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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 rush on your billable hours, so give clients time to get project details to you early so you can clear them up before you’re away.

For me this is easy. I take off the same time every year — Thanksgiving and Black Friday and then December 24th until the first work day of the New Year. If I need more time, I clear up gigs early and take a personal day.

Simplify your admin and marketing work.

One reason some freelancers don’t like to take time off is that we don’t get paid vacations. Well, we do. We just have to account for them when we set our regular rates. If you didn’t do that you have another option. You can increase your billable hours prior to taking time off so you don’t miss out on monthly income.

That said, I don’t encourage freelancers to pull overtime to make this happen. Your mental health is as important as your financial health. Instead look for other areas where you can cut tasks out, decrease their frequency, or otherwise work more efficiently.

For example, you might cut back on your social media time. You could blog three days per week instead of five. You could thoroughly review stats weekly instead of daily. You can check blog comments once a day instead of several times. Little things add up, and the time you save can be put toward increasing your billable hours before taking time off.

Plan for the New Year now.

One reason the holiday season can get hectic work-wise is that we’re busy planning for the New Year on top of dealing with our usual workload and family commitments. Why not plan early?

Get your financial records in order so you have less to do near the end of the year. Look at your progress so far this year and start thinking about your goals for the next. How will you reach those goals?

You probably don’t need another three months to figure out what you’re doing right and what isn’t working out so well. Plan your adjustments now to save time later. You can always tweak your plans at the end of the year if something significantly changes between now and then.

How are you getting ready for the holiday season? Or is it still too early for you to want to think about it? Share your tips for working more productively as the holidays approach in the comments below.

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 my personal nemesis, tech problems that sneak up and monopolize much of my time. And in the end I can get less done in a 12 hour day than I would in a normal eight hour day once the cycle kicks in. Focus takes a major hit when going without adequate rest and downtime.

Starting next week things should get back to normal for me. But that’s because I insist on getting back to my schedule — plenty of rest and relaxation so every minute of work doesn’t feel like it drags on for hours. After all, if we don’t take care of ourselves outside of work, we can’t give the best of ourselves to the job during those normal working hours.

Do you find yourself stuck working late frequently? Are you a workaholic, or does it feel out of your control? What things tend to disrupt your schedule and lead to a lack of rest between projects most often? How do you nip them and get back on track as quickly as possible? How important is rest and your work-life balance to you? Share your thoughts and stories about working without rest in the comments below.

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 not have considered, for optimizing your inbox and email habits to become a more productive writer. But first…

How Email Can Become a Time Suck

Before you can focus on optimizing your email inbox, you need to figure out which problems you’re trying to tackle. How does your email actually interfere with your day? Here are a few examples of problems an overwhelming inbox can cause if you don’t get it under control.

• If you use a single email program to download and manage both business and personal email, personal messages can distract you during the hours you’re supposed to be working.  Sometimes there isn’t even a clear distinction — like email from a colleague that varies between personal and work-related.
• When you get hundreds to thousands of messages in a short period of time, it can take a little while to sort through spam that got through your filter.
• When you have a bunch of unread messages in your inbox, you can feel tempted to take care of them all at once even if only one or two are actually urgent and worth interrupting other things you’re working on at that moment.
• If you subscribe to blog comments (your own or someone else’s) notifications of comments can pull you out of your intended work routine. You instead get caught up in the conversations. (This was one of my own biggest problems.)

How to Organize and Optimize Your Email for Increased Productivity

Here are a few things I’ve done to get my inbox back under control, and ideas that might work for you too.

