Writing Retreats Versus Binge Writing

In this episode, I break down the key distinctions between binge-writing and writing retreats. I’ll explore the deeper implications of each, explaining why binge-writing often leads to burnout while retreats provide the spaciousness and support needed for sustainable progress. Whether you’re struggling with the binge-and-bust cycle or just looking to create more balance in your writing practice, this episode offers valuable insights into why retreating might be the solution.

If you’re ready to experience the transformative power of a writing retreat, I invite you to join our next Spacious Writing Retreat. Tune in and learn how retreating can revolutionize your writing practice and break you out of the binge-bust cycle.

Why Writing Retreats are Different

When you’re in a retreat environment, it’s all about slowing down, giving yourself the space to breathe, and committing to a steady rhythm of writing that doesn’t burn you out. Unlike binge writing—where you push yourself to the limit in a burst of inspiration and end up exhausted and burned out—writing retreats allow you to tap into your creativity without the pressure. You give yourself permission to write in a relaxed, intentional, and supportive way that fosters productivity and personal growth.

Pitfalls of Binge and Bust Cycle

The binge and bust cycle is a dangerous pattern many academic writers get trapped in when publication due dates approach and you struggle to balance your writing schedule with other academic duties. You might write for days, pouring everything into your work, but then come to a screeching halt when your energy runs dry. This leaves you feeling overwhelmed, burned out, and perhaps even questioning your ability or purpose as a scholar. The binge and bust-cycle can kill your motivation and productivity. Writing retreats are an effective tool to help you break the cycle of binge-writing and start building a more sustainable writing practice. 

Break the Binge and Bust Cycle with the Spacious Retreat

The Spacious Writing Retreat isn’t about cramming in long, draining writing sessions—it’s about creating a balanced, nourishing environment where you can write with intention, space, and ease. You’ll leave feeling energized, focused, and with a clear path forward for your writing.

Ready to find a pace that actually works for you? The Spacious Writing Retreat could be just the thing you need to make lasting progress and finally break free from the cycle holding you back. Click here to get all the retreat details and submit an interest form!. 

“The key difference between retreating and binging is in filling yourself up with support versus continuing to operate without support. When you go on a writing retreat the purpose of the retreat is not for you to work yourself into the ground, the purpose of the retreat is for you to feel supported.”

“When you’re doing drastic ups and downs or operating with cortisol on 100 all the time and then try to ramp up even more with binge writing, it’s a recipe for disaster. It’s a recipe for a bust that doesn’t come from a place of support. Because when you are binging and busting, you are not creating a restful and spacious writing practice. You are creating a writing practice that relies on stress.”

We’ve opened the waitlist for our next cohort of Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap®. Check out the program details and get on the waitlist here.

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:

1. Our 12-week Navigate: Your Writing Roadmap® program helps tenure-track womxn and nonbinary professors to publish their backlog of papers so that their voice can have the impact they know is possible. Get on the waitlist here!
2. Cathy’s book, Making Time to Write: How to Resist the Patriarchy and Take Control of Your Academic Career Through Writing is available in print! Learn how to build your career around your writing practice while shattering the myths of writing every day, accountability, and motivation, doing mindset work that’s going to reshape your writing,and changing academic culture one womxn and nonbinary professor at a time. Get your print copy today or order it for a friend here!
3. If you would like to hear more from Cathy for free, please subscribe to the weekly newsletter, In the Pipeline, at scholarsvoice.org. It’s a newsletter that she personally writes that goes out once a week with writing and publication tips, strategies, inspiration, book reviews and more.

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