As a freelance writer, deadlines become your middle name. Every morning, many freelance writers wake up to endless deadlines that must be met before the end of the business day and sometimes even sooner, and if you’re like me, that can be a bit overwhelming.
As a full-time mom, wife, freelancer, and everything in between, I often struggle with finding balance and doing it all well. Hence, I made it my mission to create a brand new system that I believed would help me not only become more productive but would eliminate a lot of wasted time.
Waking Up Early
I take pride in being a morning person. Still, I realized that even waking up at 7 am was not helping me increase my productivity as a freelance writer, especially when everyone else in my house also woke up at 7 am. One morning I decided to suck it up and wake up at 4 am, and my productivity went through the roof. Not only could I complete a ton of work, but I could complete it without interruption because no one in my house (or perhaps in the world) was up at 4:00 am.
Cutting Social Media Off
Cutting social media off when I need to beat deadlines has been pivotal to my freelance writing career. Frequently, social media has been a significant distraction for me and a place I can quickly jump to when I am severely procrastinating. Statistics prove that using social media decreases overall work productivity, forcing me to download several apps that will shut social media down when I don’t have enough self-control to do it myself.
Time Tracking
I had no idea how much time I was wasting every day until I forced myself to start using apps that allowed me to create my timesheet. As a former employee for several fortune 500 companies, I used to hate tracking my time, but now as a freelance writer, I have noticed that it’s even more critical than ever before. Every minute I now waste as a freelancer is money that I’m wasting, and nobody wants to waste money right?
Taking Mental Breaks
So I know we’re talking about increasing productivity, but you cannot be as productive as you would like if you are not taking time for breaks. As a writer, I often get so caught up in my assignments I forget to take breaks. Do you know what ends up happening? Writer’s block forces me to take a break, and writer’s block is a writer’s worst nightmare. Studies after studies have been conducted that have proved that taking breaks increases productivity. Do yourself a favor, and take a break.
Automation Is Your Friend
Automation is your friend and, if used correctly, can be your best friend. As freelance writers, we obviously can never automate many things, including the work we do every single day; however, we can automate some of those other tasks that we waste so much time on, including social media posts, emails, pitches, etc.
When it comes to automation, one trick I have found to be successful is to take a day (for me, it’s Sunday) and automate my social media content posts and all of my pre-written blog posts for the week. That way, it’s one less thing I have to worry about when trying to beat deadlines.
While my system hasn’t been 100% perfected, I have seen my productivity climb over the last few months, and that alone deserves a pat on the back.
