The ‘Get it Done’ Challenge for Freelance Writers

When the clock hit nine tonight, I decided that tonight shouldn’t be like every other night. I originally planned to go to bed at around midnight, so that left me with three hours to (hopefully) do something productive with. Yet I didn’t want to spend it all blogging, and I didn’t want to spend it on client projects. I did those things for 12 hours already today. Then I thought, “What the hell happened to my me time?”

I’m always behind on housework. I rarely do anything for myself these days. Even when I find time to watch a movie, I’m usually multi-tasking. So I decided to challenge myself.

I gave myself that first hour to do whatever needed to be done just “for me” - for non-work things. I surprised myself. I put on some music and got to it - I washed all of my dishes by hand (and I had a good amount of them). I cleaned my kitchen counters, stove, and microwave. I made a taco bake that I can have for lunch of dinner tomorrow. I gave myself a quick pedicure. I cleaned my living room and dining room (other than vacuuming, which I’ll do at a more decent hour). And the music I was listening to the whole time was from an indie artist I’m preparing an interview for tomorrow, so even that was productive. On top of it all, I have more energy now than I had all day.

So I’m challenging myself tomorrow in a similar fashion with my work (or maybe later tonight, as I’m thinking this may be an all-nighter night given my energy level, followed by a day of sleeping in) - and I’m challenging you too, because frankly it’s more fun when other people get involved.

The Challenge

Take one hour this week. I don’t care if it’s tomorrow or some other day. I don’t care if you say “but I don’t have the time.” We all have the time - we just have to make it. One hour. Grab it by the throat and make it yours.

Gather any work-related projects you have, whether it be client work, work on a book, or your own sites or blogs that need attention. Decide what has to get done that day (or what you want to get done that day if you’re not facing deadlines - lucky you). Then do it. Challenge yourself to get as much done on those projects as humanly possible within the course of that hour.

Don’t let anything distract you for one hour. Don’t let anything stop you for one hour. Don’t second-guess yourself. Don’t obsess over editing while writing (do that later instead of overanalyzing as you go). Just get it done.

Then come back here and tell us about it! I want to hear (even if in vague terms) what people were able to push themselves to do given a single uninterrupted hour. A lot of folks work best under pressure, even if put on them by themselves with simple time limits and self-imposed deadlines. How did you work in that kind of situation? Were you happy with what you accomplished, or did it make you too uncomfortable?

Tags: challenge, freelance writers, freelance writing, freelance writing challenge, writers, writing, writing challenge