Category Archives: Productivity & Organization

A Three Year Publishing Plan

By on July 10th, 2012

Recently we talked about outlining your writing career. Basically it’s about focusing on long-term goals which will ultimately shape your short-term plans (like your weekly to-do list). We talked about how this kind of career outline can benefit writers of all types including authors, bloggers, and freelance writers. After that, I came up with my own three year publishing plan specifically for books and e-books (some of which I’ve made good progress on already and some of which I’ve been wanting to start). Here’s how I did it. I made a list of all projects or series I wanted to …

11 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

Outlining Your Writing Career Path

By on July 3rd, 2012

Recently I was looking over one of my favorite resources on book outlining — Karen Wiesner’s First Draft in 30 Days. Toward the end of the book she has a section on outlining your career as an author, including a one-year plan and multi-year planning. It was a bit of a kick in the pants (given that I forgot this section existed). You see, I have plenty of career goals. No problem there. But I don’t map out long-term plans to get there in quite the same way I do with my short-term goals and daily, weekly, and monthly plans. I’d like to change …

8 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

How to Become a “Super Freelancer”

By on June 26th, 2012

Some work days as freelancers are easy. We wake up ready to face the day. We enjoy the projects we’re working on. And everything seems to go as planned. Then there are days when nothing seems to go right. I’ve had several of these lately — from backlogged work I’m still trying to catch up on to a neighbor who disrupts almost every work day riding unmuffled ATVs and shooting guns just a few yards from my window (in part because they know what a nuisance it is). Throw in family distractions, technical problems, and everything else life has to …

9 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

7 Ways to Double What You Get Done Each Day

By on May 16th, 2012

Very little hurts a freelance writing business as much as poor productivity. For example, if you feel too overwhelmed with client work, you might run out of time to seek out new clients (leading to a later lack of work). Or you might get so caught up in writing that you neglect important administrative duties. Or you might just work so many hours that you push yourself to burn out. I used to fall into that last group. I’d work 60 to 80 hours a week early on in my writing and PR consulting business. And the work I loved …

12 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

Work Smarter: Do Take it Personally

By on February 28th, 2012

The following is a guest post from Cathy Miller of Simply Stated Business.  – Some days it seems like everyone has an opinion on how you should work. They tell you – don’t take it personally, but you need to work smarter. Well, do take it personally and they’re right But, ignore them if it doesn’t work for you Only you know what working smarter means for you. Three Smart Steps When I started my own business in 2008, I had a very simple goal – survival. I made (and continue to make) plenty of mistakes. Here’s what I have learned – …

20 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

Plan Early for a Productive Holiday Work Schedule

By on October 4th, 2011

Can you believe it’s already October? That means the holiday season is just around the corner. And holidays can wreak havoc on our freelance work schedules (or at least they do for mine). Don’t let the holiday season get in the way of work, or let work stress keep you from enjoying the holidays. Let’s look at a few ways you can stay productive throughout this time of the year with a bit of planning. Plan your vacation time early. More importantly, let your clients know when that vacation time will be. Taking time off can feel like a guaranteed …

9 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

5 Things I Learned About Freelancing from my Toddler

By on August 10th, 2011

When I started writing online, my daughter was a baby. Today, as my business has grown, so has she and surprisingly, has taught me several important lessons along the way. Freelancing, they say, is not child’s play but one can surely learn a thing or two from kids. Here are 5 things that I learned about being a better, more productive writer and business owner from my toddler: Do Just One Thing Although I prided myself on being mindful and quite focused, I really learnt about uni-tasking or actually doing just one thing from my toddler. It was when I …

10 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization, Work at Home Parents |

Freelancers: Get More Rest, Get More Done

By on July 13th, 2011

I’ve been a bit of a hypocrite lately, not following my own rules about maintaining a work-life balance. Working late happens more often than it should (including today). And I haven’t felt very rested — which makes me feel mentally drained all day, which hurts my productivity even more and leads to more late nights. It’s a lousy little cycle. Sometimes it’s completely our fault when these things happen. Maybe we overestimated what we could get done. But sometimes these long hours and lack of rest are a result of outside factors — more edit requests than expected, illness or …

11 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

Optimize Your Email to Become a More Productive Writer

By on May 4th, 2011

Increasing your productivity can go a long way towards helping you build your freelance writing career in the way you want to. It’s how you work smarter, not harder. You can get more done (and make more money) even though you spend fewer hours working. Or you can open up more billable hours in your existing schedule. What’s not to love? For me, I still have one big time-zap in my day. Email. It’s the one thing I haven’t been able to get fully under control… until now. I want to share a few tips, some of which you might …

6 Comments

Posted in Productivity & Organization |

What My Cats Taught Me About More Efficient Freelancing

By on February 2nd, 2011

Sometimes we find inspiration in the strangest places. And today I’m going to turn the floor over to my two kitties, Baby and Tubs. Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from these little beasties that apply to the freelance writing life: Baby: There’s Always Time for a Nap Sometimes we get so caught up in work and deadlines and finding new projects that we push ourselves just a little bit too far. We approach burnout. And if that happens we can become utterly useless from a productivity standpoint. When that happens it’s important to remember that it’s okay to …

13 Comments

Posted in Freelance Writing Business, Productivity & Organization |