Have you ever attended a writing retreat? I’ve been to a couple and I’ve never regretted it.
Writing retreats can be as short as one day and as long as you want! To me, what distinguishes a writing retreat from a regular day at the office is a) a change in location, and b) a commitment to spend the time writing (within the limits of your work/life commitments).
I recently attended a 5-day writing retreat that was hosted by my university’s Graduate Education Officers. All the planning was done by them, including booking the venue and providing lunch.
Here are some of the main benefits I’ve experienced of attending a writing retreat, especially one organised by someone else:
Accountability: Knowing that I was going to be working with other people made me show up and keep working. I had a couple of morning commitments that I couldn’t move (an appointment at the doctor and an exam I was invigilating) and knowing that people were expecting me to appear at the venue afterwards kept me from going home after lunch. Also, if you’re in a room full of people it’s kinda tricky to accidentally spend the day watching Netflix instead of working.
Environment: We were working in a dedicated quiet space where we could safely leave our computers if we needed to. It was also great to be in a different location without the distractions of home or a shared office (cough cats and officemates cough). We had lots of space to spread out, and because everyone was working to a similar schedule there weren’t people coming and going constantly which can happen in the library or the office.
Lunch provided: Because this retreat was hosted by the GROs, it included lunch every day, at no cost to us. We got fed at a set time every day which meant we didn't need to worry about preparing and remembering to bring food. I often forget to make or bring food with me to campus, and I’m hesitant to buy food because I currently don’t have an income (yay). This means afternoons can be unproductive as I’m either distracted by hunger, or I leave early to go home to eat. Lunchtime also provided structure to the day, with a forced break and something yummy to look forward to.
Access to hot water: Endless tea. Need I say more?
While it's much easier to have someone else arrange all these things for you, I've found that with a bit of planning you can manage most, if not all, of these things yourself. Find some friends to work with, head to the library or book a room on campus, remember to bring lunch and snacks with you, and pack a thermos if there's no hot water available in your chosen location.
As others have pointed out there can be some downsides to working in new locations, including different sounds and people, and a lack of peripherals that may usually help your productivity (i.e. a second monitor). It can also be difficult to commit to a long period of time away from your usual responsibilities. Maybe you can’t just drop everything for a week to write, and that’s ok. There are other options! You just need to figure out what works for you.
This is what working from home can look like for me. Baci likes to “help” me write.
Write Club
The first rule of Write Club is that you don't talk during Write Club.
At my uni a bunch of friends and I started what we call Monday Write Club, where we commit to spend all day Monday working together. It’s a modified version of Shut Up and Write. We have a regular room booking on campus, access to a tearoom for hot water, and the accountability of working with other people. No free lunch unfortunately ;). The daily schedule varies, but generally we try to start the day with goal setting, then we check in at lunch, and again at the end of the day. Sometimes we use pomodoros, sometimes we just shut up and write.
Use your time well
I've found that writing retreats or writing days are most valuable if I go into the retreat with a plan, which for me includes a goal and a stretch goal.
My advice is to spend some time before the retreat thinking about what you want to accomplish, and what you need to do each day to get there. Make sure all your files are in order, your reference manager is up to date, and references are entered correctly. I also find it helpful to have somewhere to note down thoughts and ideas that pop up so you don’t get distracted and go off on tangents.
For example, at my last writing retreat my goals were:
- Make a new Scrivener project for my thesis and populate it with all the writing I’ve done over the past 4 years
- Revise my foraging chapter to a near-final stage and send it for feedback
- Stretch goal - draft and finalise a paper on the diet of my study species
But there’s no point in making goals if you don’t check in and monitor your progress. I try to check in with myself at least once a day in the morning, but sometimes I check in at lunchtime too. I also try to keep a done list for the day, where I note down what I actually did that day. It’s nice to look back and see that Hey, I did actually do a lot of work this week!
Note: this is just what I do, and how writing retreats and Write Club have helped me. There are numerous ways to run and attend a writing retreat, from fancy 2 month trips to another country, to going to the local library for the day. Ultimately it all comes down to what works best for you within your budget, both time and money-wise.
Go forth and be productive! But also don’t beat yourself up if you have an off day :)
A productive day spent working in a friend’s office.