Ever have those days when you just don’t feel like doing anything? Well, anything work-related, that is… My whole past week has been like that — a freelance writing slump.

I wake up, make the coffee, go out to smoke a cigarette. I talk myself up. “Today, I’m going to get this much done. I’m going to go back in there and focus. I’m going to do this much before I start doing other stuff.”

I go back in, boot up the laptop, and wonder what today’s discussion is over at Deb Ng’s blog — I was particularly amused to find Thursday’s post titled My biggest time waster. From there, I follow some links through to some other blogs. After an hour has passed, I lay down the law and talk to myself in the third person.

“Now, Amy, you’re going to have to close the browsers on blogs and focus on some work. You’ve got deadlines.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” I tell myself. (Ok, maybe I don’t talk to myself out loud, but does that make it any less pathetic?) “I’ll make you a deal, me. I’ll do three articles for client X and write half of client Z’s newsletter, but I’m putting client Y off until tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, Amy. You still have a week.”

Negotiations have been made. I’ve shaken my own hand.

Then I remember I haven’t checked my email yet! Ah, the bright glory of 145 new emails since last night at midnight. Whatever would I do if I didn’t have write-from-home.com?

And so, in the fairy tale of avoidance behavior, I have successfully managed to kill five hours doing absolutely nothing billable. Like the Cubs and their eternal wait for next year, my mantra for the week has become there’s always tomorrow.

I sat down this morning and did some thinking, trying to figure out what it is that’s making me like this, because although I can laugh about it, it’s also a bit disturbing. Six months before I left my former life as a paralegal, I began sitting in my office making chains out of paper clips and balls out of rubber bands. At night, I’d have dreams about folding legal documents into paper air planes. That was burnout, and I don’t want to go back there.

I am determined to break out of my freelance writing rut before it becomes freelance writing burnout. I’m going to finish a big job I have to finish this weekend.

Then, I’m going to find something creative to do and maybe take on a new pro bono writing project for a non-profit cause I support. After all, at the heart of my passion for writing is the need to create and the desire to do something worthwhile. Lately, my rut stems from doing neither.