How to Stay Inspired When Journalism Feels Like a Grind
Some motivation and ideas to keep the journalism train rolling
It goes without saying that journalism is demanding: the ability to write consistently, flawlessly and originally is extremely difficult to maintain. Whilst you’re working (and writing) hard to publish articles, you may hit a writers block or experience a loss of motivation. Consequently asking yourself, why am I doing this? Or is this even sustainable? This situation is certainly tough to navigate, but it’s best not to be too hard on yourself. The chances are you’re an incredible journalist and you shouldn’t doubt yourself for a second, even when the going gets tough. Like all individuals involved in a career that places a heavy emphasis on writing and original thoughts, I too have experienced a drought of ideas, lack of motivation and self doubt. So here are a few ideas of mine that hopefully provide some motivation for you to keep the journalism train rolling.
Journalism is a constant; you are always putting out content, writing, getting it published then moving swiftly onto the next story, which can very quickly become repetitive. But it wasn’t always like that, was it? I’m sure we can all remember back to writing our first story and how exciting it was. While it may just seem like yesterday, I’m sure a lot has changed between then and now. But this is exactly my point. It may just be that you have slightly digressed from the original reason you started writing and pursuing a career in journalism.
My solution? It’s time to get back in touch with your original motivation for writing. It most likely stemmed from a genuine passion for it, but as we fly towards the working world and reality, this becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain. Adult responsibilities rather inconveniently get in the way and naturally your motivations may change, depending on your own situation. A common example of this change could simply be for financial benefit, that you are now writing to make money. And whilst this may spur you on, the motivation is often very short lived. So if you can, remind yourself why you got into writing and journalism in the first place, you’d be surprised at how much you could inspire yourself.
Your journalism battery may be dwindling, not because you’ve lost touch with why you’re writing, but the issue may lie within the writing itself. The angle that you take and your approach to story-telling can make a profound impact on your motivation. If you try bringing a new perspective to your next article, it might rejuvenate your inspiration and passion for journalism. Writing in a sense becomes a routine, but you can’t let that routine become mundane. Finding new ways to approach your writing can make things exciting, and make what you’re writing feel less like something you are being forced to do. Writing in ways you’re not used to presents new challenges and an opportunity to develop your writing skills beyond what you may have thought yourself capable of. This is the fantastic nature of journalism and writing; there are infinite possibilities and angles you can take in your approach to a story. Finding your own voice and new angles to take on your next article could get you out of that writing slump.
It might also be a good idea to take some time away from writing, burnout happens and it’s only natural. As a writer you might feel like you always have to be working on an article, keeping yourself busy, but sometimes, focusing on other things in your life can increase the quality of journalism you produce - especially when you dedicate specific time to it rather than all of it. This is something I am definitely guilty of. There are opportunities everyday where I could ‘switch off’, walking back from university is an excellent example of this. But when I start thinking about other things going on in my life, my thoughts always seem to drift back to journalism and what I’ve got to do next. The difficulty with this is it becomes tiring: fortunately I’ve identified it and I am now literally trying to take my own advice and enjoy other things going on in my life more again. Life has a lot of opportunities and experiences to offer, journalism doesn’t need to be everything. I love it, but I understand it might not be too healthy thinking about it every waking second.
On the contrary, in a paradoxical sort of way is the advice, keep on writing. I’m not talking about writing articles to publish in newspapers or magazines, but rather more personal writing such as journalling, diary writing or jotting down your thoughts. Reflecting on yourself through writing could be the perfect antidote to a lack of motivation or inspiration. Aspiring journalists write a lot I don’t doubt that, but how much do we write about ourselves? In a way it’s a great two for one deal, you practice your writing whilst reflecting on yourself - a great form of self care. A similar suggestion I also have, is that you should write for The Budding Journalist: as I mentioned before, how much do journalists self reflect or share their thoughts on their own experiences? Regardless of your answer, write for us and get an even better two for one deal. You can share your thoughts on anything writing related, all whilst publishing the work to an audience of like-minded aspiring journalists. If you like the sound of this, get in touch.
Thank you for reading this far! Let me know what you think in the comments.