Staying focused
There are definitely times in the life of a freelancer when it seems that you have more work than you have time to do it. There are two sides to that situation. On the positive side, having work is exhilarating, (I hope) profitable, challenging, and a bit of an ego feed. On the negative side, having a lot of work in a compressed period is stressful and can sap your confidence if things aren’t going well.
My situation at the moment
Right now, I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m doing a corporate technical writing contract, and on top of that four articles due before the end of August. On top of that, I have to do 11 or 12 entries per week for the three blogs that I maintain, and have to work on some marketing for the business that I co-own. If that wasn’t enough, I have to finish up the script and slides for a presentation that I’m going to give at the end of October.
Yeah, I’m busy. I’m going to have to do a lot of juggling to keep up and get the work done. That takes focus which, like enthusiasm, you can easily lose. Here are a few things that I do to stay focused.
Use a to-do list
A to-do list is indispensable when you’re trying to keep writing tasks on track. I use a Web-based tool called Remember the Milk, which integrates nicely with Google Calendar. You’re not restricted to that combo, though. There are a large number of to-do list apps on the Web and for the desktop. You can even use a simple text file or paper.
Just enter your tasks in the to-do list, with the ones that have the earliest deadlines first. Check the list daily, and (if possible) knock off completed tasks. One of the reasons that I like the combo of Remember the Milk and Google Calendar is that Calendar can harass me with emails or SMS messages to my mobile phone as a deadline approaches.
Knowing your priorities
Knowing what you have to do and doing them in the order in which they need to be done are two entirely different creatures. Most writers, whether they realize it or not, try to be multitaskers. But I’ve found that trying to shift between too many projects doesn’t work — at least not without a plan. Jumping around from assignment to assignment willy-nilly will only result in all of the projects getting done badly. If not badly, then not to the quality at which you’re capable of doing them.
Look at your tasks. Make the ones with the earliest deadlines your priority. Split your time between them as evenly and as efficiently as possible. If you can, see if you can double up on some aspects of those projects. How? If two of the projects overlap in any way, double up on the research or interviews. Try to reuse some of the content or, barring that, use content that you’ve cut from one project in the other.
Juggle if you have to, but minimize the number of balls that you have in the air.
Take a break
Your mind, your body, and your eyes will need a break during and after the work day. As much as you want to deceive yourself, you’re not superhuman. Constantly pushing yourself to the limit will harm your health. This happened to me one Friday evening a couple of years ago. I had a headache, my legs were aching, and I had chills. Not to mention feeling exhausted. I was out for two and a half days.
And the quality of your work will suffer when you try to fight through fatigue. In the mid-1990s, I was working 14 to 16 hour days at a software company (on top of a 45 minute commute each way). Invariably, what I wrote during the last three hours of the day wasn’t that great. I had to spend a couple of hours the next morning cleaning it up. I’ve seen this happen with other people, too.
When your body and mind and eyes tell you to take a break, then you should save your work and take a break. Get up. Go for a walk. Have something to eat. Do some exercise. Spend time with your family. Take a nap. Just get away from the computer. Believe me, it will do you a lot of good.
Make a vow
Promise yourself that you’ll never to take on that much work in a short period of time again. Like that’s will work …
Image from http://www.sxc.hu
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