Gain Control of the Balls in Your Freelance Juggling Act

January 14, 2010

I’ve written here in the past about what do when overwhelmed by writing work. But what do you do when you’re doing so much juggling that the balls start to drop? It’s time to take action fast otherwise the consequences could be dire: to your health, your finances, and your reputation.

Because freelance writing goes from feast to famine and then to feast again on a regular basis, many writers have trouble saying “No” to work. We don’t typically have job descriptions and a set schedule because most times, no two days are the same for us. The fear of famine is what gets so many of us in trouble. Sometimes we just overbook our schedules because work presents itself and we can’t bring ourselves to turn it away.

Life as a juggler, especially if you work at home and have family responsibilities, ain’t easy. When you start to drop the balls, it’s scary and things can domino out of control. It has happened to me more than once. Here’s what I do when I need to regain control:

Clean the Desk and the Desktop

When I’m feeling flabbergasted with my work load, my desk and my desktop both tend to get messy. When my environment is cluttered, I have trouble focusing. Taking ten minutes to clean up your desk can help you focus.

As for the desktop, I’m often teased about the fact that there can be more icons on my Windows desktop than room. When it gets like that, I know it’s time to reorganise. Sit down and clean up the files on your computer and you’ll be more organised when it comes to working as well. I use a system of files that go by client for freelance work and a separate folder for my own blogs and projects, and another folder for administrative stuff.

Email

If my email inbox has more than 1 page of emails, I know I need to wade through and figure out what really needs to be there. Taking a half an hour or so to clean up your email inbox will do wonders for you because it’ll help you see what you really need to get done.

To-Do List

Writing a list of what needs to get done in order of priority is a smart thing to do. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, I find that this often comes as not having a full grasp of just what needs to be done and when it has to get done by. By writing it down you can also cross off things as they’re finished. With each checkmark, you’ll feel better.

Tip: It might be tempting to get rid of the easy stuff on the to-do list first but my strategy involves getting rid of the hard stuff first. A writing client of mine had me help him with a self-improvement book last year and the thing from that book that stuck with me the most was a suggestion to get the dreaded things out of the way first. This really helps me focus because the cloud of dread doesn’t linger over me.

Get Moving

Once you know just what you need to do, it’s time to do it. Don’t let distractions get the better of you. Avoid all things shiny and just go. Then, once the backlog is looked after, plan to take the better part of a much-deserved day off for you.

I’m taking my own advice today as things have gotten a bit too hectic for my liking after my taking some time off over the holidays. If you have any tips for how you handle chaos in your writing life, please share! I’ll be trying to avoid “all things shiny” for the rest of the day, though :)