A Freelance Writer’s Secret to Effective Time Management
May 3, 2008 by Deb
Filed under Freelance Writing
by
Michelle Fabio
Like many freelancers, I always have more than one project going at once. Although I would love if all of them held my attention equally, it rarely happens.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t do well when I force myself to work on something. Yes, I can work under deadlines, but that’s not what I mean. I’m talking about when my brain has one project in front of it but insists on calling out to another or ignoring the need to work at all.
So what does a writer (with a relatively short attention span) do when faced with different assignments competing for attention?
Over the past few months, I’ve come up with a simple system that humors my brain’s whims, keeps me sane, *and* has made me more productive than ever. And now I’m sharing it with you:
- Make a list. On this list, I put everything I have to do including assignments, errands, research topics, emails/queries to write, photos to upload for my blog—anything that needs to be done in the near future.
- Do something, so long as it’s on the list. Sounds silly, right? Too obvious? Well not for someone (like me) who is prone to procrastinating and, ahem, surfing blogs and such, while avoiding real work.
I’m also guilty of thoughts like “I have no time to run to the post office when I have all this work to do!” Then a half hour would pass, I’d done nothing but waste time, and my bills still sat here unpaid.
Now when I feel my attention span waning, I look at my list and do something, anything on there. In the same half hour I might have wasted before, now I may cross off one or two items from the list. Maybe I didn’t complete the assignment I originally sat down to finish, but at least I’ve accomplished something.
And then a weird thing happens.
Crossing things off of my list actually inspires me to do more . . . and more . . . and more! Even better, I’m able to step away from the computer earlier in the evenings because I don’t feel guilty that I didn’t get enough done during the day.
And all it took was a list. Who knew?
What are your time management secrets?
Michelle Fabio is a freelance writer who lives in her ancestors’ village in southern Italy and blogs about her life at Bleeding Espresso and her love of tomatoes at TomatoCasual.com.
hehe..I hear ya Michelle, it’s amazing how good a feeling it is to simply cross things off a list, no matter how small it is. For me, crossing something off a list really does encourage me to work at crossing something else off a list.
Sounds silly doesn’t it?…but it works.
Thanks for the post.
Thanks for back-up Ads!
And thank you Deb for the opportunity to guest post
Great tips. One thing I read from a top executive once was to make a list each morning of just 5 (no more) things that you want to get done that day. It definitely works for me as it’s not as intimidating as a long list that you feel you’ll never finish.
Great tips, Michelle. In fact, I am going to make a list right now!
@ Fiona, I love that! But I’m also a fan of intimidating lists sometimes too…depends on how much energy I wake up with
Boy do lists ever help. I use them all the time, especially now that I seem to be more forgetful. It is a great feeling to be able to cross items off the list because I know that I have accomplished something.
Thank you for this post Michelle.
Every Sunday evening I create a game plan or a list/schedule for the week. Sticking to the list isn’t easy – there are so many distractions! But, for every task I complete, I reward myself – this gives me an incentive for staying on schedule
Gotta love those lists!
I read a quote once that said something about how list makers will never die, because their lists are never done.
@ Jenny B, I’d be lying if I said forgetfulness isn’t a big reason I need lists too! Thanks for reading
@ Valencia, I love the reward idea. I tend to simply take a break after certain accomplishments…sometimes I reward myself with tackling another item on the list, depending on my mood
@ Rhonda, now *there* is a quote
I love to waste time surfing the internet instead of doing work as much as the next guy, but it’s not all a waste.
Keep your ideas notebook handy while you’re surfing. If you’re going to surf, force yourself to think critically and creatively about what you’re reading. How can you spin this into something of your own? Can you be inspired by that blog article you just read to write something of your own? Something that will pay the bills?
If you’re interested enough in the topic to waste time cruising the web to read about it, chances are there’s a market for it.
As long as your time surfing helps you come up with an idea or two for an article of your own, it hasn’t been a total waste.
At least, that’s what I like to tell myself.
Hey Michelle! Fancy seeing you here where there’s no food involved! : )
Great idea on having the list. I used to use lists more and I stopped. You inspired me to just make a list. Now to start crossing things off!
I’m a bit list fan. Although sometimes you have to watch that *making the list* doesn’t become the bigger activity of the day!
@Adam – I surf sometimes just to clear my head, but sometimes I do come across an idea or two that I need to capture. Glad I’m not the only one who tries to justify it
I’m also a ig fan of thinking of things in “baby steps.” Well, no, maybe writing an entire blog post feels like too much right now. But….I could just get the title on the page, and then I could just throw out the 3 tiny ideas in my head on the page and shut it. Then later I could go find an image that goes with it.
I dont’ think of myself as “writing the blog post”, but rather doing a little string of individual items that eventually add up to what I need to have done.
That sometimes helps me get through the “list” without thinking that I am. If that makes any sense. Like a Jedi mind trick, I think.
I’m a fellow procrastinator, and I love lists! I’m so much more productive on days when I make lists than I am on days that I don’t. Plus, that feeling of looking at a bunch of crossed-off items at the end of your day—even if you didn’t finish EVERYTHING—is so satisfying.
@ Cherrye, hope the list-making went well!
@ Adam, *excellent* advice as I’m sure many of us are surfing procrastinators
I also keep a folder of “ideas” in my bookmarks for future topics I happen to come across.
@ Anali, ciao! I abandoned lists for a while too…it didn’t go well
@ Erika, I do baby steps too! There’s something about seeing that title or just a few words on the page that helps sometimes.
@ Angela, and being satisfied is *so* wonderful, isn’t it?
Excellent tips…just need to remember them!!
I’ve grown to loathe lists.
The reason I frreelance is that I prefer to be on my own schedule, not someone else’s.
I know what needs to be done each day.
I know I have to face the page each day.
I have my morning “practice” == my yoga/meditation session and my first 1000 words on what I call my “Primary PRoject.”
Then I eat breakfast and face the rest of my writing day.
The projects are prioritized by deadline and payment. He who pays the most and has the closest deadline gets the first attention.
If I make a list, I wind up procrastinating, not getting anything done, and resenting the fact that there’s a list of what I’m supposed to do.
When I sit down and do it, I’m much more productive.
@ Devon, you are *much* more disciplined than I am! I don’t consider myself being on someone else’s schedule by making a list; I just find it handy to organize my own schedule by seeing the things that need to done before me.
I’m very visual, so if I can see the tasks before me and say, “x should take 20 minutes, y will take an hour and a half,” I can split my chunks of time up better and in sync with when my brain is working…broken up by doggie walks
Sorry, last line in the first paragraph of the previous comment should hafve a “be” between to and done, and also forgot to write to you Devon, to each his/her own
Sorry, last line in the first paragraph of the previous comment should have a “be” between to and done, and also forgot to write to you Devon, to each his/her own
I find it helps to consciously schedule a mixture of different type of work with the same deadline. I’m a freelance editor, and there’s a big difference between doing development on a novel, a line edit on nonfiction, and references formatting on academic work. Although it’s all editing work, one type can feel like a break from another, so I can just switch around until everything gets done.
@ Anne, glad you enjoyed!
@ Brooke, I’m big on switching off on things as well; really helps my mind to switch gears. Thanks for the tip!
And Deb, sorry for the double comment above…my perfectionist tendencies got the best of me
@Devon,
You may be one of those “born organized” folks. I envy that ability to just do it.
Seems like I have to trick myself into being organized
Kudos to you for having such discipline and I strive to have a portion of that someday!
Another reasson I do lists and baby steps is because I have a four yr old running around here. Not much chance for long stretches of unterrupted time, so small “bites” are what I usually work with anyway.
Also, when I do get back to writing after being off-task for some potty adventure or errand, my list helps me to refocus where I had to leave off. Someday, when everyone is in school all day, I hope to avoid some of that. But summmer looms ever closer this month. While I don’t have to get up so early, I have a LOT more distractions. Here comes the LIST!!
I’m a huge advocate of lists. And I agree that it feels great when you can cross a few things off the list. In fact, I usually get all of the small stuff first. Not only does it feel like I’ve really gotten the ball rolling, it’s the quickest way to make you list shorter and increase your focus on just the few items that remain.
Great post.
Lists! I love lists. Lists are my friends. Sometimes I put things on the list that I did hours ago, just so I can cross them off.
And it’s true for me too, everytime I cross something off the list I get a little more inspired to do something else I can cross off the list.
But sometimes I forget about them and five hours later I’ve done nothing but surf the internet and drink coffee. Maybe if I put surf the internet and drink coffee on my list…
@ Erika, oh I absolutely agree about knowing where you’ve left off. I don’t have a child running around, but I have dogs, a partner who comes home every day for lunch, laundry (!), so if I can split it up into little tasks, I feel much better *and* get more done.
@ Geoff, I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Getting the ball rolling is always a good thing
@ Judy, I’m guilty too! I put things I’ve already did on the list to cross them off–it’s a great mental boost when I see I’ve gotten things done. Yeah, it’s a little mind game, but if it ain’t broke….
And how about “Replenish fluids/energy level” and “Research competition/Catch up on current events/Research x topic” as those new items on the list?
Check!
Another interesting question is whether you check off, draw a line through, scribble out…hmmm…
I draw lines through the items. Anyone else?
@Michelle
Great info! I too am very much like you. Well, I really thought you were talking about me…hehe.
I will definitely try the list thing. My problem is ‘making the list’. I seem to find different reasons why I do not need to make it at this time. I do have ADD, so really, I should be making those lists. I also seem to work well when I have a short amount of time left, why is that?
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@Laura
I work better the closer to a deadline I am too. I work better under pressure. I have a deadline coming up on May 13 for a book project that I’ve known about since December. Originally I had it all planned out that I would complete a section each month. Instead, I’ve produced more in the last three weeks than the last three months but that’s how I work my best.
@ Laura and Fiona, I tend to work well under pressure too–an ability that definitely comes in handy when last minute assignments come in!
I find it rather interesting. I mean how do we do it? I put out so much more work in a short period under pressure than if I have a full month to do one article. Oh well, I guess I just need to learn to accept that part of myself and make the best of it…hehe. It really isn’t good for the rest of my family though; I feel really sorry for them.
It’s so funny, Michelle, that’s exactly what I set up for myself a few months ago, too. I do things like the post office when my brain is too “full” to do the projects I need to.
Sometimes, going to the coffee shop – where I can’t connect to the internet – helps. I can usually churn out a couple of posts before the baby wakes up (he falls asleep in the stroller as I walk there). And that can be more than at home where email, dishes, and laundry are also calling to me.
I am such a list maker. I am childishly amused by crossing off something from the list. Oh well, at least it works for me. Except when the list gets way too long.
I keep a notebook by the computer too, incase something catches my eye and I want to blog about it.
Becky –
I’m with you on the coffee house. On Sat morning I drop my son off at art lessons and I have about 50 minutes so I go to the nearby coffee house. I get a lot done. There are no other distractions.
Kacey,
It’d not “childlishly amused.” According to the Franklin Planner people, crossing something off a list triggers a release of endorphins in most people. Of course, they’re trying to sell their planners.
I fall somewhere between list and non-list. Sometimes when I have a lot of different things on my plate, I find that making a list with a Franklin Planner type prioritization helps with juggling immediate deadlines and longer term deadlines that need early work.
Other times I feel like Devon that the list making is keeping me away from doing those things that should be done.
The Sunday night planning idea is also good. Napoleon Hill mentions it in Think and Grow Rich.
Another suggestion: Include family items on master list/calendar. I know that helps me keep things straight/prioritized.
@ Laura, absolutely! Work with your strengths
@ Jen, for me recognizing when my brain just isn’t going to produce something I want it to do has really helped my time management–forcing just makes me miserable and the work product suffer.
@ Becky and Robin, ah, change of scenery. Good on you! I don’t tend to work well anywhere else (although a pen and a notebook have been known to surprise me), but even going for a walk helps me recharge. Excellent tip!
@ Kacey, notebook’s always handy for me too–sometimes I just write the ideas right on the list (which is always handy as well)
@ Phil, I’ve also read that endorphins are released when crossing things off lists; it’s good to know my endorphins are working properly then
And yes, I also include family items–I include absolutely everything from the mundane to big work projects. I figure, hey, they all have to get done, right?
Sunday planning. I suppose I kind of do that, envisioning the week as a whole without saying I’ll do X Monday and Y Tuesday (unless of course there are deadlines early in the week).
Such great time management tips from all of you; thanks so much for the warm welcome over here
I am SO relieved to read this post and its comments. I find myself spending…. hours (it’s terrible!) procrastinating and worrying about how much I need to do instead of DOING IT!
Going to write a list right now and revel in the knowledge that I’m not alone!
@ Katrina, I do hope the list helps you stop worrying about what you need to do; for me, seeing it spelled out is half the battle
Almost every night before I go to sleep, I write my to-do list for the next day, and I sometimes include my meals and workout plan to make that transition run more smoothly, as well.
I’ve mention this on my blog before, but it’s a concept from the book “7 Habits.” I keep the big rocks in place in my bucket of time first, and then the pebbles fall around them. I tend to be a workaholic and write down every single thing I have to do. So I don’t get swamped, I prioritize, either by order or with asterisks.
-AE
@ Academic Eccentric, thanks for that book recommendation and for taking the time to comment.
I love the concept of the bucket of time, rocks, and pebbles; it’s especially useful to me because I realize that even though many things are pebbles, if there are a lot of them, they can take up a whole lot of room; getting those things done is important as well, little by little.
I just came across this and though I realize the conversation ended a few months ago, I thought I’d comment anyway. I just wrote to a friend about being a listmaker. It’s the ONLY way I’ve found to be productive, and not just as a writer. If I don’t see it on paper with my own eyes, it gets lost in the blur of my mind and my day–and it won’t ever get done. Like you, I am motivated by seeing the check marks or lines through the to-do items. It makes me feel like I’ve conquered the world! Thanks for sharing your secret and validating mine!
In addition to creating lists, I try to follow Merlin Mann’s Inbox zero philosophy, and use a time tracking device to not only track billable hours, but to analyze productivity at weeks end.