Down With The Sickness

I have been infected. There appears to be no possible cure. Whatever I do, it continues to haunt me. This evil, wretched plague is tearing up my mind and soul.

I have written draft after draft, but I cannot seem to finish a single post related to money. I’m not even really sure if I’ll finish this post, even though it’s just to let you all know that I have writer’s block.

I don’t know why this is happening to me, it’s really lame. I have like 5 or 6 post drafts, but every time I got to read them over and fix them so that people can actually understand all the gibberish, my mind goes blank.

They don’t even really make any sense and I can’t seem to get to the point. After I read them, I’m not even sure what my point was intended to be. It really sucks.

The weird thing though is that it isn’t just my posts that are making my brain spin and making me just mentally check out. I know everybody isn’t writing crap for posts, but I just can’t seem to focus long enough to finish them (or fix mine).

I guess there is a lot going on lately, maybe it all has thrown me off.

Christmas is coming up soon and I just can’t seem to get into the Christmas spirit, even though it’s my favorite holiday. I’m just not feeling it this year. With Christmas comes Christmas shopping…oh man, do I hate shopping.

The year is almost over and aside from blogging and finances, I’m pretty much right where I was last year. That’s sorta a big bummer, I haven’t really done much toward my personal goals or doing things I really enjoy. It’s like the year has flown by and I’m still where I was before.

People are shooting little kids. I don’t even know them and it’s breaking my heart. I can’t even read about it or see the pictures of the kids and keep my eyes dry. Heartbreaking.

We bought our first house and it’s meant a ton of spending. It’s also making me realize that we’re probably not going to be able to afford to go on the Europe trip…again. My honey wanted a house and I wanted to travel and live abroad. He won, we don’t have enough money to do both.

I’ve been getting tons of headaches lately too, due to our dog. Roxy has been so annoying. Whining and barking all freakin’ day long, every single day. It really wears me out. I even thought about finding her a new home…but I’m not sure I could really do that.

There’s other stuff too, but I don’t want to just drag on (anymore than I already have). My head is just in a weird place and I can’t focus and get past this writer’s block. Hopefully I will be able to finish one of these posts soon. :-)

Okay, I’m just going to post this and not try to edit it…otherwise it will just be sitting with all my other drafts. Please excuse any gibberish, grammar mistakes and whatever else is potentially wrong with this post.

Anybody else in some kind of mental funk?
How do you get past writer’s block?

About Jen Perkins

Likes: saving money, being debt free (aside from our house), zombies, travel, getting money, blogging and dogs. Dislikes: debt, being broke, bunnies, wasting money, not having enough money to travel the world and paying interest. Facebook  ♥  Twitter  ♥  Google+  ♥  RSS

Comments

Down With The Sickness — 20 Comments

  1. I’ve recently been struggling with a lack of contentment in my life. It’s been tough for me to spend all of our house down payment fund on a “new” car, washer and dryer, and a few other things recently. In addition to that I haven’t been making a ton of money and the lack of financial progress has beaten me down. With that said, I simply focused on all that I have to be thankful for and I’m finally overcoming my funk.

    Anyhow, in regards to the writers block…why don’t you just have some people guest post for a week or two?
    WorkSaveLive recently posted..Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos RecipeMy Profile

  2. I’ve been there. I actually started out blogging about job searching. After a year and a half of searching with no full time job to my name, I quit and the blog got shuttered for nearly 6 months before I reinvented myself as a PF blogger.

    As far as writer’s block goes, sometimes you just have to hit publish anyway. Even if it’s not your usual quality, even if it meanders and never comes to a coherent point. Just put it out there.

    Writer’s block is 90% mental and the rest is just in your head. :)
    Edward Antrobus recently posted..When there isn’t enough money at the end of the monthMy Profile

    • Thanks MMD. What’s up with that anyway? The holidays are supposed to be happy times, why do people get so gloomy?

      I’ve come across a good amount of posts that say if you start deviating from your topic, your readers will get mad and stop reading your blog after a while. So I guess I didn’t want to lose my readers, they’re all so nice.

      Logically though, it makes sense. I should be able to write about whatever I want, but I worry about straying from personal finance.
      Jen Perkins recently posted..How To Decide Which Financial Goal To Tackle FirstMy Profile

  3. I get that way sometimes but I have about 109 drafts waiting for me to finish. I think of an idea and immediately draft it up. When I find time I go back to them but sometimes I just keep writing new posts on new things. My goal this year is to start pumping out my drafts which I plan to finish! Don’t worry it’s almost the Holidays and our minds are not so focused on writing it’s being with our loved ones, at least for us it is. Happy Holidays mate! Mr.CBB
    Canadianbudgetbinder recently posted..A Beginners Guide to Early RetirementMy Profile

  4. Jen, I have never had this stuff but you have my symphathy – must be horrid. Apart from that, last time I had a minor issue with working something out (a piece of writing) a friend who is in the memory/learning circles (judges world memory competitions) gave a great piece of advice – ‘just go for a walk’. It seems to me that you should start beating yourself up and rest; look carefully at what you have achieved and don’t underplay it – you may realise you have moved forward more that you think you have.
    maria@moneyprinciple recently posted..About frugality, co-creation and the return of temptationMy Profile

  5. Sorry to hear Jen, Christmas and the end of year usually affect me that way too. To go past writer’s block I would stop those drafts you can’t finish. I think about 2-3 money related ideas every day, and those I can write about super easily, but if I say “hey, let’s talk about XYZ”, I usually take hours to write. Let your surroundings inspire you, you can talk about your goals for 2013, your Christmas wish list, presents, decorations… Or just what is in your head like you just did!
    Pauline recently posted..How much do you spend on gifts?My Profile

  6. I have been in this situation more than a few times and I feel your pain/funk/confusion. But I have learned that it will eventually pass, it always does. Just take a break and you’ll be back on your feet in no time.
    Felix Lee recently posted..7 Rich People ProblemsMy Profile

  7. I’ve been there, I get it. Sometimes if I get in a rut, I’ll just take a day to completely do something fun and detatched from work, responsibilities, etc. Granted, my kids might be accompanying me so responsibilities would still be there in those cases, but for me taking a day to get a change of scenery is a great thing. Actually a few days is much better!

    Having fun, and reconnecting with being thankful for what I have, usually works to get me back on track. Of course I realize we’re all different, and what works for me might not work for someone else…

    As for writer’s block, I get that too – for the last few years, I’ll just periodically get stuck. It seems like again for me, a few days just detaching from it can spark new ideas later.
    Digital Personal Finance recently posted..12 Tips on Using Linkedin to Help You Grow Your CareerMy Profile

    • I have a hard time detaching myself. Even though I haven’t posted in almost a week, I’ve still been pushing myself to try. I’ve also been staring at things I need to do, but mentally can’t at the time.

      I do think detaching myself and just having fun would really refresh me, I just don’t really know how to do that anymore. I would have to spend days getting things done around the house (and errands) and unplug completely from the internet. Then, I don’t even know what I would do with myself.

      It’s sounds nice though. :-)
      Jen Perkins recently posted..Changing Our Christmas Ways To Get AheadMy Profile