"I continue to build my writing business even when my hands refuse to move..."
I cringed when I wrote this click-bait title, but I knew I must write it the way it is. Just so that you know there is a way to continue working even when your illness renders you immobile or at least difficult to drag yourself through even the basic chores of the day.
Getting on medication has to be the first step
I have had rheumatoid arthritis (RA) since I was 26. This August I turned 44.
I went for a clinical diagnosis and started medication in 2016 when getting up from the chair without crying out in pain became impossible. By that time I also had a frozen shoulder (my writing arm) and spondylitis. I couldn’t sit and type on my writing desk for more than an hour a day.
Getting on medication to manage my pain changed my life, but that’s a story for another day. Today I want to talk about how I managed to build my freelance writing business with a chronic illness that renders my arms too painful and frozen at least three months of the year.
Understand how your body works
I have managed to work the only way I know – using time management techniques. First of all, I decided to find out my working rhythm. For this, I meticulously tracked my time for almost a year. And this is the information I collected:
Total number of hours I could write every day
Total time I could devote to non-writing work that was essential to building the business
I am most productive on hot sunny dry days
Cold winter months are the least productive for me
Schedule your day meticulously
Armed with information about my working capacity, here is how I schedule my day:
Divide my day into client work and non-paying work.
I have identified the hours of the day when I can focus completely on my work and devote those to writing.
I have these 5 non-negotiables for each working day - exercise, journal, client work, marketing, and pitching.
Keep your momentum going and skills sharpened
After so many years of illness, I know the pattern of most of my days and schedule myself accordingly. If the day is going to be hot and sunny, I schedule a couple of hours extra. Winter months from November to January are my worst months, my aim is to just reach the minimum income level.
But this does not mean I stop writing or learning. Otherwise, I will not be able to pick up speed after the lean period is over.
I devote those leisurely hours spent under the sun to nourish my health by writing books. Or take up other writing projects so that I don’t fall out of the habit of writing. For instance, this year I have launched a newsletter which will continue till February. Then I’ll take a break and start season 2 sometime in September or October when the weather changes again.
Final thoughts
When you suffer from an illness that renders you immobile, you need to get smart about when you get done what. What I have shared about my journey applies not only to writers but to other creatives as well. Of course, I do realise that your severity of symptoms or condition may be different from mine. But that does not mean you cannot start trying out the strategy I have used. Maybe start with deciding how much time you can devote to working and take it from there.