One of the most frustrating things to happen is losing your work day. After all, you have deadlines to meet and bills to pay. Yet, you sit at the computer and can’t focus due to writer’s block. Or, something intervenes, like losing wifi, and your workday goes awry. So, can you recover after you lose a work day? Of course! Below are some freelancer-friendly suggestions to get back on track after a lost work day.

Recovering after a lost workday

These are the handiest tips for recovering from a bad day, and I go back to these three every time I lose a work day. While there are other ones, these are the most universal and helpful!

• Don’t waste time beating yourself up or stressing: I used to spend so much time here. I would berate myself for struggling with bad focus or chastise myself for not planning better before a power outage. All of this negativity takes precious time and energy away from the actual freelancing work. So, please acknowledge that you’re frustrated, then put it aside and get back at it. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll get caught up.
• Push deadlines before the last minute: If your lost work day causes you to get “right down to the wire” with a deadline, push it. Even if you think you can make it up, push it. Even if you don’t want to make the customer mad, push it. Pushing the deadline before the last minute will earn you brownie points and professionalism. After all, if you deliver “early” after your pushed deadline, it will only look good! This also will take a lot of stress off your shoulders, which will matter most with my next point.
• Take all normal breaks and work normal hours: This is the hardest one for me, to be honest. After I lose a work day, I’m tempted to work without breaks and for longer than normal to “make up for it.” However, this has only led to a stronger chance of writer burnout and even writer’s block. As much as possible, keep your workday as normal as you can. You’ll still get it all done and won’t be stuck in burnout after the fact.

Remember that a lost day is a lost day

A lot of times, a bad writing day can feel like the end of the world. In my experience, this is never the case. Even when I was writing my book and had bad writing days, I could always recover and keep going if I was kind to myself. If you ask me (which you kinda are if you are reading this), then being kind and patient with yourself is one of the most vital components to recovering from a bad day. While it would be nice to never lose a day, that’s pretty rare.

What about you? How do you recover from bad freelancing days? Do you have any suggestions or tips you’d like to recommend? How common are lost workdays for you?