose freelance writing.
Identify and reconnect with that why.
If the reason was temporal and has been met, what inspires you to continue?
Knowing why you are doing something gives you the drive and motivation needed to show up and get the job done.
Do you have new projects or ideas in mind? Whatsoever your reason(s) is/are, spelling it out and probably writing and sticking it where its visible will keep you motivated.
Catch Up with Current Trends
Just like most fields of endeavor, freelance writing is a very versatile field that keeps evolving, no matter your niche.
To get back into writing, update yourself on the current trends and practices. Learn how things work in your niche and adjust accordingly.
Also get updated on new tools, tech updates and market trends in your niche.
Update Your Portfolio
As a freelance writer, your portfolio says a lot about you, it showcases your abilities to prospective clients more than what any cover letter can do.
Having been away for a while, your portfolio, which houses most of your work, has to be dusted and updated.
Create new contents, taking current trends into consideration.
Even if you have to write for free, get it done in order to have an updated portfolio.
Endeavour to update your social media handles and every online space your work is housed.
Set Realistic Goals
Setting SMART, actionable goals can help boost your confidence and get you back into the flow.
Set your writing goals within your schedule and abilities, not according to how you perceive others, everyone may be on a different step on the ladder.
Your goals have to be measurable for example, set out to write one blog post per week, post on your preferred social media handles three times per week, and so on.
While at it, set realistic financial income goals.
Most writers get discouraged after their inability to meet unrealistic financial targets such as making xx amount of money within xx months.
It is discouraging when you shoot and fail in your financial goals, it makes you doubt your ability as a writer but setting realistic and smart goals, will help you retain focus and make progress in your writing career.
Establish A Consistent Working Routine
If there’s one thing that can transform you from a struggling, on and off writer into a productive, consistent one, it’s a solid working routine.
Your brain can work like a well-trained pet: when you train it to write at a specific time and frequency, it begins to expect (and even crave) that activity.
This is why setting a dedicated writing schedule is not just recommended—it’s essential.
Creating a writing routine does more than just put words on the page.
It tricks your brain into “work mode” at the same time each day.
Over time, this repetition builds what experts call habit loops—automatic patterns that remove the daily mental struggle of “Should I write today?” or “Maybe later.” Instead, writing becomes as natural as brushing your teeth.
Beyond the mental shift, having a set routine cultivates discipline, one of the most underrated skills in freelance writing. ‘Creativity is wonderful, but without discipline, it’s a wild horse running in every direction.
Build Momentum By Writing For Yourself Regularly
Writing for yourself not only helps you build momentum, but also increases your confidence level, and helps you generate content ideas with ease.
You can build momentum by writing articles/blog posts on your personal website, blog or social media handles.
This helps you gain the confidence you may have lost during your break (long or short).
Write With Authenticity And Vulnerability
The best writings are authentic ones.
Ten persons can write on the same topics and if each of them maintains their authenticity, they will all come up with different, interesting and intersecting perspectives of the same topic.
Your originality is your brand, your voice, your identity which people recognize, love and relate with.
Be vulnerable. Don’t keep thinking of what others will say about your work, keep on dishing out authentic content and be open to learn and correct your mistakes.
Seek Out Support From Fellow Writers And Creatives
Having people support and cheer you on will get you focused on the journey.
Identify and build a community of people who understand you and your wok.
Be accountable and willing to be mentored. Such people can be found on and offline.
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