It happened again.
I spent Tuesday through Friday of last week in the hospital.
It was one of those health issues that just can’t be ignored, but once treated, it’s just a waiting game. And since it had happened once before, I knew it when it happened, so I calmly gathered what I’d need — slippers, notebook, laptop, pen, hand cream.
And I worked from a hospital bed.
That’s not always possible, as evidenced from my first bout of intestinal obstruction back in October. There was pain. A lot of pain. And morphine. You try typing anything on morphine. Even if you can, how coherent can you be?
So you have to improvise. And that improvising happens when you first get the assignment.
Maybe your life is riddled with issues — health issues, the health of your parents or family members, another job, children’s schedules, any number of things can get in the way, can’t they?
That’s where your ability to schedule your work can be everything.
Stuff happens. Even if you’re tooling along thinking you can put it off until tomorrow, something in the universe is going to prove you wrong. Since I had a few instances in recent years in which I had to adapt on the fly, I tightened even further my daily work schedule. Here’s how I manage to schedule my freelance writing so that I’m not caught unprepared:
Shorten deadlines.
Yes, the client says it’s not due for three more weeks. Pretend it’s due in two weeks. That’s what I do. I work as though each project is the priority deadline, so it gets my attention at some point in the day.
Work on something every day.
Only rarely do I have a day completely free of work. I allot time to every project in any given week. I may have four deadlines (right now, I do), so at some point in the week, I will work on all of them. Typically, I spend an hour each day on each, though some projects need more time (and get it).
Schedule sensibly.
For example, today I’ll work on project #1 for two hours, break to interview someone for project #2, check in with a contact to get project #3 rolling, and find one more source for project #4. Project #1 will get the most time, but each project will get some attention today. Tomorrow, project #4 will get more attention because that deadline is next in succession. Then #3 gets some attention in the afternoon as that deadline is three days after the one for #4….
The deadlines matter, but so does the amount of work needed. Because #1 is nearly done and I’m waiting on someone else’s input, I can move on to #2 for an hour, then quickly on to #4, which is still in the interview stage.
Over-schedule.
This one is tricky. I tend to go through my list mentally each night (when it’s really busy), and I’ll over-estimate the amount of time I need to get everything done. That does a few things for me. It:
- Allots more than enough time for everything
- Gives me wiggle room in my schedule
For example, I have an article due any minute, so last night, I was obsessing thinking about spending four hours writing it. It’s already started, and I need maybe two hours tops today, but the extra two hours are there should I get on a roll. The second article, project #4, needs a bit more work, so if I have time left over from #1, guess where it’s going? Also, #3 is an article, but it writes itself most times. I just need to spend ten minutes checking in with the interview sources sometime this week. But I allotted an hour. Why? Because I can also start putting it together, and that means some research to write the intro.
Build in breaks.
Here’s where the over-scheduling is brilliant; I get things done ahead of schedule, and I can walk away from the computer for a few minutes. Or I can run out to get lunch, or get something at the store. Or just concentrate on emails, poetry writing, whatever I’d like.
Plus, the boost in the confidence when I get something done earlier than I’d planned is worth a lot. Who doesn’t want to feel like they’ve accomplished a goal?
Writers, what does your typical schedule look like? Are you prepared for any unplanned interruptions?
How do you adapt when your schedule is interrupted? What can you do to be better prepared?
8 responses to “How to Schedule Like a Freelance Writing Boss”
Glad you’re feeling better, Lori, and you were able to work around the setback. Ugh! We were supposed to be away most of the week, but corona, so I’m trying to work around my kids’ enticements to do more fun things, but still build in extra fun time.
Did not realize their schools were affected, Joy. Good luck! I know what that’s like. I’m still babysitting, though I may bail if things get any worse around here.
I had to do all of those recently. I broke into a market I’d coveted for years. And then, I had a medical emergency. So I did all of the above, worked ahead, turned in the piece early, was upfront about what was going on. My editor was wonderful. She loved the piece and only had a few tweaks — I got them to her within the agreed-upon time and we were all good. I’m hoping it’s the start to more assignments from her! But there was no way I was going to blow the opportunity, even though the first doctor I saw told me I’d have to immediately stop everything.
Yours is definitely a story of how to adapt, Devon! It impressed me no end that you were able to manage that situation so well.
I love that you’ve connected with your coveted market. That you wowed them came as no surprise, but now you’re in. Yes!
I like to give myself earlier deadlines, too. Strange, coming from someone who used to tase her brother for setting his clocks all 10 minutes early!
I also overthink how long it will take to do various tasks, so I’ll budget in more time than I’ll probably need. Like this morning, I needed to wash my hair and mentally blocked out an hour for something that takes five minutes, about 15 minutes in a towel, and a couple more minutes to comb out.
I didn’t actually taser my brother. I just teased him.
Earlier deadlines FTW! I routinely enter a deadline a couple of days before the due date. Depending on the piece, I might start the prep as much as three weeks before – more if it’s really long or in-depth. The aim is to make progress on several fronts in any given week. Like you, I find that when life happens, that builds in some necessary leeway. And it also helps on those occasional days when I’m too tired to think straight and need a day off.
Oh, Lori, I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with hospitals lately. Hopefully, you are on the mend.
How is it whenever you write something I feel like you’re hanging out inside my head? I woke up this morning and decided I needed to sit the hubs down and ask “what is it you need me to do, and when do you need it done by?” I hate to say it but I have to start treating him like a client, otherwise, he has a tendency to monopolize my time with things that “come up”.
My friend and I started a podcast about a month ago and it’s the one thing I have on my schedule. It doesn’t move unless absolutely necessary. Why? Because it’s not just me in it; it’s my friend who lives over 4000 miles away and four hours ahead of me.
As for the rest of the business? You’re right, it needs a schedule. I’ve tried a number of scheduling methods and the one that has worked for me the best is time blocking. Every morning I spend 30 minutes doing daily things like social networking, tweeting, email, and then I begin on that day’s task. Each task gets a day or the bulk of one, dedicated to it.
It’s not perfect but it helps me switch gears in a way that doesn’t seem forced.