Comments on: How to Schedule Like a Freelance Writing Boss

By: Nikki

Nikki — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 23:23:41 +0000

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.

By: Paula Hendrickson

Paula Hendrickson — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 17:11:38 +0000

In reply to Paula Hendrickson. I didn't actually taser my brother. I just teased him.

By: Sharon Hurley Hall

Sharon Hurley Hall — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 12:15:13 +0000

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.

By: Paula Hendrickson

Paula Hendrickson — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 19:34:44 +0000

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.

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 16:36:22 +0000

In reply to Devon Ellington. 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!

By: Devon Ellington

Devon Ellington — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 16:32:32 +0000

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.

By: lwidmer

lwidmer — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 16:13:30 +0000

In reply to Joy Drohan. 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.

By: Joy Drohan

Joy Drohan — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 15:45:52 +0000

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.