• If too much spam seems to be getting through, increase your server-side spam controls (if you host your own email). I had this problem after merging to our new server, even though I used the exact spam settings we used previously. I don’t know why, but I had to get stricter about spam.
• If you run one or more blogs using WordPress, go into the settings and tell WordPress to stop sending you comment notifications if you currently receive them. Instead set aside time to manually check comments once or twice a day to moderate and respond to them.
• Unsubscribe from comment subscriptions on others’ blogs. I used to subscribe for convenience. But in reality it became the biggest distraction of all. It’s easy to get caught up in conversations when you tell yourself it’s just a quick email check. I cancelled those subscriptions, and won’t subscribe to others unless absolutely necessary (such as if I write a guest post and want to stay on top of every comment coming through). This is a situation where a tool that’s supposed to be convenient actually becomes more of an inconvenience if you’re not careful.
• Make use of your email folders. Filter email from specific people into their own email folders. For example, I frequently exchange emails with Yolander Prinzel and Lori Widmer. So those lucky ducks have their very own folders now. When we have a long back and forth conversation I can see who’s responded recently without having to see the email content by default. I can get back to it when I have more time instead of immediately jumping in and procrastinating on other things that need to get done. You can do the same for clients who tend to email you a lot, people who love to send you those fun little forwards you don’t always have time for, or for more personal contacts you want to respond to after you complete your scheduled work.
• Decrease the frequency of automatic email checks. Personally I use Windows Mail to download my email from my server. I used to have it automatically download emails every half hour. When I’d get a notification of new email, I’d check it. Now I have it check once an hour, and as I ween myself from the habit I’ll have the automatic checks occur even less frequently. I’m still working on my manual check habit though. I’m trying to knock that off entirely other than when I’m waiting on something urgent.
• If you use browser-based email, turn off instant notifications. If your browser toolbar tells you you have new mail the moment it comes through and you can’t resist checking it, turn that feature off.
• If you run multiple email accounts through a single software app like I do, try setting some addresses to manual checks only — the ones you don’t use as frequently. For example, I have two email addresses I check obsessively, and the rest are usually site-specific and can be checked once each day. They can be removed from the automatic downloads and manually downloaded at the beginning and / or end of the day.

Do you have other tips for getting your email inbox under control so you can avoid the distraction? Has overwhelming email affected you in some other way than the examples I gave? Leave a comment below to share your own stories and tips.

Here are five tips to help you become a happier and more productive freelance writer:

1. Make a plan.

If you don’t already have a business plan and marketing plan, create one. If you have one but you created it a while back, update it. Your business plan and marketing plan act as road maps to help guide you through the day to day aspects of managing your freelance career. It’s a whole lot easier to reach your destination when you know where you’re going. Need some help? Consider using my one page business plan or one page marketing plan template for a quick start.

2. Get organized.

Some people claim to work better when surrounded by clutter. I used to be one of those people. Then I truly got things organized and I realized what BS that was. As much as I might have known where things were in my mess on my desk, the simple truth is that clutter can mentally weigh you down whether you realize it or not. Give yourself a cleaner, more organized work place. Give yourself some time to get used to the change. And see if you feel better and can get even more done in a day after a week or two goes by. And remember, that doesn’t only mean cleaning your desk — bookcases, storage areas, and even your computer files count too. Still hate it after a few weeks? Well, it’s not that difficult to clutter things up again. So have at it.

3. Find your most productive work time.

Just because you’ve always called yourself a night owl, it doesn’t make it so. If you have flexibility in your schedule (as in you’re not already committed to another full-time job or family obligations that set your work hours for you), try a few different work schedules. And give them each a week or two so you can adapt. Try working in the evenings. Try working early in the mornings. Try a mid-day schedule too. Figure out when you truly work best — when you can get the most done in as little time as possible while maintaining whatever level of creativity you need for your freelance career.

4. Get paid up front.

Even if you’re not comfortable having clients pay you in full up front, at least collect 50% of your project fee before starting. When you have a significant portion of that money on-hand, you don’t have to worry as much about deadbeat clients stiffing you on payments for work you’ve already done and for time you can never get back. Not comfortable changing payment terms with existing clients? Then make that your new term going forward for new clients instead.

5. Re-evaluate your rates.

One of the biggest downers is to work hard and feel like you’re not being fairly compensated for your work. You can get that working for an employer in a 9-5 job. You don’t need it as a freelance writer. If you’re not earning enough, raise your rates. Yes, that might mean completely changing your target market. But if you made a mistake and targeted the wrong market to begin with, it’s better to change things up now than remain unsatisfied and have to do it down the road anyway. Not sure what you need to charge? Our freelance hourly rate calculator can help you figure out the minimum you need to charge for your freelance work.

Remember that there are many little things you can do throughout the course of your work day to get more done and be happier in the process. The above ideas are a just a few of the bigger tasks that can make a long term difference. You could also create daily to-do lists and schedules to keep you on track, surround yourself with things that make you happy (plants, fuzzy slippers while you work, a nice candle, motivational calendar, or whatever works for you), or even allow yourself a nap or walk or some other kind of break mid-day if it brings you back to work feeling refreshed. The point is that if you can be happier or more productive in your freelance work, you should take the time to figure out what’s going to work for you and then do it. There is absolutely no reason any freelance writer shouldn’t thoroughly enjoy their work.

