Want to be a more successful, creative, and productive writer? Want to be happier?
Then you must have free time alone, free time to reconnect with who you are and what you really want in life, free time to just release and relax and recharge.
When you do return to your normal activities, you’ll be fresh and ready to go, you’ll have your priorities straight, and you’ll jump to get the important things done quickly and well.
This Time Alone is Just for You
You choose what you want to do — walk, read, sleep, listen to music, play music, exercise — whatever makes you happiest.
It’s crucial that you alone determine what you do, and that you be alone when you do it. You need time away from your responsibilities and from the desires and needs of others.
Note that you shouldn’t be doing any work on any freelance writing projects or other work obligations; this is time away from such activities.
3 Benefits of Free Time Alone for Writers
1. You Relax Your Mind
The hustle and bustle of your freelance writing career and your life overloads your brain. Taking a break from it all lets your mind reach a calmer state that rejuvenates you and will make you more productive when you do resume your regular activities.
2. You Relax Your Body
Tension accumulates in your muscles and nerves when you’re dealing with life’s obligations. Spending time alone allows you to let that go. You’ll return to your writing and other tasks with more energy and enthusiasm.
3. You Recharge Your Creativity
Relaxing your mind and body allows your creativity to flow. Your best writing ideas can come during your alone time.
Have a pen and paper or a recording device so you can capture them immediately: you likely won’t be able to relax completely if your mind has to hold one or more ideas until you get back to your office. I always have my digital voice recorder in my pocket to capture ideas. But don’t feel like you have to come up with ideas; just be ready for them if they do come.
Scheduling Free Time Alone
Take Time Every Day
Even if it’s just 15 minutes, make sure you fit it in.
Take Time Every Week
Give yourself 3 or 4 hours, even a whole day, on a weekly basis.
Take Time Every Year
You need at least a week a year by yourself. Do whatever you like. I typically take one or two hiking/camping trips in the mountains every summer near my Ashland, Oregon home. I also take at least one road trip, for example, two and a half weeks doing dispersed camping and hiking in southern Utah. I think of it as a personal retreat.
Schedule your time in advance and make sure all the important people affected by your absence know you’ll be gone. Keep communication with the outside world to an absolute minimum; if you can, stay away from the Internet and keep your cell phone off.
Get Support for Free Time Alone
If you live with others, you’ll likely need to negotiate your breaks. Discuss why it’s important to you, and also why it’s important for everyone in the household to do the same. Help everyone to get free time alone by having all agree to take over tasks and responsibilities for others as needed. Most people soon realize that they love their free time alone and will be more than willing to cooperate to make it happen.
Your Take
Do you get enough free time alone? If not, why not, and what can you do to change that? What do you most like to do with your free time alone?
I totally agree with the above post. I have a habit of going for walks in natural surroundings every morning after I have my tea every morning. I take my walkman with me for this walk. I listen to film music while I take my one-hour walk. This activity rejuvenates me and gives me new ideas and new hope to fight the world.
I go outside first thing every morning, usually before dawn. I sip my coffee, look at the stars, and think about what I’m grateful for.
Free time alone is critical. I get it in every morning by reading my bible, journaling and sitting still. However, I’m working on my annual plan, which will be an island getaway. Some days, though, I bask in the peace and quiet after parking my car in the garage.
There are times I sit in my car for several minutes before going in the house or the YMCA.
Like Harish, my alone time is walking. I generally walk 6 to 7 miles a day. It started as training for my annual 3-Day, 60-mile walk for the cure. It became my salvation. 🙂 I live in a somewhat rural area so there is plenty of great nature sights and a lot of animal friends to take in. When the weather gets too bad to walk, I take off to the mall. Boring, but still necessary in my book.
We are at one with this, John. 🙂
We totally agree on walking. I do a lot of hiking, of course, but I also just walk through Ashland, Oregon, where I live. Long walks. Short walks.
Early morning time alone is important to me… sometimes inside, sometimes outside. Let’s my mind soar.
I always take at least a few minutes for myself every morning, usually outside, even in bad weather.
