Organization Ideas for Freelance Writers

To Do

Create a workable to-do list. A good method is to start with a 3×5 card at the beginning of the day (or at the end of the day if you want to get things off your mind). Write down the three highest priority tasks first. After that, list any items that it would be nice to get done. Try to finish the priority tasks before you do anything else that day. As the day progresses, so does the number of distractions that can get you off task.

Notes

Always have a way of taking notes. Again, 3×5 cards are great because they are compact and portable. A notebook also works, as does a smartphone or PDA. Some people prefer an audio recorder so that they can just say what is on their mind. The device doesn’t matter. What is important is that you capture the important tasks and thoughts that come up during the day.

Single Task

Avoid multitasking. Try to accomplish one task or at least one step to completion before you move on to anything else. Multitasking results in accomplishing several things adequately or not at all. Do one thing well instead. Focused work is better work.

Eliminate

Keep a constant eye out for what you can eliminate or simplify. Always ask yourself if this is something you can throw away / recycle. The cleaner and more straightforward your environment is, the more focused your thinking will be. Don’t make work for work’s sake. Do what matters.

Say No

Don’t add on tasks when you can’t handle the ones you have. Learn to use the word no and mean it. Taking on too many tasks results in bad decisions, multitasking and poor organization. Say no.

Label

Use a labeler to identify where you need to put things. Knowing where your equipment is without thinking about it will save you an enormous amount of time and avoid the frustration of trying to track down something you misplaced. Put things away as soon as you are done with them. Sort items as soon as you receive them.

Do the little things

Your priority tasks should always come first, but your second consideration should be tasks that can be accomplished quickly. Either do short tasks right away, or keep a list of tasks that can be accomplished quickly and try to end your day with those.

See Also

• The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life
• Freelance Writing and Organization
• Task Organization

How to be a Productive Writer

Aspiring writers often have trouble when it comes to sitting down and writing. Writing requires time and focus. People underestimate just how much commitment writing requires. Even professional writers get bogged down by seemingly endless projects or by the distractions of every day life. Productive writers find a way to get back on track.

Here are five tips to help you increase your writing productivity:

Set Aside Specific Time in your Schedule to Write

Productive writers set aside specific times to write and they use that time. One of the differences between an amateur writer and a professional is the way they treat their writing time. If writing is something you do in your spare, unscheduled time, your productivity will suffer. Most people never allow themselves to have spare, unscheduled time. If they do, they wind up sitting in front of the television set because they are exhausted and they need to relax.

Reduce Your Overwhelming Project to Manageable Pieces

Productive writers like progress they can measure. Novels are intimidating. Sitting down to write a novel is a daunting task. Sitting down to write a chapter is a little better and sitting down to write a scene seems much easier. Large projects aren’t finished in one session or even a dozen. Setting daily goals with specific targets allows you to control what you are writing. It also gives you a greater sense of accomplishment when you meet those goals.

Increase Your Accountability

Productive writers hold themselves accountable for their work. If you set a date for the completion of a project, or even a project phase, that deadline will help motivate you. Making that deadline public will motivate you even more. When it comes to writing, peer pressure is an excellent motivator. If you join a writer’s group it requires you to present and discuss what you have been writing on a regular basis. It gives you a reason to keep working even when the project gets tougher. If you find a friend who also needs to be more productive (it doesn’t have to be a writer) you can take turns reminding each other to get back to work. Accountability will keep you focused.

Find a Better Place to Write

Productive writers know that their environment matters. When your work space is also as your living space, it can create problems. People like to associate home with relaxation. When you introduce work to your home life, it blurs the lines between work and relaxation. This often results in less work and less relaxation. Find a space outside the home to write. If you can’t afford an office, try your local library or a restaurant/coffee shop that provides wireless Internet. You may not need to go there every time you want to write, but it’s good to have a place to go when you need to focus on your writing.

Pick the Right Type of Writing

Productive writers find ways to write. In many cases, people choose projects that aren’t suitable for the amount of time they have to devote. For example, a person who only has three hours a week set aside for writing, and who has to divide that amount of time into two or three sessions, is going to have trouble writing a novel. Novels are extended, time-consuming efforts and the delay between beginning a novel and completing it can make the entire effort seem wasted if something goes wrong. If you only have a little time, try writing poetry, short stories or personal essays. Those projects are manageable on a tight schedule and will give you a better feeling of accomplishment. When writing is going well, you often find more reasons to write. Eventually, you may be ready to commit the time necessary to write a longer work.

