: Re: How can one "treat writing as a job" even though it doesn't pay? I hear this advice a lot: "Treat your writing as a job." But it seems to me that this is easier said/done when it is actually

@Sarah872

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As a writer with a day job (programmer) I wondered why was I so much more successful as a programmer than a writer? Here are some of the answers I discerned:

I go to work every day as a programmer, whether I feel like it or not.
I don't get emotionally tied up in people's responses to my programming work.
I'm process-focused, not goal-focused, in my day job.
If I encounter obstacles in my day job, I work through them until I reach eventual success.
I don't expect special treatment, lucky breaks, or magical interventions in my day job. I go through all the standard processes and meet all the best practices as anyone else. I believe my outcomes will be based on my effort, not my talent.
It doesn't bother me if a work project takes a very long time to complete, or if I don't see immediate progress. I just keep moving forward, in the belief that the project will eventually come to fruition (and if it doesn't, I just chalk it up to learning).
I'm part of a larger team as a programmer, that can give me valuable and immediate feedback, or that I can learn from.

The more I emulate these aspects of my day job in my writing, the better --in my own estimation --I become as a writer. Clearly, I can't do everything the same --I can't afford to spend 40 hours a week writing, for example --but I can adapt it to what is achievable. In other words, I make sure I write every single day, even if it's only 15 minutes (whether I feel like it or not).

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