By Moira K. Wiley

Keywords: time management, freelance writer, schedule, assignment, freelance writing

Working from home can be a lot more fun than working in a corporate office, but it can also be more distracting. On the plus side, you can work in your pajamas. The down side is there isn't anyone looking over your shoulder making sure you stick to a schedule. Self-discipline is a must for a freelance writer. People are naturally distracted, so time management is more of a learned skill than an instinct. Only practice will help you develop a good system, but these 10 tips might help.

1. Work when it's convenient for you. A big plus of working as a freelance writer is the ability to set your own hours. Keep in mind you will have to work during regular business hours at least part of the time if your assignments require interviews or meeting with editors or agents. Your actual writing or editing time, however, can be scheduled around the time of day or night when you are the most productive or creative. Find that time of day when you are at your best to maximize your productivity.



2. Set a schedule. If you have to work around a family, create a schedule to follow. Post your hours on your office door to make it clear to everyone what hours you are working. Make sure everyone knows you're not to be disturbed during those hours unless it's an emergency.



3. Stick to the schedule you've set. It doesn't do any good to create a schedule if you allow domestic issues to interrupt your work. Learn to say "no" to tasks that can wait until after you're done with your freelance writing.



4. Keep a detailed to-do list. You can create a daily, weekly or even monthly list to help you stay on track and let you know if you're meeting your goals. Have a calendar handy to track revolving assignments, and keep a sticky note or other convenient note pad in plain view that lists tasks to complete that day. This will help you stay focused with the added satisfaction of checking off completed tasks.



5. Arrange freelance writing assignments in order of importance. Don't place things randomly on your to-do list; put them in order of what needs to be completed first. Always put items that need immediate action at the top and work you're way down to items you can shift to another day if you run out of time. Don't set unreachable goals that will frustrate you, interrupting your creative flow or causing you to continuously move several items from the bottom of the list to the next day.



6. Stick to your deadlines. If you find yourself missing important deadlines, either your time management schedule isn't working or you're taking on more than you can possibly complete in a set amount of time. You need to reevaluate your workload and schedule to see what you're doing wrong. If the deadlines you're accepting aren't doable, calculate extra time into these deadlines to provide some cushion. If you miss a deadline with a client, you risk losing future freelance writing assignments.



7. Always track your time. For hourly jobs, be careful to mark this time down either in a notebook or a spreadsheet on your computer. It's also a good idea to track time on projects paid by the piece and not hourly. This helps you judge better the amount of time certain projects take to complete so you can break down the hourly rate, know what to charge for future projects and manage your time more efficiently.



8. Hire an assistant. Although this may not be feasible in the beginning, you may find yourself wasting a lot of time on simple tasks that you can delegate to someone else once you start getting busier. Delegate work that doesn't require much input from you such as filing papers.



9. Create "Working" and "Available" signs to post on your door, especially if you have younger children that don't understand when they can't bother you. You can also hang a clock on the door and mark on it when you'll be done to make it even easier for them to know when it's okay to come in.

Switch up your routine if you are stuck in a rut and can't get motivated. Writer's block is notorious for sneaking up on you when you do the exact same thing everyday. Even the best time management schedule will fail if you can't concentrate on what you're doing. If you start feeling frustrated with a project, switch to another one you can finish quickly. Doing so will give you a sense of accomplishment and revive your motivation to tackle the bigger chores.

Moira K. Wiley has been a freelance writer and editor since 1999. She has 400-plus published articles to her credit appearing in various magazines, trade journals, newspapers and online publications. Mostly writing nonfiction, she also enjoys writing poetry and short stories and had both included in the cozy crime anthology, Almostly Murder.with pets published by Padlock Mystery Press. She's a former president of Oklahoma Writers' Federation, Inc. and currently resides in Stillwater with her big, lovable pit bull, Achilles.

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