A Writer’s Schedule

When I asked the other day for freelance writing questions on Plurk, AllenaTapia wanted to know about my schedule. It’s been some time since I wrote about my daily routine and a lot has changed in the last two years. My daughter is now in school and that has changed the shape of my work week. Instead of cramming my writing into two whole days and any spare time, I now work mostly Monday to Friday, doing a couple of hours only over the weekend. My day looks a bit like this:

6.30am — quick email check, especially for anything from the UK market

6.45–7.45 — get my daughter ready for school

7.45–8.00 — quick chat with my mum

8.00–8.30 — check out friends on social sites, check job ads

8.30–12.30 — write, write, write with occasional breaks

12.30–1.00 — lunch

1.00-school pickup (which can be anytime between 2 and 3.30) — write some more

school pickup — 7pm — supervise homework, play, get dinner

7.00–8.00pm — do anything urgent; check email

10.30pm — final email check.

During the school holidays, which have justed started, I cut my work day a bit or work out alternating schedules with my DH who also works at home. This year my daughter is going to gymnastics camp for a couple of weeks, which means that the workday will end at 2pm. That means I’ll probably do slightly fewer jobs, but it’s worth it to spend more time with my family. What’s your workday like?