For so many of us, the dream is making a living from our writing. It’s certainly not impossible. There are plenty of authors who are able to produce books at a speed and quality that their target audience—who they’ve already identified and found—reliably want to purchase.
But what if I told you that having a day job can actually do writers a world of good in the meantime?
I could list off a slew of writers you’ve heard of who worked while writing: Stephen King was famously a janitor before achieving literary fame, Charlotte Brontë was a teacher, et cetera. Instead, allow me to use yours truly as an example. Without getting too into the weeds, I caption phone calls for the D/deaf and hard of hearing, and I absolutely love it. Not only do I get a lot of fulfillment from providing this essential service, but I also get to experience the hidden benefits I’ve listed below.
Hidden Benefit #1: More Stability
We live in tumultuous times. Not being able to predict how much money you’re going to have in the bank next month can add so much stress. Day jobs can provide a steady, reliable income, and—if you live in the USA like me—that all important health insurance. It certainly helps me breathe a little easier knowing that my living expenses are taken care of, and my writing can breathe a little easier knowing it doesn’t have to provide me income.
Hidden Benefit #2: More Structure
Another, equally practical benefit of a day job is the added structure to life. Most of us thrive on routines and regularity. During the height of the pandemic, when I was furloughed from my theme park job, I publicly posted my to do list to my Instagram Stories because I knew I’d let days bleed into one another!
If you’re worried that a day job will eat up too much time or energy and leave you without much of either to write, that’s understandable. But a lesser-known secret of having such limitations is that having a touch of pressure pushes you to write more in the time allotted than you would have if you had time to kill. That’s why the Pomodoro method works so well for so many people, including me!
Hidden Benefit #3: More Activity
It’s no secret that the writing life is a sedentary life by necessity. We spend long hours in front of screens, and any expert will tell you that’s no good for your body. Having a day job—especially one that requires you to leave your home—forces you to get up and get moving at least a little bit. If nothing else, it provides you with an opportunity to leave the page as it is, which is the first step to getting exercise or otherwise taking a break.
Great news: the movement helps your mental health as much as it does your physical health, so you’ll probably find the increased activity boosts your creativity!
Hidden Benefit #4: More Socializing
No matter what your day job entails, at some point, you’re going to have to communicate with another human being. If you’re an introvert like me, this may not sound like a perk, but hear me out. It takes all kinds to make the world go ’round, and you will not experience nearly so many kinds of people if you spend your time in front of a laptop without seeking human interaction. Such experiences will enrich your writing, especially if you consistently use your powers of observation and keep your listening ears engaged.
Having trouble balancing your day job and your writing life?
Download our free weekly writing work printable! Use it to list out all your writing-related tasks at the start of the week and cross off as you go to make sure none of it slips through the cracks.
And if you’re craving even more structure for your writing life, check out The Write Gym Workbook and The Write Gym!
