How to survive tough assignments

Being a copywriter isn't all about fun adverts and funky slogans. It can be, but a lot of the work is actually quite serious and technical. Sometimes even a little bleak.

Now, we're fairly emotional people, us copywriters. It comes with the territory, I guess. So whatever it is we're writing about, it usually takes a slight detour through our hearts. Case in point... I recently came to the end of a particularly heartbreaking (and seemingly never-ending) project about terminal illnesses.

Just to be clear, I produce a fair amount of medical, pharmaceutical and healthcare industry content and it's not like you'll find me huddled under my desk bawling my eyes out every afternoon.

However. I do live and work in Sweden where, during the winter months at least, there isn't exactly an overabundance of sunshine and uplifting greenery about, which does kind of get to you after a while. And by about mid-January I'm usually experiencing a mild case of "Where's the ******* sun?!" or, as it's known in the Swedish medical community, a vitamin D deficiency.

And as I have no immediate intention of relocating to sunnier climes, I just have to deal with it. Which usually involves making sure there's plenty of healthy looking plants and fresh flowers in the office, regularly doing things that cheer me up, trying to avoid too many overly distressing or melancholic films and television shows (not easy when you live in Scandinavia), eating and drinking exactly what I fancy (yes, I do put on a lot of weight during the winter) and listening to uplifting, cheerful music every now and then. It helps. It really does.

But getting back to that project...

It was a heart-wrenching assignment, which just happened to coincide with my midwinter blues. I was actually fine for most of it, to be honest, but it did drag on. And by the time I had just a few days of work left, every hour was beginning to feel like five.

My solution?

More flowers!! Really really close to my face too, so I could see them. A non-stop, audible soundtrack of uplifting, cheery music. The minute I stepped into the office, the music went on. And of course, you guessed it, I upped my consumption of tasty treats (worth it).

So, if you're having a tough time with an assignment or project, and it's starting to get you down. Or if you can resonate with any of what I went through last month. My humble advice is to add a few little extra twinkles to your office or daily life. Things that make you happy, no matter how small. And try to avoid all that unnecessary melancholic stuff.

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