For Further Information

• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• How to Be A More Productive Blogger [And Add 37 Minutes to Every Hour!] at Problogger
• Top 30 Tips for Staying Productive and Sane While Working From Home at Zen Habits
• 5 Easy Ways to Start a Productive Day at Freelance Folder

Writing Productivity — Using an Idea Log

Some writers know exactly what they want to say. They merely have to start typing and passion flows from them. This doesn’t necessarily mean they write well, but they don’t sit around wondering what to write about. Most writers, however, need a little prodding. Sometimes they have great ideas, and sometimes they stare at their computer screen waiting for something to come to them. If you fall into the second category, you can reduce your time spent staring at the screen by creating a log of your good article ideas when they come to you. You can also spend those slow times looking at a few tried and true idea resources and seeing what ideas you can grow for the future.

What is an idea log?

An idea log is a way of cataloging your ideas for articles, posts, fiction, poems, essays and stories. Your idea log can be as simple or as fancy as you wish. Some people create file folders for their ideas. They fill them with notes, clippings, pictures and whatever else will assist them. When they pull out the folder, they have all they need to start work. This can be a great system, but it is a lot of work, especially if you never pursue that idea later.

Many people take advantage of their computers. They write quick notes, or even put them in the form of a query to an editor, and keep them in individual documents or add them to a database. This is an excellent system and one that can also get you going quickly once you decide to write because part of the document is already written. You just have to expand on it.

The third way that I propose is simpler and not as thorough. I use it myself, however, because of its ease and portability. I keep a stack of 3×5 index cards in which I jot down my ideas. I put a title and description at the top then jot down the note below. I rarely fill up more than one side of one card. It isn’t as thorough as a file or as ready to roll as a computer note, but it keeps me from prattling on about what is just a single idea that I may or may not follow. Plus, when I have a stack of these cards, I can pull them out and thumb through them quickly, more quickly than going through a file folder or a computer database. I can also take these cards with me anywhere and jot down the ideas as they come. I am a big fan of computers, but for this task I really do prefer the simplicity of a 3×5 index card.

What do you like? What do you hate?

A great place to start looking for ideas is to look at your likes and dislikes. What makes you happy and what makes you sad or angry. These are the things in your life that will provoke your most passionate writing. This can range from politics, entertainment, to a lump in your carpet that you’d like to get rid of. It all depends on what interests you enough to upset or please you.

Who do you know?

The people in your life can be one of your greatest sources of ideas. They have jobs, hobbies, interests and problems that make them experts hundreds of things. Your architect friend can now be interviewed about what makes for a good or bad home design. Your divorced friend with three kids probably has much to say about child support issues. With a little fictionalization, the annoying woman at work might make for a great short story. Look at the people around you. Evaluate them as article sources, interview topics and as story ideas.

Who would you like to know?

People often portray writing as a solitary task, but one of the great benefits of being a writer is that you can use it to meet people. Think about the respected or famous people you would like to talk to: writers you respect, experts in fields you are interested in, actors and politicians. Some of them will be difficult to meet, but many are easier than you think. While the ten most famous writers in the world may be hard to contact, most writers do not spend the majority of their time fending off interview requests. The same is true of experts in most areas. Politicians and actors are probably the hardest to get an interview with, but even then you might be surprised. Just remember that the top few in those fields are nearly impossible to interview without some clout behind you, but there are plenty of others in the field who would be happy to answer your questions.

Where have you been?

Travel is a great way to generate ideas. Look at the places you’ve gone and the things you’ve done there. Think also of the trips you would like to take. From travel guides to the settings for stories, your journeys can be a great source of ideas. Whenever you travel, it is a good idea to keep a journal and write down your thoughts and impressions. You never know where you might find your next idea.

What have you been doing?

Take a look at your areas of expertise. What jobs have you held? What hobbies have you had? What have you studied? These are your areas of knowledge. You may not be an expert, but in writing it is generally enough to be an intelligent amateur as long as you are willing to do the research for your story. Just as your friends are great sources of information, you are your greatest source. Not only do you know something about these things, but also you can rely on yourself, more than anyone else, to do the work required to find out more. Every job, from working in a warehouse to being a phone solicitor to managing a small office, has requirements and areas of interest. Think about how these things can become articles or stories.

What have you been reading?

