Lauren Martin

Interview by Madeleine Dore

Lauren Martin: Writer

Shownotes

01:34

Use your emotions – It’s natural to try to cover up or get rid of negative emotions, such as procrastination or envy, but instead you should try to use these emotions to motivate you and drive you forward.

02:42

This weeks’ guest – Lauren Martin is a writer and the founder of Words of Women, which is an online community to support the growth and development of women. This project started after Lauren was burned out in another job and she realised that she wanted to write something for herself. 

06:25

Give yourself time – Do what makes you happy and do what feels right until things fall into place for your next opportunity. There’s no point in rushing and putting extra pressure on yourself by forcing a situation to happen. Everybody has a different timeline, so focus on your own rather than comparing against other people’s.

10:12

Keep searching – Finding your passion or your perfect opportunity may take a while, and it make take some trial and error along the way. Try new things and try new jobs, and move on if you’re not happy, whether it’s down to the people or the job itself that make you feel this way. And when you do find that passion, stick with it.

13:06

Prioritise your passion – If you know what your passion is, you need to prioritise it in your day. Dedicate as much time as possible to it to really turn it into something viable. Lauren talks about how she would wake up at 5am to work on Words of Women before her full-time job started and how she would even sneak in extra time throughout the day. Finding and dedicating this time will be easy if you love what you do.

15:32

Routine in a rut – If you find yourself in a rut, give yourself a routine to follow along with. This will give you some much-needed structure between your obligations and your passions. It will help you to create a little pocket of time just for you. 

17:56

You’re not alone – It can be easy to think that you’re the only person feeling a certain way, and like you’re the only person with certain pressures and constraints. But if you’re open, honest, and share how you’re feeling, you will likely find that plenty of others feel exactly the same way. Connect with these people to help realise that you are okay and that you’re not alone, and you can help each other through.

19:57

Flat days versus high days – Sometimes you feel like you’re on top of the world and that you’re the best at what you do, and then sometimes, even just the next day, you can crash to the bottom and question why you do what you do. Try to use the lows to your advantage to produce the best work that you can.

24:30

Ego depletion – A body can only take so much in a day and it needs to be replenished with a good sleep each night. Once your body hits its limit on a daily basis, listen to it and don’t push it any further. Allow yourself and your body some time to rest and recover before starting over the next day with replenished will power.

27:18

Reframe your sleep – Instead of worrying about going to bed by a certain time to get X number of hours of sleep before having to wake up early the next morning, do what feels right to you at the time. Easing up on your bedtime rules will relieve the stress and pressure of this time of day, ultimately allowing you to relax more and help you fall asleep easier.

29:26

Choosing a topic – It can be both overwhelming and seemingly impossible to choose from your thoughts, ideas, and notes on what to focus on next. Once you pick and start a new project, see how it goes and, if it’s not coming out right or you don’t like it, put it to the side and come back to it later. Don’t force it.

31:29

Take notes – As a writer, you will constantly have ideas and topics popping into your head, and experiences and inspiration that you may want to refer to later. Whether it’s journaling or just making a list, write them down to make sure that you don’t forget them. 

36:33

Social butterfly or solitude? – A creative needs life experiences to help influence their work, and also they need one to keep their sanity. But on the other hand, a certain amount isolation and solitude is necessary in order to process thoughts and get them down in writing. Sometimes you may even hide behind either or to avoid your work. Try to find the healthy balance between the two to benefit both yourself and your work.

40:32

Making rules – Set yourself some basic rules or boundaries to keep control of both your mind and your life. They don’t have to be big rules, but if you can control yourself, then you will feel at peace and at ease, and overall feel better about yourself.

41:52

Typical routine – Lauren prefers to be outside of the house to work in a morning, and then she exercises or cleans during her lunch break. In the afternoons, she creates her perfect environment before taking a maximum of two manageable hours to sit down to write. In the evening, she likes to watch TV, read, or sometimes work a little bit more. She enjoys having structure around the chaos of her life as an author.

47:14

Imposter Syndrome – Rather than feeling down in her bad moments, Lauren sometimes feels down in her high, successful moments. She feels as if she doesn’t deserve the positive feedback, the compliments, or the success of her writing and often compares herself to others who are already achieving their goals.

48:47

Know your limits – Constantly coming up with new ideas and new projects is great, but it can be overwhelming and stressful because you don’t have the time to focus on them all. Instead, figure out what you do have time for, and file away the other ideas for future use.

52:46

Find delight in your day – Whether it’s cooking, watching TV, or something else, find a meditative and relaxing ritual in your day that you can focus on without needing too much energy. Focus on the small things in your day that bring you joy and that make you feel renewed.

Findings 

Words of Women

Words of Women Instagram

The Book of Moods by Lauren Martin