Weekend Quick Tip: Do you Work 40 Hours per Week?
As a freelance writer you can set the number of hours that you work each week. Yes, it is true that you have to work enough to earn an income, but even then it is up to you to decide how often you sit at your computer to work on writing related projects.
More and more aspiring writers have been asking me whether or not I work 40 hours per week. One thing that I like about a freelance writer is the freedom. If I want to work 40 hours this week I can. But if I want to work 35 or 45 next week, that is fine as well. In other words, I do not work an even 40 hours per week. There are times when I work much more than this, and times when I come up short.
Do you need to work at least 40 hours per week to build a successful freelance writing career? In my opinion, the answer is yes. When I started as a freelance writer I was working way more than 40 hours per week. In fact, I would venture to guess it was somewhere closer to 60 hours. On one side of things it was fun to work this much. Since I was new to freelance writing I was always learning something, and was excited at every little detail. On the other hand, 60 hours per week is a lot. Soon enough I was feeling burnt out which was taking its toll both mentally and physically.
Even though being a freelance writer is not your average 9-5 job, I still feel that 40 hours per week is the right amount in most cases. This is what I strive for, but as noted earlier, my actual hours usually fluctuate.
How about you? If you are a full-time freelance writer I would love to hear about your work schedule, and more particularly how many hours you work per week. This information can help all of us set and maintain a better, more efficient schedule.
