Comments on: Putting “Free”dom In Freelance

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:41:46 +0000

Flexibility is key. My best writing time is in the morning. On days when I have to leave for yoga or meditation at 7:15, it means getting up at 4:30 or 5 to still get that first 1K in before I leave. Because it won't happen after 10 or 11 AM.

Editing and revisions are best done in the afternoons, so that's when I do that client work, or work with students. Sometimes the student work has to bleed into the evening or over a weekend.

Writing for clients is usually done about mid-morning-- after my first 1K, but before I get caught up in editing, lectures, revisions, etc.

I'm making myself have one day a week where I'm unplugged, and I like it. It's not always the same day.

If there's something I want to do during the day -- and I'VE EARNED THE RIGHT TO WALK AWAY FROM MY DESK because I've kept up with the work and not frittered away the time -- I do it. Go for a walk at a nature sanctuary, listen to a speaker somewhere, whatever. But if I've procrastinated and wasted time, I don't get to do it.

It's a two way street -- I get to have the freedom to construct my day, but I also have to earn that right by staying on top of the workload.

By: Anne Wayman

Anne Wayman — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:39:12 +0000

This weekend I was focused on facilitating an awakening the dreamer symposium (awakeningthedreamer.org for the curious) It went well... I mostly don't work weekends and almost always take Friday afternoon off as well.

Permission to relax... we should start a sign company that says You have permission to relax or something.

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:36:33 +0000

Sounds like a terrific weekend, Cathy. I hope the visit was refreshing. 🙂 And you just point us to your brother's work – we'll promote him!

By: Cathy Miller

Cathy Miller — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:36:50 +0000

I just came off a great weekend as well. My youngest brother was here shooting a documentary. He's an award-winning filmmaker I wish more people knew about because i think he's quite talented. I'm a tad biased. :-)

So, my youngest sister & her husband drove up from southern ID and their son who lives here also came over. It was a nice mini-family gathering (mini since there are 4 more siblings in addition to the two that were here). :-)

I'm like you, Lori-I'm a fanatic about my weekends. Too many lost ones from my 30+ years of corporate life.

But, flexibility is really what it's all about. I've adjusted to accommodate my training for the 3-Day Walk, to help my Mom with various needs and days I simply wasn't feeling it.

Once you recognize it's okay to relax, it's really a good feeling all the way around. :-)

By: Lori

Lori — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:36:31 +0000

Super point, Paula. I know what times of day I'm pretty much spent, so those are the times I don't try to be creative.

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:01:10 +0000

We all have peak times of day for different activities. I tend to focus best on actual writing in the afternoon, so I try to do interviews and research in the morning. The hour or so in between? Calls. No matter the day, I tend to place most of my business calls within the same 1-2 hour period (unless they're scheduled interviews).

We all have different internal clocks, and sometimes tight deadlines don't give us the leisure to stick to our preferred schedules, but knowing which times of day you tend to excel at certain tasks is sort of like a super power of the self-employed.