How Do You Get Your Mojo Back?

 

Have you ever lost it? You know, your mojo. That part of you that is alive with passion and can’t wait to tackle that day’s goal. Or maybe you have never felt it. I have, I know exactly what it feels like. I’ve had different mojos in my life, right now though, I am talking about my writing mojo. It is gone. Poof. It left the building when all of my electronics were stolen when my car was broken into. My laptop was taken and on it was my unsaved not-on-my-external-hard-drive (don’t get me started) manuscript. I cried. I pleaded. I stalked Craigslist for weeks, but alas it was gone. And with that laptop and manuscript gone, my mojo went out the window too. So how exactly do I go about getting my mojo back?

Well, I should just stop you right here. I don’t have all the answers. I do have what I am trying for myself and seeing if it works. I recently came back from BlogHer 2014 and finally, after months, felt inspired to write. And look what I am doing right here… I am writing from 30,000 feet up in the air on my way back to Anchorage. I call this free writing. I have no goal, no real topic in mind, I am just letting my mind go and fingers float over the keyboard.

Often times when I write like this and go back and read it the next day I don’t remember writing a single word of it. I sometimes (can’t believe I am admitting this), wonder who the hell snuck onto my laptop and write that. Often times my free form writing is raw and vulnerable and shares a part of myself with my readers that I hadn’t quite wanted to. I have to let myself write this way or I can’t write for my clients or write necessary pieces for my blog. My mind just refuses and it sucks.

But let’s get back to my mojo. I lost it. Really lost it. My manuscript was the story of last year when I gave away all I owned and took a trek through 38 states and ran 10 half marathons. The thought of rewriting it often times makes me want to vomit. How could I possibly rewrite it? I spent three weeks in Mexico writing that book, where would I find that kind of uninterrupted time again? Ever since I decided to head to Alaska I knew I would write there. I mean really write. I thought it was going to be my novel, now it will be the rewrite.

Set Goals.

I suck at setting and maintaining goals. Seriously suck. I am such a free spirit anymore that I have felt myself lately revolting to things that should be standard when running a business. So yep, I am making goals, setting deadlines, and marking time off on my daily calendar to get the rewrite done. Oh, and yes one of my goals is to get an accountability partner in on this. I have other goals for my business writing, but right now, just focusing on how to get myself to write my book, again. Here are a couple I have so far:

1. Decide if I want to write it in Word or Scrivener (which is what I wrote it in before). I’m leaning towards Word for the second time around, although I love how Scrivener is laid out, but Word will automatically back up to the Cloud for me. I need that reassurance right now.
2. Write 2,000 words a day or at least 10,000 words a week. If I keep this schedule, I could have it written in 2 months.
3. Before each week, add the photos, Facebook posts, and other social relevant items to that week’s chapter of what happened on the road so I can just sit down and write around it. Or, hire a Virtual Assistant to do this part so I could put the book together faster.
4. Send queries out to editors and publishers to see if I can go the traditional publishing route, if not I will self-publish.
5. Figure out how to do Step #4.
6. Take my laptop out into nature at least once a week and let myself free write so that I can keep my writing mojo flowing.

Reach Out.

The one thing that was driven home at BlogHer was that I personally needed to reach out to my network and ask for help. Or even put together a Google Hangout and get a bunch of my blogging friends together so we can help motivate each other. There really is nothing like talking to people in your industry about your struggles and roadblocks and hearing how they plowed through them. Reaching out and helping others is also a way that makes me feel good. When I feel good about myself then I tend to want to do what I love – and that is writing.

Working Out.

Often times when we lose our mojo we are also bordering on bouts of depression. I will be the first to admit I cried everyday for close to a month over losing the book. Every.Day. The one thing that had a very high success rate for me was pounding my frustrations out on the pavement when I went running or hiking up a mountain. If you are in a slump, lace up those shoes and get some much needed sunshine for at least 20 minutes. When you have a healthy body, you have a healthy mind.

Do Other Things You Love.

When you have lost your mojo, it could be hard to find the motivation to do other things. Make a list of things that you love to do. Now go do those things. Here is my short list of things I do when I feel myself slipping into a funk and need to get pulled out quickly.

1. Head out to nature. Whether it is a quick drive to a trailhead, the ocean, or wherever just so I don’t see another human being for a few minutes. I always have to live somewhere that I can escape into nature or I would go out of my mind.
2. Read smut. Yep, I will break out a trashy novel or read random online articles and give it 20 minutes of my time. Works like a charm.
3. I watch Criminal Minds or Scandal… love love love these shows and they have a way of taking my mind off whatever it is perseverating on.
4. Go for a run. I can’t run half marathons right now, but pounding out a mile works for me and I love how I feel after I have ran – like a Champ!
5. Kiss. This helps when I am dating someone. But boy, can a kiss that makes you lose your mind help to bring back your mojo – even your sexy mojo.

When you feel good about yourself and what you are doing with your life, it is so much easier to find your mojo. Have you tried anything that I have? What helps you to get your mojo back?

 

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