This title of this post sums up something kind of obvious, but it’s worth talking about in detail.
At every Day Job I’ve ever worked (including my current one), when I’ve had a good day, a stimulating day, a chill day, or a day that was genuinely fun, I’ve come home ready and excited to do creative work. When I get home after days like this I often throw down my bag, sit right down at the computer (or notebook, etc.) and dive into my work with a clear head and tons of energy.
Unfortunately, though, when I’ve had a day that was stressful, overwhelming, overstimulating, required me to make a lot of decisions, felt physically taxing, or just plain sucked balls, I’ve come home…well, not ready for creative work at all. On days like these I’ve been known to take long after-work breaks, get distracted by my phone or other time-wasters, get less done than I wanted to, eat junk food, or even do nothing at all because I’ve felt too depressed.
Certain Day Jobs would often push me in one direction or the other on a regular basis, especially if the workplace was toxic or I had to deal with mind-numbing Day Job tasks that insulted my intelligence. Having too many of these days too often was usually a sign that I needed a new Day Job, as I discovered when I was grappling with my online test-grading job.
More recently, though, I’ve tried to be aware that even Day Jobs that work well for me are going to have both good and bad days that affect my creative work time when I finish them.
The Highs and Lows of Day Job Work
Last week, I had a GREAT Monday at work. My classes went well, I got a lot done, the mood was cheerful, and I even drank this amazing apple-tea drink at the campus cafe. When I finished for the day and got home, I felt awesome and had an incredibly productive evening.
On Tuesday, though, things didn’t go so well: classes were lackluster, I got less done, and I made a careless rookie mistake that left me feeling pretty embarrassed. Needless to say, when I got home I felt exhausted and spent kind of a long time lying down listening to podcasts because I didn’t have the energy for anything else.
All this in less than a 48-hour span.
I’ve only been at my current teaching job for a month, so it’s too early to really tell how it’ll affect my mood over the long term. What last week showed me, though, is that ANY Day Job is going to come with these highs and lows that influence my ability to sit down and be productive after work.
And I think acknowledging that—as in, being aware of these highs and lows and how to work through them—is essential to understanding your own productivity, as well as your Day Job environment.
Think of it this way: If you know that your Day Job environment is basically a good one, but you still have a few bad days every month, it’s helpful to see those days as outliers. Keeping this in mind might mean not letting these bad days get to you and working through the mental funk. Or, it might mean taking these bad days off to recuperate and relax, because you know they won’t happen often and it’s more helpful to use the time to put yourself back in a good mental space.
The Good Day/Bad Day Rule Extends to the Rest of Your Life Too
This is where things get tricky. I’ve also found that the way things are going in the rest of my life has a powerful effect on my ability to do creative work. If I’ve just gotten some great news, had a super-fun day with friends, or even just have a clean apartment to work in, it’s going to put me in a better mood for creative work.
…and likewise, getting writing rejections, bad news via email, having plans get cancelled, or experiencing problems in my personal life will put me in a far worse headspace for getting creative work done—especially on a novel draft.
This means that your creative work life is really just an extension of the rest of your life, and that problems anywhere are going to affect your overall mood and your ability to be productive and do the work you really want to do.
And that means that it pays to keep all of these elements (including your Day Job!) under control so that they don’t bring you down too badly over the long-term.
Final Thoughts
I feel like I’ve gotten better at this over the years, but I still have a ways to go, especially in terms of focusing more on things that make me happy and bring fulfillment. Sometimes this is because I get caught in various commitments, but other times it’s because I’m not sure which pursuits will genuinely bring me happiness and success, especially when balanced against other pursuits I’m interested in.
And keeping all of those elements balanced and working for you and your creative work, I think, is the ultimate goal to work toward.