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Topic: A writer's schedule
| Author | Message |
| scribbler_kate | Posted – 6/5/2008 7:27:43 PM | show profile | email poster I'm leaping into this freelancing world, and I feel so overwhelmed I don't know where to start. I have lots of ideas, lots of markets I know I COULD pitch to ... but where do you start? What's a typical day for you in the freelance business? Do you stick to a set schedule, or just go as the muse moves you? I'm trying to stick to a schedule ... Grrr! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 6/5/2008 7:44:05 PM | show profile One of the hardest things for me at the start was the cabin fever and the fact that I was responsible for everyone. I've been freelancing for a long time now, and for years now I have had pretty much a 9-5 day, which is what most really successful freelancers I know do. What I do in a given day -- writing, reporting, marketing, etc. -- can vary. But typically I get my laptop, bike to my Starbucks office and start work between 8 or 9. I work until 12-1, when I go to the gym and bike back home for a quick lunch. And then I work until 5. |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 6/6/2008 1:09:06 AM | show profile The muse is less effective as a motivator than the mortgage...or rent...Set an income goal and start figuring out how many pieces it will take to achieve it...5 x $500? 3 x $2500? Who pays how much? Once you have a clear(er) set of potential markets and what each can pay you, it's easier to prioritize. A typical day is 10-6 or something like that. You have to be as disciplined as, or more than, when you work in someone else's office. Do NOT watch TV during work hours. Not until you are working a normal sked...and then, maybe, only on sick days. |
| JimmyG | Posted – 6/6/2008 4:42:03 PM | show profile From day one of getting laid off seven years ago--thus launching a freelance career--I've kept to a fairly strict, but purposefully loose, schedule. I read the newspaper with my coffee each morning at 8 am and am at the desk by 9 am. I spend no more than an hour trolling the Internet for ongoing research in my specialty areas, reading other news and checking/replying to email. If I have assignments pending I'll work through to at least 4 pm, with a lunch break around noon. If I'm particularly busy, work will commence sooner and end later, and may continue here and there over a weekend. If I'm not busy or am in work-avoidance mode, I may waste a surprising amount of time (like now) online. If you're short on work, make sure you spend at least a few hours each day researching/making queries, contacting clients and/or doing something that relates to businesslike activity. Sound like a regular job?--it is exactly like going to the office, only without mindless meetings or a commute that's longer than a flight of stairs. But no Xmas party or NCAA tournament pool:( Now, I have kids in grade school who sometimes need picking up or being shuttled to a sports practice or whatever, and I do my share of that (my spouse works part time, also from home), but everything's close to home (meaning a half hour spent, tops, doing such things) and I've sometimes worked from a laptop in the car to kill time during things like baseball practice. I hesitate to get a smart phone, but I suppose then I could keep up with emails while making a Costco run. The point is, to survive you have to treat freelancing like a regular job, while still taking advantage of the flexibility the lifestyle offers. Don't wallow in procrastination, but if things just aren't working out that day and you don't have a deadline hovering over you, then go and do something for yourself or take the kids to the beach. Just don't feel guilty about it. At the same time, it's not particularly healthy to regularly blow off work all day and have to lose sleep pulling all-nighters to get it done (except in rare occasions when there's no choice other than to burn the midnight oil, of course). Planned days off can go a long way toward avoiding burnout and absorb the time when work is not forthcoming. If you're single, make regular human contact (maybe even get a pet) to avoid isolationism, but don't lose large chunks of your productivity sitting on the phone or otherwise kvetching with unemployed friends at the coffee shop--save that for the "after work" hours. |
| scribbler_kate | Posted – 6/11/2008 11:01:06 PM | show profile Thanks, all. I know it's so important to treat freelancing as a regular fulltime job. That's the goal I'm working toward. I seem to be more concerned with the number of hours I put in than the actual work I accomplish. That needs to change. Otherwise, things are looking good. I am starting to find my "spots" at Starbucks and some of the local libraries. I even discovered a local Christian coffee shop not 10 minutes from where I live. It's great to get out of the house for a few hours each day. At the same time, I think working at home in my self-created office is where I'm most productive. |
| Metro Writer | Posted – 6/11/2008 11:24:30 PM | show profile Good advice from everyone so far. You will be more motivated by meeting other writers and high profile editors. Where? Keep checking www.ctpressclub.com for program information. |
| Grateful Deadline | Posted – 6/12/2008 11:51:29 AM | show profile If you don't set a schedule, you won't accomplish anything. Freelancing is a job and a business, and it has to be treated as such. Run with the muses, and get left in the dust. My typical day starts between 5 and 8 a.m. and runs to whenever I finish -- could be 1 p.m., could be 8 p.m., it depends on what needs to get done. Each day is a little different, as I work from a "to do" list, and each day includes breaks that typically involve some household chore. I sometimes take my work out on the patio or to the lake, and that makes it nice. But work it is; you have to put in the time to make the income. |
| scribbler_kate | Posted – 6/12/2008 7:25:57 PM | show profile I love it. To-do lists keep me anchored. I print one out every day. It's like a closet secret, because sometimes I worry I'm too obsessive about it. Nice to know that other people use them, too. I'll check out that website. I write from the Kansas City area, though I'm (very) new here. |
| SeeKatyWrite | Posted – 6/12/2008 9:57:53 PM | show profile Hi, Kate -- I'm still in the stage of my career where I'm doing freelance part-time, but I've read up a lot and talked to those who freelance full-time, and I resoundingly agree with everything that everyone has already mentioned. It's very easy to spend more than 40 hours working as a freelancer, but it's important that you give yourself enough time to enjoy friends, family, hobbies, etc. On the days when I work full-time from home, I do find myself being more productive at a coffeeshop or Panera-like atmosphere, so I tend to balance a few hours there with a few hours at home. I'm in Kansas City, too, and would love to catch up with you and learn about what you write. Feel free to send me an email at katywrites@gmail.com. Good luck with the freelancing! ------ ----- katy ryan editor | freelance writer | blogger www.KatyWrites.com |
