7 Time-saving Moves for Freelance Writers

What I’m listening to: Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way by U2

I’m hung over from a late night — went to the U2 concert, and didn’t get in until the wee hours of this morning. So today, with a full work day and an weekend already filled up with way too much, I need to organize. Luckily, I was born with the organizational gene, so I’m already on top of it. When I’ll buy groceries is a mystery, but the work will be done.

This is a busy time for me. Invariably, I plan a vacation and the work comes streaming in like a flood (so much so that I’ve been tempted to tell newer writers that a sure guarantee of work is to buy airline tickets or rent that hotel room). Getting work done before and setting up for my return is something I think I have down to a science. The alternative is to take work with me, which I won’t do.

Organization it is.

The goal — saving time and getting everything done in a short work day (they all feel shorter when there’s too much to do). Here are a few time-saving moves I fall back on that help me to keep sane and get it all done without killing myself.

Use a system to avoid distraction. Jenn Mattern loves the Pomodoro method. I like allotting a certain length of time to each project (and I have my Fitbit set to prompt me to get up and walk every hour so I don’t burn out). Find what works for you — that system you devise that will keep the distractions to a minimum (maybe turning off email and the phone until you take a break or uninstalling that solitaire game). Reward yourself for every hour of uninterrupted work (except for your ten- or fifteen-minute breaks) — give yourself points, if you have to, toward your reward. Maybe a Starbucks for each 30 hours of uninterrupted work or a bike ride on Friday afternoon.

Make your questions your subheads. I’ve done this for years when writing articles, and it’s made it so much faster to write an article. Example: “What current safety initiatives are being considered for schools in the face of increased numbers of school shootings?” The subhead: New Proposals for Safety. Why this works — it helps you keep on track and get to the info you need faster if your questions are set up as they’ll appear in your article.

Take advantage of good sync technology. I’ve struggled for a while to find one really good sync process that is simple and one I can do without remembering one more damn password (though LastPass does all of that for me these days). The problem: finding something that works with Android and plays nice with my Microsoft programs — in particular, I needed a synced calendar since Google acted like a shit and stopped supporting their previous syncing with my calendar (which was anything but easy, by the way). My life changed when I installed Microsoft Launcher OS on my cell phone. Not only did I get access to a fantastic To Do app that syncs instantly across devices, but now everything is within reach — my calendar, my email, my files, you name it. Anyone working on an Android and trying to sync with a PC gets the dilemma. I switched to MS Calendar to make things much more seamless. So find a provider whose products will work with your cell phone (Apple-only people, you’re probably already good to go) and take advantage of having your office in your pocket.

Make serious use of your to-do list. I actually use the hell out of the To Do List app on my phone (mentioned above), which replaced my old method of opening a Calendar app and prioritizing my list in an appointment. I still do that, but now it’s to track invoices that are to go out mostly. I know a lot of you use Todoist. If you love it, great. For me, it was a matter of convenience that I went with what I did. If you’re looking for a to-do list program, find one that is easily accessible within the email app you use and one that can sync to your phone, no matter which OS you use.

Schedule your priorities. Today, I’m finishing blog posts first — they’re due first. Then it’s on to a large article that’s due in two weeks, but since I’ll be away for a week, I want to get ahead of it. Tomorrow, two more blog posts that will be due the week I’m away. I’ve found that personally, I feel more productive if I can knock out some small project first before tackling the bigger ones. The thought of a small thing sitting there waiting to be done makes me crazy.

Auto-sort your email. Right now, how many emails are in your in box that you really don’t need to look at? Whoa. That’s a lot. Set up some rules to funnel the unimportant stuff to folders, where you can deal with them later. Outlook online tends to do that already, as can Gmail. If you’re not using an online mail program, find a way to sort through the junk and have only the important stuff delivered to your main in box. Or you could try something like Unroll.me, SaneBox, or Alto to do it for you.

End each day with a review/preview. Before logging off, look over your to-do list and check off what’s been done (I tend to do this as I finish a task). Then set up your next day. What comes first? What’s after that? How much time per project? What doesn’t need to be done? That last question is important — we tend to fill our days with busy work that overwhelms us. Don’t. When you’re staring at a heavy workweek, lighten up on the administrative stuff. Let the pile on the desk grow higher. When the projects are finished, you can clean up.

Writers, what’s your favorite time-saving move? How has it improved your work day?