Words on the Page

Points of Contact

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: 1983 by Neon Trees Do all Mondays come with little surprises that need more brain power than humans are capable of at the start of the week? Logging in here today proved interesting. Blogger, where this blog is hosted, now has a completely new format and is no longer compatible with…

Stuff that Happened Along the Way

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: It’s Time by Imagine Dragons Wow. I can’t believe it’s two days later and I’m still exhausted. The show involved a lot of walking. My one journalist friend said his pedometer logged over 15,000 steps on Monday. I know I walked as much. No wonder I lost three pounds! Hey, if…

Conference Truths

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Colorblind by Egyptian I’m back. I’m exhausted, but I’m back. The conference was terrific, and the recession to my mind is a distant memory. That’s because as I was busy meeting people, they were asking me to help them with their writing and marketing. That was a huge difference from last…

Wednesday Conference-induced Link Love

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on Pandora: I’ll Drink to That by Smash Cast I’m writing this pre-conference, but I intend today to be my last day at the conference. I have one client meeting and today’s the day I want to attend a few sessions and get some press events in. As of Sunday when I’ve written this…

Showing Your Chops

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on Pandora: You’re No Good by Linda Ronstadt I’m still at the conference. Today I’ll be dropping by booths and attending press events and educational sessions. A full day topped off with a hospitality suite in the evening. I’ve invited a PR chum along so she has somewhere to go and so we can…

Policies and Job Must-Haves

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on Pandora: She Said She Said by The Beatles Conference time for me! Make no mistake — I’ve prepared for this for months. The contacts were made through research and reaching out via email. The appointments were made in the last few weeks. The RSVPs for the various functions were made last week, and…

Things That Make My Head Explode: Part Eight

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Little Boxes by Walk off the Earth Another slow-ish day yesterday. I liked it because I was able to get some personal writing done early before concentrating on client work and marketing. I’m eager to see people at the conference (starting Sunday night, oh my!), and I’ll be happy to get…

Knocking Down Roadblocks

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Raglan Road by The Chieftans with Joan Osborne I want to thank Sharon Hurley Hall for today’s post on her blog. Sharon reviews my ebook, Marketing 365. Thank you, Sharon! Please give her some comment love. I think I’m ready. The brochures are printed, the wardrobe is sorted, and the shoes…

Writing Tool #4: Empathy

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Everybody Talks by Neon Trees I spent yesterday perfecting a brochure (which I’m sure I’ll hate the minute it’s printed), working on client sales sheets, and brainstorming both article and blog ideas. It’s been slow and I’m getting tired of waiting for projects that should have been here last week. My…

Writing Tool #3: Time Management

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: No News by Lonestar Head over to the Productive Writers blog to see John Soares’ interview with Anne Wayman and yours truly. Thanks, John! Bit of a blur yesterday in terms of getting work done or anything remotely associated with marketing. I did have contact with three potential clients — the…

Cathy Miller

As you know, Lori, I took on my 1st retainer arrangement with a client. Because I have never done that kind of arrangement before, I decided to track my time for their projects. I'm not reporting them. It was for my information to ensure I am pricing them correctly.

It's been an eye-opener. Although for many of us, tracking hours is the last thing we want to do as a freelancer, I still think it's not a bad idea to do for a couple of reasons.

1) It helps focus you and discourages distraction when you know you're on the clock. So, if you have a project that you are easily distracted from (and we all have them), try going on the clock to focus.

2) It gives you a reality check on your fees and pricing projects. I think it's a good idea to periodically go on the clock for some of the projects you do on a regular basis to assess your fees.

I'm using Toggl (which Anne Wayman suggested in a post) and it works fine. It's behind the scene and has reports. It's not perfect, but meets my needs

Paula

Time management is tricky for the easily distracted types like me. I don't do Facebook and don't know what Angry Birds is all about, but I'm distracted by things like, oh…the fact that my house is still a mess after Easter. The tablecloth needs laundering, the folding table and chairs need to be put away, and all of the paint chips and dust that blew inside during the window trim scrape-a-thon need to be cleaned. I'm also fighting the urge to go out and paint the new porch rail and whatever trim I can reach – thankfully it's a bit too chilly today for that. And in the back of my mind I keep reminding myself to finish the taxes, write the check that will drain my account, and mail that sucker in by the 15th.

That said, yesterday I really buckled down and knocked out a column and did the bulk of work on two small projects that are due today. No Twitter. No LinkedIn. My breaks were limited to reading a little e-mail and checking Lori's blog, of course!

I do set regular hours, usually about 10-6, but I will start early or work late to make up time if I run an errand or get distracted by chores.

As for tracking time, that's also good for gauging how per-word rates really break down. One client pays only 20-cents per word, but their assignments are simple, quick, usually no transcribing, and they pay at the first of every month. At first I was hesitant to accept such a low per-word rate, but I went for it, tracked my hours and realized the hourly rate is decent.

Devon Ellington

I don't play computer games, so that's not a distraction.

Flexibility is the biggest thing. Mother Nature needs certain things done certain times. If it's going to rain for X days, and I need to work in the yard when it's sunny, I'll work during daylight hours and then work on the computer instead at night.

My biggest thing is: always keep your most creative time for your most creative projects. I write my first 1K of the day first thing in the morning, when I'm freshest and most in tune with that type of writing.

Writing for others — even contracted — comes AFTER I've done my first 1K of the day.

Wade Finnegan

I just started using a time organizer, (in fact that is my post for Wed.) and really like the outcome. I get more done when I write it down and hold myself accountable. Working from home makes it easy to put projects off. When I am at school I'm held by time constraints, but at home it feels like I have extra time.

Lori

Cathy, it's amazing also how much time you think you've spent on something versus how long you actually have, isn't it? I've had projects that were faster than I anticipated and some that just went on and on… If I hadn't timed it, I wouldn't have known.

You're right that it keeps you on track. Hard to hop on Facebook or LinkedIn when you know the clock should be ticking.

Paula, I find the distractions go away whenever the clock is running. It's so easy to get in the habit of sticking to it when you know someone is paying for those minutes.

Devon, great point about flexibility. I've spent a few days outside weeding too — for the same reason. The rain is absent (too absent) and the weeds that aren't dying are choking out everything.

Wade, I'm eager to read your post! It's always neat to see how something so simple can make such a huge impact.

P

Lori – sounds like Wade has discovered why we love our lists. We might not be tracking time with the lists, but they make us accountable. It feels great to cross something off the list, but when something doesn't get completed it's still on that list, taunting us and holding us accountable.