When you consult your to do app, the next item on the list is “write” and often there’s a word count attached. You open the file. You try to write, but you keep getting distracted, scrolling through social media or having other projects interrupt. What usually takes you an hour or less is now into its second or third hour of attempting to work and it’s just not happening. How do you know when not to write? Or when to call it a day and move on? Or maybe try a different task and come back to it?

The truth is only you can make that call. But pushing yourself to write, especially on a day when the words won’t come is a quick way to drive yourself into burnout. The more frustrated you get, the harder it is to come up with words, and the cycle continues. Sometimes, it’s a good thing to realize that the writing isn’t happening for whatever reason, and try again later or on another day.

The key to a sustainable writing career is to work with your brain. And let’s face it, right now the world is a whole series of dumpster fires with each one designed to make us worry and stress about or even fear the future. So knowing when not to write, when not to add that additional stress on you, is a good way to help keep your career sustainable and your writing at least at times, enjoyable.

Is it the story or is it something else?

When you find you can’t write, the first thing to do is to see if it’s the story. As writers, sometimes we write ourselves into corners or the character/setting/scene just isn’t working and we don’t know why. One symptom of this is not knowing what to write or not having the enthusiasm to write. Take some time and decide if it’s the story or if it’s something else.

You’ll know if it’s the story if you’re not sure where the story is going in a general way or if something feels off to you. You know it’s something else if you want to write, even have an idea of the scene or situation, but the words just aren’t flowing or you keep getting distracted.

If it’s not the story, then is it you or the world?

Once you determine that it’s not the story, then it’s important to know if it’s you or if it’s an outside situation. Generally if it’s you (aka burnout) then you won’t be enthusiastic about writing or even see it as a chore. If you want to write, but can’t settle your mind, then it is probably an outside situation and quite often you’ll even know what’s stressing you out like your job or a global or political situation.

Once you know the cause, you can take action

Once you know what is happening (i.e. burnout, story issues, or outside things), then you can take action. If it’s the story, then brainstorming with someone or taking time to determine the next steps or seeing where things could be changed might be in order. If it’s you, it’s time to step away from the computer. Do something you love. Go for a walk with your dog or if you can, get outside, or go to a coffee shop. Make a cup of tea. These things won’t immediately fix burnout, and I don’t want to imply that they will. But they often can help restore your spirit, even for a little bit. And little drops in your creative cup will add up.

If it’s an outside situation like a job or a geopolitical situation, that may be harder to work with. Starting small with steps you can control, ways to help your community, or even making a plan, may help ease your mind enough. And there’s also no shame in reordering your list. Do something else, then come back to writing.

Most of all, be gentle with yourself. We’re all going through a lot these days, and sometimes the kindest thing you can do for yourself is to step away from your story, just for a little while. That way when you do come back to it, hopefully you will feel better and ready to write once more.