How are you going to increase your productivity and happiness as a freelancer? If you have other tips or ideas, feel free to share them with our other readers in the comments below.

Website: http://themomwrites.blogspot.com

Specialty: Article and Blog Post Writing on Parenting, Home, Family, Health, Green Living, Buddhism, Organization and Productivity

Rates: 50 per 500-word article

Prerna Malik is a work-at-home mom with a background in Advertising. She has considerable hands-on experience in home and family-related areas and brings these to life in her writing. Currently, she is the Buddhism/Taoism Feature Writer for Suite 101, an online magazine. In addition, she creates content for client websites and blogs that are in her areas of expertise, namely Home, Health, Parenting, Green Living, Buddhism, Organization and Productivity.

This catastrophic situation was made all the less catastrophic by the fact that I’ve done a lot of what LaToya is telling you to do: I’ve got savings and I’ve got an emergency fund. This is a little PSA to let you know that if you don’t have these things, you’re probably not prepared to handle freelance writing business disasters. What if your back up and all of your computers failed at once, right now? Do you have enough money to practically start over in your savings or in your emergency fund? (I definitely go with this as a qualified emergency, as it was unexpected and catastrophic!) Okay, now back to our scheduled broadcast…

Marketing is very, very important. But, then again, you already knew that. I’m not the go-to marketing guy (Chris is and I highly suggest you check out his posts as well-bound to find organized marketing solutions there: Chris loves lists!) but I’m the neat freak here at AFW, and I’ve got three very, very simple steps for an organized marketing campaign.

1. Have a marketing plan. Within your marketing plan, you should decided campaigns and maybe some tactics to get going. Jenn has an excellent marketing plan and calendar in my career bible, The Web Writer’s Guide.
2. Schedule regular marketing time. Put it in your schedule and stick to it. Marketing should be as regularly scheduled as writing.
3. Set goals. Measure the progress you make on this goals and act accordingly. Again, Jenn’s WWG has a great goal-setting method that can help you set measurable and attainable marketing goals.

How do you keep your marketing organized? Do you track your efforts, paying attention to where you get a client and therefore how your marketing efforts are paying off? Please, share your questions and comments, and look for the May post in this monthly series, where we’ll be discussing filing systems.

But those aren’t the emails I want to talk about. I also get a lot of emails from people who are just starting out freelancing. They want to know how to stay on task and get their stuff done. It’s tough being your own boss. So here’s a few ideas on how to keep yourself motivated and working.

1. Keep the TV on in the background. There is nothing like sitting on your laptop slamming out an article while distracting things happen in the background. Sometimes, I get so productive with this method that my jaw goes slack with my brilliance. Sometimes, I will produce up to a quarter of an article per day with this clever little tip. Additionally, you should put on your favorite movie. I find it motivating.
2. Take frequent breaks every five to ten minutes. I suggest the following sites: Gawker, Facebook, Wikipedia, TV Tropes, or any given webcomic that has been online for longer than five years. If you take a break every five to ten minutes, then you keep your brain fresh. Be sure to take a break that is at least 30 minutes long. You need the rest!
3. Leave the chat programs on. You may have a 5 PM deadline today, but you don’t want to sacrifice your social life. That’s why it’s always a good time to fire up AIM, GChat, and Skype so that you can stay in the loop with all your buds. Remember, you may not have left your house in six months, but there’s no reason why you can’t have a shallow and brief conversation with each of your friends who happen to be online at work. This is known as networking because you are on a network.
4. Multitask with involved chores. While you’re writing, there is no reason why you cannot do a little sprucing up of the homestead. I’m not talking about amateur errands like laundry or groceries either–you ought to spend time on intensive projects like scrubbing the grout in your bathroom, refinishing your floors by hand, producing an intricate mosaic tile pattern in your kitchen, or adding a rec room to your house. Personally, I am a fan of custom-making wooden furniture for my house. These are all projects you can do as a quick little break from your ever-increasing stack of projects to complete.
5. Surf the web mindlessly. If you have something really important to do, here’s what I would suggest you do. Look at your email inbox, sigh sadly, then turn to your browser (Firefox is best, but you can easily make do with Internet Explorer or Safari). Type in random phrases or try to find a website you visited once seven years ago. Please note that this is different from tip #2 because I needed to come up with five tips but then it turns out I hadn’t seen the latest episode of Caprica so I put that on first, and now I am making a quality article.

