Tuesday, March 22, 2005
When you bite off more than you can chew
One of the joys of being a freelancer is often not knowing when or from where your next commission will come. Sometimes, you wind up taking a few too many assignments. That's the situation that I find myself in right now -- I have several magazine and technical writing gigs that I'm trying to juggle. And the act of juggling is a challenge.
At first glance, it's easy to panic when you have that much work in front of you. I did, and was stressed for the first few days. But then I looked a little more closely at the assignments, and was able to work out a reasonable schedule.
The deadlines for the magazine assignments are nicely staggered, and the assignments themselves aren't that time consuming. So, I was able to sensibly slot them into my schedule. The two tech writing gigs, on the other hand, have pretty much the same deadline. Scheduling them has been tough, and I've had to admit defeat on one. I was forced to call in a technical writer I often work with who had some time on his hands. His help has been invaluable, and we should be able to finish the job and keep the client happy.
I learned a couple of lessons from this. First, try not to bite off more than I can chew. No matter what I say, I'm not Superman. Second, don't panic. Analyze the situation and schedule properly. And, if necessary, call in help.
At first glance, it's easy to panic when you have that much work in front of you. I did, and was stressed for the first few days. But then I looked a little more closely at the assignments, and was able to work out a reasonable schedule.
The deadlines for the magazine assignments are nicely staggered, and the assignments themselves aren't that time consuming. So, I was able to sensibly slot them into my schedule. The two tech writing gigs, on the other hand, have pretty much the same deadline. Scheduling them has been tough, and I've had to admit defeat on one. I was forced to call in a technical writer I often work with who had some time on his hands. His help has been invaluable, and we should be able to finish the job and keep the client happy.
I learned a couple of lessons from this. First, try not to bite off more than I can chew. No matter what I say, I'm not Superman. Second, don't panic. Analyze the situation and schedule properly. And, if necessary, call in help.
