Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Today, there are a number of people who find success by creating content. Whether you’re a writer or you create videos on YouTube, it’s all about sharing a message. Many people, including myself, rely on performing at our best to pay the bills. But what happens when you try to create this content while your exhausted?
How Being Exhausted Affects Your Work
Being too tired to work is damaging for any career. Your mind needs to be sharp and crisp if you want to stay ahead of the competition. Otherwise, you’ll have a more difficult time securing clients and projects that pay.
In my experience, the following is reason enough why you should never create content when you’re too tired to function.
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Lack of Concentration on the Project
When you’re not well-rested, it’s easier for the mind to wander. Instead of hammering out details or whipping up a good blog post for a client, the potential for sitting and looking at a blank screen is high.
It’s not just creating content that is affected, either. If your mind isn’t in the game, you may go so far as to misquote a statistic, link to a wrong page or input words that are nonsensical to the topic. This is true whether you’re writing or sitting in front of a camera.
Splitting your concentration makes you less productive. In fact, less than 3% of people are able to multitask efficiently. Being exhausted is just one of those things that will split your focus. A mind that is fighting its own fatigue has a far more difficult time to process information and be productive.
Reduces Work Quality
When there is a lack of concentration and focus, there is a lack of producing quality work. Now, some people can still have some degree of success when they’re fighting fatigue. But, there is a wide range of what this actually means. In the end, it’s all about whether or not the project was completed in the best way possible.
Take myself, for example. There’s a reason why I absolutely stop writing when I reach a certain point in the day. It’s been my experience that I will receive more revision requests at night than I do in the morning. This is because I am getting exhausted by the end of the day.
Now that I moved my work hours to the morning, I receive far fewer revisions if any at all. This is because my mind is crisp and ready to work. Of course, there are days when I don’t get enough sleep and am sluggish. And yes, this greatly affects my ability to work. Ask my editor.
Easier to Commit Errors that Get Past Editing
When your mind is cloudy from being exhausted, it’s easier to make errors in your work. Depending on the job, this could be exceptionally dangerous. For instance, you wouldn’t want a tractor driver falling asleep at the wheel when cruising down the road.
In some cities, excessive sleep deprivation is as prosecutable as driving while intoxicated. Many states have adopted various statutes for reckless driving if you’re exhausted behind the wheel.
A lot of people don’t realize just how dangerous being too tired can be whether it’s at work or in personal life. Although misspelling a word as a ghostwriter or creating an incomprehensible paragraph in your own novel isn’t cause for jail time, it will hinder future success.
You’re not “tough” by depriving yourself of sleep. In fact, you’re contributing to your own lack of health. Being exhausted can lead to a myriad of problems from hallucinations to high blood pressure. Things like this will affect you as a writer.
It’s easier to just do the job correctly the first time than to go back and fix mistakes because you were exhausted.
Affects the Style of Writing
When your mind is cloudy because of exhaustion, your style of writing will suffer. Content that needs to be created a certain way may be completely opposite than what is developed. For instance, if a client wants a clinical electronics manual, you may create a jovial blog post.
Creating good content needs to have an even flow throughout. Things like jumping from easy words to advanced terminology can easily lose the audience. When you’re exhausted, it’s more difficult to maintain that even flow.
What if you’re in front of a camera making a YouTube video? Although being exhausted may lead to a funny take, it may be less than ideal if you’re trying to get a point across. The mind may wander and you can start talking off-topic. A once poignant point may become nothing more than a random statement.
There have been plenty of times when I’ve read over my material the next day and wonder, “What the hell was I writing?”
Pushes Clients Away
Since then, I’ve tried my hardest to make sure all of my clients and employers receive the best I can offer. Although I still suffer from insomnia periodically, I do what I can to make sure I get enough rest.
Sleeping well benefits yourself as well as those you’re trying to please. From clients who want blog posts to the audience who watches your YouTube channel, there needs to be a consistent level of quality. Making sure you get enough shut-eye at night is a way to provide the best content you can.
Using a Well-Rested Mind
A lack of focus and concentration on a project reduces your ability to be crisp and businesslike. It’s your professionalism that will often gauge success, especially as a ghostwriter. Remember, there are thousands of others on the Internet willing to work. Treat your work-at-home career as you would any other. It’s vital if you want to make any significant amount of money.
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