4 Unexpected Outcomes I Wish I Knew About Online Writing Jobs

We all have high expectations when we start a new job. We think of what we’ll do in it, how we’ll grow, and how everything will go ideally.

We tell ourselves that we’ll exceed our limits and excel so well that we’ll become experts. That’s true of any work, including online writing jobs.

As an online writer, you expect to:

Hone your writing skills.
Write copy that’s thrilling, informative, and compelling.
Become an expert in the English language.
Show off your skills in conversations by mentioning acronyms like “SEO” and “CTA”.
Be recognized for your signature writing style.
Become known as the greatest writer of the 21st Century.
Be hired to write speeches for some of the most influential people in the world.
And much more…

Every dream is valid, but there are outcomes of online writing jobs you wouldn’t think about. These are unexpected results of being an online writer that everyone eventually experiences. Here are four of the more fascinating ones.

Google Really Does Become Your Best Friend

You’ve most likely heard your friend say, “Google is your friend.” when you ask them a question. This phrase basically tells you to look for the answer to your question through the search engine.

As an online writer, you know you’ll use Google or other search engines frequently once you start working. That’s to be expected for all the research you need to do on different topics and articles. However, what you don’t expect is how you become over-reliant on it for everything.

Once you learn how to properly use it, you can’t do without it. Not only do you use it in your work for valuable information, but you also use it for the most mundane things. You ask the search engine the simplest questions in life like:

How to spell a word.
Whether a word is considered American English or British English.
Whether a word actually exists.
The meaning of a word you know very well, but want to make sure you’re using right.
Today’s date because you don’t want to open up a calendar or look at the bottom of your computer screen.
What Google is celebrating through its doodles.
Whether a piece of information you read on social media or the family WhatsApp group is true.
Suggestions on interesting blogs, movies, music, travel destinations, etc.
How to tie a tie and do everything else.

The more you work in your online job, the more surprised you are by the amount of content there is. You can find anything you’re looking for on the internet and all it takes is a simple search. Google really does become your best friend and you wonder where you’d be without it.

Fun fact: There’s even a popular acronym for this, GIYF which stands for, “Google is your friend.”

The Google algorithm has evolved considerably, allowing you to get the right answers through the right searches. There are ways of ‘asking your friend’ precise queries:

Search google like a pro — Click image to magnify. Image courtesy

As you become more and more dependent on Google, you start to enjoy it. You experience delight when your best friend gives you exactly what you were looking for. You even find yourself saying, “Thanks, Google.” as if it were a real person.

Time Does Play Tricks on You

When working online, you get to set your own hours and work when you want to. You have copy to write, usually with deadlines to respect, but you decide what to do with your time. And there lies the true gift and curse of time.

There are three clear scenarios with time when you have an online writing job. You either:

Get your writing done in a short amount of time and think you have lots of it left. Which, in your mind, tells you that you have time to procrastinate with.
Struggle writing content you’re not excited about and think the time has flown by. Only to find out that barely five minutes have passed.
Wait and keep waiting to get work done until it hits you that your deadline is fast approaching. Pretty soon you have no time left at all.

You might assume that you have time, but time moves fast. Faster than you would think when you have lots of it. And even when you think you’ve mastered it, an hour has gone by and you didn’t see it pass.

It’s truly fascinating to see it all unfold and experience it differently every day.

However, there are ways to maintain consistency in your day-to-day life as an online writer. There are proven habits that will help you manage your time effectively, such as:

Having a daily work routine and sticking to it
Avoiding life’s inevitable distractions
Using work tools to remain focused for hours
Working smarter instead of harder

You can learn about these habits and much more online. There you’ll find the tools you need to succeed in your online writing job.

With an online writing job, you learn skills that improve your communication:

They show you how to be compelling and increase conversions for clients. That’s to be expected.

What’s unexpected at first, however, is that you end up using these same skills in everyday life. This is especially true in the content you post on your social media channels. Before you even realize it:

You’re now the funniest person among your friends with your clever one-liners.
More people react to articles you share than ever before.
You start getting considerable interactions (retweets and replies) on Twitter.
You’re considered an authority on the topics you love and talk about most.
You can’t keep track of all your notifications on Facebook.
People appreciate you more and more.
You start contemplating a career in comedy and what to do with your new-found fame.

All this can be exhilarating and you want more of it – in small doses of course. And you can have more; you can perfect your social media posts through consistent growth.

Burnout is Actually Real

One negative aspect of online writing is that, if you’re not careful, you can burn out before you know it. You begin to stagnate in your work, it doesn’t have the same quality, and you hit a wall. You’re not sure what to do, but you want to fix it as soon as possible. You want to get back to your old self.

Burnout is normal and can happen to anyone. It mostly happens when you’re on a decent run of producing great content at a fast pace.

What you shouldn’t do in such cases is try to keep going at that same pace, aiming for the same quality. That’s a mistake that will leave you even more mentally exhausted.

As a writer, you’re creative. And like all creative minds, you’re a perfectionist trying to outdo yourself. You’re always looking to write better copy than the content you wrote before. But you can’t achieve or surpass that same level of work if you’re worn out.

It’s important to slow things down and take time to rest when you notice that:

Your work is suffering
You’re not writing as well as before
Or your mind is racing

Take some time to clear your mind and let the ideas flow back in, naturally. There’s no point in forcing the matter. Burnout for your mind is similar to a car flashing that signal that you’re running on empty. You wouldn’t accelerate at full speed with your car if that were the case, would you? Well, neither should you do so with your brain.

To get back to your best self, you can:

Take a day off and get reacquainted with the beautiful world outside
Do something that stimulates your mind in a positive and relaxing way
Focus on tasks that don’t require too much concentration

In Summary

There are many positive outcomes of working in online writing jobs – both expected and unexpected. There can also be a few negative ones, but those are easily manageable with the right habits.

Some unexpected outcomes include: