If you're anything like me, you probably write for several different content sites and/or clients in one day. You might also find yourself working many more hours than you intend. I found myself struggling to make the best use of my time while working on the many projects I have going. I knew that I needed to improve my efficiency, so I decided to take a hard look at all my projects and figure out how much time I could devote to each one per day.
How Elapsed Time Worked for Me
My goal was to work approximately 5 hours per day on 5 different projects. First, I divided my time amongst the five projects, but not evenly. Some projects take less than an hour of attention per day, while others take more. Here's an approximate look at how I divided my time:
- Project A - 1 article in 1 hour
- Project B - 3 articles in 2 hours
- Project C - 2 articles in 1 hour
- Project D - 1 article in 30 minutes
- Project E - 1 article in 30 minutes
I've found that I must plan my day in elapsed time rather than actual time. If I plant to have x amount of articles written by 12:00, I'll never get things done, and I'll always feel like I'm behind - which will lead to my ultimate failure.
Sometimes I stay up until 3:00 am, and sometimes I go to bed at 7:30 pm. I like it this way, and I don't want to sacrifice my freedom to fit some new mold I create for myself. The whole reason I wanted to pursue life as a freelancer is so I can do whatever I please, whenever I please. If I wanted to keep standard hours, I might as well work for someone else. So, I go with elapsed time and it has served me well.
Egg Timer Makes it Stick
Once I made a plan regarding the level of work I was willing to complete each day per project, then I knew I had to find a way to stick to it. This isn't always the easiest part for me, as I am admittedly lazy and have a tendency to procrastinate. However, I am nothing if not determined, particularly when it comes to my writing career.
I found this really cool little program - an old-school (completely free) downloadable egg timer, that even the most inept of computer users could figure out. I wanted something very simple that would keep track of time for me, and tell me when I need to move on. I think I just needed a little self-inflicted discipline to get myself on track again.So, I set the egg timer for one hour and begin my first project. It displays a message when time's up, or it will also beep at you incessantly if you prefer. Then, I switch gears and move on to the next thing on the list, reset the timer, and go at it again. In five short hours, I'm completely done working for the day and my production rate has never been better.
What Free Time?
I also have other things that need to be done during the day that don't necessarily fit into the category of "project." For example, I answer emails from this and other websites, visit my favorite forums, promotional things, etc. So, I had to figure out a way to incorporate these "extras" into my day without going over the five hours.
I decided the best thing to do would be to use my "free time" to do this. I consider my free time to be any time that I have finished with an article on one project, but my time isn't up yet. If I finish my article for site A in 45 minutes today, instead of an hour, then I can answer a few emails, visit forums, etc, until my timer tells me it's time to move on.
Anything that I haven't done at the end of my five hours, I let it wait until the next day. This was the hardest part for me. I usually have to be dragged away from the computer because there always seems to be one more thing to do. But, once I began to force myself to let things lie until the next day, it seemed I got a little of my life back - you know, the real one, that doesn't involve writing.
I think many of us in this line of work have a hard time sticking to a schedule, and this can blur the lines between life and work to an indistinguishable level. I'd recommend trying to give yourself a specific amount of time to complete a certain project, and then be done with it, rather than restricting yourself to the hours of the day. It's worked for me, and I'm enjoying more time off, no working on the weekends (unless I want), and more time with my family, which is ultimately the best part of this gig.
13 comments:
This is a great article with much needed advice. I tend to do the same thing, always adding more to my to-do list when I finish things. It's never ending. I definitely need to set work boundaries because I feel like I'm at my computer 15 hours a day. I need to get out more and spend some time with my hubby. :-P
Great advice. I find I'm more productive when I break things down and set an actual time limit too. Nice reminder and great information!
Good advice. I have a related question that I've been mulling over for a while, and would be interested in your take on it.
How do you balance time spent on clients with different rates of pay? I mean, if it generally takes you 45 minutes to complete a $15 article, and an hour and a half to complete a $10 article, how do you divvy up your time/justify time spent on the cheaper?
I've backed away from most of the ten dollar gigs, but I feel vaguely uneasy about it. Thoughts? How do you balance it all?
@Donella - My husband was feeling sorely neglected, so I knew I had to do something. Luckily, he's a writer too, so I get a bit more sympathy. :)
@Micheal - Thanks, glad you enjoyed the article.
@Jennie - Well, it's a complicated situation. Lol.
I have one site that only pays $10 per article, but they pay FAST, and they have a minimum article requirement. It takes me a bit longer to write one for them, but I feel it's justified. Some weeks my higher paying site doesn't have much work, and I can fall back on this one. So, I do the minimum for them to ensure I keep the job in case I ever REALLY need it, even though it pays less and takes longer. Sometimes, you just have to make choices like this to cover all your bases.
My highest paying site I devote the most time to, of course. The other sites are residual, so I devote only a small amount of time per day to them, since I still need to pay the bills.
So, I keep one high paying upfront job and give most of my time to it. I keep a secondary upfront job that doesn't pay as much but can get me by in a pinch, if necessary. And, at the same time, I work on slowly building my residual income.
As far as residual income goes, I am focusing on two sites right now - EHow and Suite 101. I try to give them a small portion of time each day, writing two articles for ehow and one for Suite (because it takes longer).
I think, in the long run, you just have to prioritize. Figure out how many projects you can manage, how much time you can give to each, and cut out everything that isn't working.
It was hard for me, but I made decisions. I've left several things on the back burner because they haven't been as profitable as I'd hoped. For the next year I am going to give only the five projects mentioned above my attention. (One of them is this blog, which I'm going to try and improve.)
After one year, I will reevaluate, see what's working and what isn't, and make changes as necessary.
Certainly an extremely busy life style but for one who loves what s/he does the evening of the day brings joy and satisfaction … I am sure you are more joyful and satisfied than frustrated at the end of the day …
cheers ..
Thanks, Willow. :-) It helps to get other people's perspective, since this isn't exactly a common career choice yet. I think I've kind of felt like I CAN'T refuse work when it comes my way, and yet I can't possibly do it all, either. Good problem to have, but even maintaining the minimums can take a good chunk out of my time and stress me out, LOL. So thanks.
I love your blog's new look, BTW!
@deeps - Yep, I'm certainly joyful AND satisfied at the end of my day. I love what I do, and sometimes I can't even believe it's real. :)
@Jenny - I know what you mean. I've been in the situation where I didn't want to refuse work, too. But, if I accepted everything, my more important work would suffer because of it.
Yeah, I spent a little time tinkering with it. I wanted something better than the default template. :)
Good article! I have been using a site that offers a similar timer and I love it! It is a must for all writers! And I have to say that I struggle to keep focused. It helps for me to write in 15 minute increments. I know it sounds ridiculous, but if you have a short attention span like I do it helps!
Emily
Your Questions Answered: Transitioning to Higher Paying Gigs
@Emily - Lol. Well, I guess only some of us can work in 1 hour blocks, but as long as you do what works for you, you'll do fine! I am the opposite, though. I think I have a never-ending attention span. :)
I took your advice and got the EggTimer. I found it helped today because I was more focused on being productive with my articles...thanks for the tip. Love your blog!
@ncgirl - I'm so glad it helped you! I find that it makes for much easier self-discipline, which I'm no good at to begin with. :)
I can not tell you what a blessing it was to find your site. It is true that opportunity presents itself in mysterious ways. I had a job end unexpectedly that left me scrambling to fill my schedule to maintain a set level of income... and I found your site. You have really wonderful information here, and this post in particular hit home... and has given me a way to balance things out in a less stressful manner. :)
Hi, Jennifer! I'm so happy that you were able to gain something from the blog. This is the reason I created it and it's a wonderful feeling to know that it is helping others. I find that this method really helps me since I keep "irregular" hours. Lol.
Good luck to you in everything that you do, and remember that it's all about finding your own rhythm and what works best for YOU. :)
Post a Comment