For me I’d ride my horses, so relaxing, and think about the work I’m writing and work through how to put it together- I’m a multi-tasker! Now that my horses are older, 26 and 27, the rides are usually short ones around the field. My younger horse can be a handful so I don’t usually concentrate on anything but him. I never know when a horse-eating duck is going to fly out of the creek.
A horse-eating duck! I once owned a house on five acres and I rented out the two pastures to people with horses. I really liked having them around.
Nice post John. I agree with all of it. I’ve always been something of a loner by nature, so my time alone is something I instinctively gravitate towards. I like the late night hours personally, when the world quiets down, my wife is asleep, and the phone doesn’t ring. I don’t usually actively search out longer periods of time, I tend to get my alone time in on a more or less daily basis, but when Samarra goes out of town, I end up with what you call a “personal retreat” anyway.
I think for a lot of go-go-go modern people, with so much time and attention going into virtual worlds where there is little or no physical activity, time alone can actually feel uncomfortable, especially if that time alone is “off-line”. I think learning to tolerate that discomfort and later developing a genuine love of alone time is really worth the effort. I see a lot of people these days who’re busy as Hell, hyperactive mentally, with little or no depth of feeling or substance in their lives. They seem to be “checking” things all the time: Facebook, email, phones, etc. but something seems missing to me. And that something might be the kind of inner connection to their own bodies, minds, hearts and guts, that can only come from being with themselves, alone. After all, Socrates did say “Know thyself” not “know thy friend’s status updates”…
Gene, you do a great job of getting your alone time.
I’m concerned about the people that are so plugged in to modern technology that they cannot fully relax, even when “alone.” When I’m on the computer, I’m doing the technology and connection thing.
When I’m away from my computer, whether alone or out with others, I don’t have the cell phone on (usually), and I never check e-mail, etc.
More people just need to take themselves out for a nice walk in the woods and leave all the connection stuff behind.
And thanks for quoting Socrates: “know thyself.” I’ve been reading a lot about ancient Greek and Roman philosophy lately.
The “know thyself” maxim has been attributed to many sources, including the ancient temple at Delphi.
Wonderful tips for taking time for ourselves. I’ve recently been reminded of how important this is. Thank you!
I’m glad it helped, Shannon. I hope you get the free time you need!
Amen. Just amen.
My free time is precious to me. I’ve learned to carve out pockets throughout my day. Mornings with the news (though that’s not terribly relaxing these days). Afternoons with lunch on the deck or a walk in the park. Afternoons is my exercise time. Mine alone. Nothing like sweat to get rid of negative energy!
Also, I took time away not long ago. I’d planned to be solo, but my mom wanted to tag along. It turned out to be one of my most creative periods in years. Just six days in the Ontario wilderness with no TV or Internet seemed like a lifetime away from it all. And I was so happy for it.
It sounds like you have a really good system, Lori: a mix of time alone every day and longer periods alone.
I also count my exercise time as alone time. I wear earbuds at the gym so I don’t have to talk to people (much, anyway).
Early morning time alone is important to me… sometimes inside, sometimes outside. Let’s my mind soar.
What you said is absolutely the gospel truth. From my own experience, during time alone, inspiration flows more and that is why most of my writing are done early morning before others wake up.
I think what makes it hard too is having a social life. 😉 My husband is a writer and I’m starting a novel as well and I know it’s hard to make the time. I recently suggested that we do a “writing weekend” where we basically just stay home and write and not accept any invitation to go out. We can do that maybe once a month. But also having one evening a week where we both work on our writing projects is a good idea I think. But I know that it’s hard sometimes for him to get back into it. It takes time. So 15 minutes here or there doesn’t help him, which is why I suggest longer periods of time with no stressful clock. But for people like me who can write basically anywhere even if I have only 10 minutes, I suggest having an up to date version of your writing in a “docs” app on your phone. I do that and it’s very flexible. I can update things and add ideas or even actual paragraphs while I’m in public transportation for instance. I put on music and create that time and space for myself. 🙂