These tips will make you ultimately more productive. Hammer away at these five points (which are totally five points and not four stretched out to be five) until you’re a successful freelancer. Shower me with praise via email.

Take small steps.

Set a goal (or rather table of goals) to check it only once every 30 minutes, then an hour, then every four hours (which is probably twice per workday) and then you can do it once per workday / 24 hours. You can create a time table that works for you.

Charge yourself. You probably have some money you allow yourself to spend on something you don’t have to have, you just really want, like a Starbucks budget or similar. For every time you break your set goal, you take away a certain set amount. It tends to demotivate the bad behavior because it suuucks.

Reward yourself.

Jenn does a great job explaining this in her goal-setting post. (And she really goes into good detail about this in her Web Writer’s Guide. If you haven’t invested the $37 in that book yet, stop reading this post. You’d do better with your time to get to that book now!)

Set reasonable exceptions.

Allow yourself to respond to networking conversations or really important queries when you want to, so you can check for that email (and that email only!) unless it’s a client email.

Really, it is just a good idea to look at email but not take more time than it takes to scan subject lines (or emails if your contacts haven’t maneuvered those well) and only respond during a set, important time and not get distracted and off track.

Geeky fantasy imagery aside, spending too much time and energy on email is a serious problem for freelance writers. The time spent on email is too much, too frequent and too inefficient for a serious business owner to condone. Personally, I have some harsh rules regarding my email. Rules I didn’t think I could follow, but it comes to setting firm rules with clients and vendors.

1. Only check your email once per 24 hour period. Unless you’ve got project critical elements being delivered via email, don’t touch your email. If you’re accessing your inbox for project critical elements, tunnel-vision your way there.
2. Don’t just click what interests you—have a system. Use folders or labels to sort your email messages into actionable contexts (such as Read / Reader for ezines you need to read, social networking site notifications such as a LinkedIn folder for recommendation requests).
3. Give as much as is due. Don’t respond to worthless emails (junk forwards, fired clients not getting the hint, spam) and don’t write unnecessarily lengthy responses. As a general rule, write an email subject and stick to it. Use those writing skills!

How to you keep email from sludging your workday? What are the struggles you face?

You probably try to be as helpful as you can–responding to comments, answering emails, giving advice when asked for it, and just generally trying to help your readers.

But sometimes you just have to say no. You have to let your readers (or some of them) fend for themselves. Here are some situations where it’s probably best not to respond privately:

You Already Answered Their Question. – If you’ve written a half dozen posts about where to find article writing gigs (given the freelance writing niche as an example), then I wouldn’t bother answering that question privately. There’s a reason you blog or publish public content, and it’s archived. If someone really wants that answer, they can very easily search for it. The only exception might be if your articles are scattered on multiple sites rather than a single site or blog of your own.

The Reader is Lazy – You might be surprised at how many times people email me asking “How can I earn a lot of money writing for the Web?” and other things along those lines. Obviously, there’s no easy answer. These are the folks who expect you to give them a step-by-step on how to do what you do–they want to replicate your success without doing any of the real work of setting up their businesses for themselves. I generally don’t attempt to answer these questions anymore. All of the answers are “out there” and if people aren’t willing to help themselves first, then I’m not going to take my time to do it for them. Now I point them to my e-book if they want a thorough background on getting started.

You Can’t Afford the Time – The reality is that you’re trying to make a living, build a readership, etc. for yourself. That takes time–a lot of it. There will be times when you honestly just can’t respond to every comment, email, tweet, and such. In those cases, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being selective.

You’re Being Used as a Crutch – Once in a while a reader comes along who asks you a question. You respond. They ask you another. You respond. They ask another. You start to feel like a private (unpaid) consultant on call at their every whim, but since you’ve set the standard of trying to be helpful, you don’t have the heart to tell them to bugger off. It is OK to stop responding if you’re either being taken advantage of or if you’re simply being asked to devote more time than can be justified to one person. I’m generally OK with people asking for things like feedback on their site or blog, but when it comes to someone wanting a private step-by-step tutorial on doing something (setting up a portfolio, then finding prospective clients, then wanting help with their query letter, etc.) then it starts to get excessive.

Fortunately there’s something you can do to answer these private questions while still making good overall use of your own time – you can turn your answers into posts or articles themselves so readers with similar questions can get the answer without you having to respond repeatedly privately.

Taking time out for your readers is a good thing–and a part of the job. But managing your time effectively so you can stay productive is equally important. Where do you draw the line?