If you are a freelance writer it does not mean that the rest of your life is going to stop. You may have kids at home during the day, or other errands that you must take care of. In this case, it is safe to say that your freelance writing schedule is going to be turned upside down from time to time. You need to learn how to steal hours when they are available.
I love working a set schedule, but as a freelance writer I have the ability to mix up my hours if necessary. Anybody else who works as a freelancer probably has the same freedom. If you are interrupted during the day for one reason or the next you will need to steal hours later on to ensure that you get your work done. For instance, I have been working 7 am to 4 pm. If for some reason I would have to leave the office for three hours, I would steal this time back later in the day. I would probably tack on these three hours to the end of my usual day and stay at work until 7 pm or so.
Having a set schedule is great, but it is even better to know that you can change things around to accommodate other areas of your life. If you can’t follow a regular schedule there is nothing wrong with stealing hours when you have the time. This may not make things easy, but you should be glad that you have the freedom of a freelancer.
Guess what? If you work a regular 9 – 5 office job your boss isn’t going to let you take time off during the day if you promise to make it up at night. You should never take the freedom of being a freelance writer for granted.
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The way you use your time as a freelance writer is important. You need to work efficiently to ensure that you complete all of your work, while also leaving time for other tasks such as marketing, paying invoices, etc. Over my time as a freelance writer I have found three ways to bog down my day. Of course, none of these are good. If you bog down your day you are going to find it difficult to complete your to-do list without working extra hours.
1. Are you spending too much time checking email and browsing the internet? Both of these can kill your productivity as a freelance writer. Although you will need to use the internet from time to time, you should only do so when necessary. In other words, you don’t need to check your email each time you complete a project. Instead, move on from one job to the next to ensure an efficient use of your time.
2. Taking personal calls can bog down your day. One personal call may not seem like a big deal, until you find you have been on the phone for 30 minutes. It not only takes time to talk on the phone, but to also get back to the task at hand once you hang up. Avoid personal calls at all costs. This is not always possible, but you need to know when to take a call and when to leave it for later.
3. Don’t sleep in when you should be working. I know a lot of freelance writers don’t like to get up early. While there is nothing wrong with this, you need to make sure you are still working the proper amount of hours. As of late my freelance writing schedule has been 7 am to 4 pm for the most part. If I were to sleep until 11 am I would have to work until approximately 8 pm. Knocking off at 4 pm would not allow me to complete my entire workload.
If you avoid these mistakes you will find that you are making the most of the hours you work without being bogged down.