If you are a writer, then chances are you are an avid reader, and it pays to keep a few notes while you read. The daily paper, magazines, the Internet and the books you read are great sources for ideas. My favorite example of this process is the movie The Player, in which a studio executive challenges anyone to read him a newspaper article and he’ll come up with a movie based on it. Over and over he turns the most mundane articles into feature film ideas. Ideas are everywhere.

What happened to you?

Beyond the jobs and hobbies you’ve had, there is plenty more to your life. There are hundreds of high points and low points in every person’s life: people found and lost, love shared and unrequited, accidents, plots, plans, choices and mistakes. Most of your memories are worthy of a story or article, because chances are you haven’t managed to remember the ordinary and mundane parts of your life, just the highs and the lows and the elements that contribute to who you are. Your life is an endless source of material if you have the talent to make it interesting to others.

Ideas are all around you. If you go through the items above, you will have plenty of ideas to work with, but beyond that, you just need to keep your eyes open and your other senses ready to back them up. Ideas will come to you if you are paying attention. Just remember to have some system to keep track of them, even if it is just a notebook for you to jot things down in. Your ideas are fuel for your writing. Keep plenty of fuel handy.

Writing Productivity – Overcoming Writer’s Isolation

One of the hardest problems writers face is isolation. Writing, especially freelance writing, is a solitary task. There are many advantages to this, such as the lack of distractions and the ability to work in (or out of) your rattiest clothes, but there are disadvantages as well. Isolation can cause loneliness, lack of structure, and can deprive you of valuable feedback. Here are some methods for dealing with these problems.

• Eat Lunch Out — Don’t be afraid to go out every once in a while, especially for lunch meetings. Most friends and associates who have a nine-to-five job will be free for lunch, and your lack of a boss makes it easier to meet them on their schedule and still have time to eat. Don’t cry over the lost time of an hour and a half lunch. Instead, schedule your errands around lunch so that you can get your day’s trips out of the way. Just remember that you still need to spend the same amount of time writing and researching. Your advantage is flexible time, not more time.
• Join Professional Groups — There are many groups that cater to writers, and many that cater to just about any professional. Such groups as the Public Relations Society of America, The National Writer’s Union, and the Toastmasters are worth looking into. Look for groups that meet at least once a month. Don’t be afraid to bring business cards. This is all about making connections, on both a personal and professional level.
• Maintain Structure — The advantage of working at home is NOT working without a schedule, it’s being able to create your own schedule. Put what you plan to do that day down on paper and check it frequently. Develop a workable schedule. For some people it is just a list of the day’s activities, while others need a fixed hourly timetable. Find what works for you and stick to it.
• Consider a Part-Time Job — Even for people who can afford to just write, having a part-time job is worth considering. If isolation is your problem, then look for a job that will keep you in contact with many people. It is an especially good idea to find a job that will help you meet people with similar career goals, but it is also refreshing to have a job that has nothing to do with writing. It’s a judgment call for you to make. Just be sure that you don’t spend too many hours at your job, and that the job doesn’t drain you. Ten hours a week is a good amount– anything over twenty will become a distraction. If money isn’t a problem, consider volunteer work. It will make you feel good.
• Join a Health Club — Sitting in front of a computer eight to twelve hours a day isn’t exactly good for the body or mind. You need to balance your work with exercise, and joining a health club is a good way to both stay fit and be around other people. Schedule it as part of your routine. Exercising at the same time every day will not only add structure and regularity, but it will help you make friends because you’ll be seeing the same people every day.
• Make Friends On-Line — The wonderful thing about having e-mail, Facebook and Twitter friends is that you can take a break and write them whenever you are feeling lonely or isolated, and they can do the same. Also, if you make friends in the industry, you can often get feedback on your work. Just don’t spend all your time writing letters instead of working.
• Walk Outside – I often forget the outside world exists. Sometimes, just stretching your legs and breathing a little fresh air will keep you going when you need to get a project done.
• Don’t Forget That You Have a Radio / MP3 Player– Television is too much of a diversion while working, but silence can be just as problematic. Turn on the radio, preferably to a type of music that won’t be distracting for you. Some people like to turn to a news station, but I found myself listening to news rather than working so I stick to music now.
• Break The Routine – Schedules are important, but every once in a while you need to go out and do something that your nine-to-five friends don’t get to do: going to a matinee, hiking, visiting a museum, having a picnic or whatever suits you. Again, remember that you still need to spend the same amount of time writing. That means either starting earlier or working later.