As a freelance writer it is easy to fall into the trap of working on the weekends. This is something that I did in the past, and it was not fun. After all, you need a break just like everybody else. There are times when you have no choice but to work on the weekend, but you should do whatever you can to avoid this. If you don’t give yourself time off you are going to hit a wall, both physically and mentally.
The best way to avoid working on weekends is to complete your projects Monday through Friday. This can be done by having a weekly schedule as well as a daily to-do list. As you move through your list you will get a better feel for what needs done before the weekend comes. In turn, you can adjust your weekday schedule to suit your workload.
Do you ever work on the weekends? I get this question a lot. The answer is yes. But you should know that this is not a regular occurrence. In other words, I don’t work every weekend day of the month. If I do work on Saturday or Sunday I like to make sure that it is not on an extensive project that needs tons of time. Instead, I prefer to work on smaller projects that don’t take up a lot of time and don’t need completed in one sitting.
Staying away from your freelance writing workload on the weekends can be difficult. But if you get your work done during the week and realize that your body needs time to rest, you should have no problem saying goodbye to your computer when the weekend arrives.
What should you do if you miss a deadline set forth by one of your freelance writing clients? The first thing you should do is avoid this at all costs. You never want to miss a deadline even if it means staying up all night to complete a project. That being said, every freelance writer runs into this situation sooner or later. For one reason or the next you will miss a deadline. What will you do about this?
If you know that you are going to miss a deadline you should get in touch with the client as soon as possible. Explain what is going on, and ask them if you can have an extension. You may be surprised how understanding many people are if you have a good reason for missing a deadline. But remember, the longer you wait to break this to the client the worse things are going to get. You want to give them enough time to make for other arrangements, if need be.
On the other hand, you may miss a deadline and realize on the due date that this happened. What are you to do in this situation? Your only option, if you can’t get the work done, is to come clean with the client. Tell them you are not going to be finished, and apologize for missing the deadline. Is this going to be good enough? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It all depends on your relationship and the situation that your client is in.
You never want to miss a deadline. Keeping this in mind will allow you to avoid awkward situations in which you have to break bad news to clients. But if you do miss a deadline, give your client as much notice as possible and be sure to explain yourself. This may not make things any better, but smoothing the situation over is important if you find yourself in this position.
I strongly believe that every freelance writer should evaluate their performance from time to time. This is something that I do at the end of every year. By evaluating my 2008 performance I will have an easier time setting goals for the upcoming year. But before you can evaluate your performance you must be organized.Â
Am I jumping the gun? Yes, I know it is only November. That being said, you want to give yourself plenty of time to get organized. If you wait until the last week of December you may find that you are short on time, and in turn you have to push your performance review back to 2009. You don’t want to do this because it is essential that you hit the ground running in the new year.
What preliminary information should you gather? There are three details that I am organizing now so that I can efficiently evaluate my 2008 performance at the end of next month:
1. Income records 2. Client details 3. 2008 goals and progress
With this information in hand I will be able to do two things: accurately evaluate my performance this year, and set new goals for 2009. I take care of both these details at the same time, and you should do the same if you want to stay on track. It is always easier to set new goals after you look over old ones. This gives you the chance to set more realistic goals, while also taking note of what did and did not work for you in the past.
Although you still have a few weeks before the end of 2008, you should begin to think about evaluating your performance for the year. If you begin to organize the proper information right now, you will find the process much more enjoyable when the end of December rolls around. Remember, the new year is right around the bend!Â
