Quick Tip: Customize Your Browser Start Page for Increased Productivity

As writers we frequently rely on the web in our work. We manage our own websites and blogs. We visit others to stay connected with colleagues and stay on top of industry news. We use social media tools in networking and marketing. And sometimes the sheer number of websites we need to visit on a regular basis can get overwhelming. Fortunately there’s a simple trick

7 Time Management Tools for Freelance Writers

As a freelance writer do you ever feel like you aren’t working to your full potential — that you could get more work done if you could just eliminate some distractions and improve your productivity a bit? Fortunately there are plenty of time management tools that can help you do that. Today I’d like to share some of my favorite types of time management tools

Quick Tip: The Pomodoro Technique for Authors

One of my favorite productivity tools in my freelance writing and blogging work is a timer. I use something called the Pomodoro Technique which breaks down my work into small, manageable periods of time. It’s a great way to stay focused and push yourself to see how much you can do in a short stretch. And it turns out, it works well for writing books

Gamification: Make Freelance Writing More Fun

In the comments on a previous post about loving your work, Anne Wayman mentioned that she wanted to try to turn some of her marketing into a game. That’s something I try to do with my daily work as much as possible too. So I thought it might be fun to look at gamification and how you can gamify your freelance writing work. Gamification doesn’t have to

Looking After Your Health While Working From Home

I’ve had a rough couple of days this week. It started Sunday night. Between now and then I’ve had restless nights, fluttering feelings, a bit of lightheadedness, and a variety of other symptoms. By Monday morning I was imagining the worst. My husband worked from home that day just in case I decided to go into the hospital to get checked out. Thankfully it didn’t

Pros and Cons of Multitasking for Freelancers

Multitasking. It’s awesome. It’s evil. It will make you more productive. It will make you less productive. It will make you more successful. It will destroy your business. What’s the truth when it comes to multitasking in your freelance writing business? The truth is, it depends. Should You Multitask? It depends on what kinds of tasks you’re talking about. For example, it would probably be

Reader Questions: Business Growth, Time Management, and More

In today’s post I’ll answer several reader questions recently submitted by Wendy Komancheck, a freelance writer who specializes in writing for landscapers and related businesses. These questions came as a follow-up to my recent post, “How Writers Can Stay Productive Even During Sick Days,” where Wendy brought up the issue of not being able to take sick days because she doesn’t get paid time off.

How Writers Can Stay Productive Even During Sick Days

So far this year, I’ve had one normal work day. One. Just a day after returning to work from my holiday break, I needed a sick day. That turned into a “sick week.” And it’s now going on week two. Surprisingly though, those sick days have still been productive days. I launched several new features here on this site. I published several blog posts on various

Freelance Writers: Change Your Habits, Change Your Career

We all have goals for our freelance writing careers. And many of us are probably gearing up to make changes in the New Year. But what happens when you feel stuck — like there’s no time left in the day to actually work on growing our businesses? No matter how busy or even overwhelmed you might feel there’s always one option open. Change your current

What Gets You Through a Long Day of Writing?

There are some days when I really don’t feel like writing. But the work has to be finished anyway. Sometimes I plug away and get through the day on sheer will. Sometimes it’s more of a struggle and all I can think about is making it to quitting time. Fortunately these long, exhausting days aren’t the norm. Maybe I committed to too much because a

Shifting Schedules (Again): How to Tell When It’s Time

As any work-at-home parent knows, your schedule is at the mercy of your family. The exception might be those who have a babysitter or daycare lined up, but for most of us, we have to plug along as best with we can with holidays, changing sleep schedules, summer vacations and the rest of it. Over the almost eight years I’ve been working from home, I’ve

How Freelance Writers Can Be Productive With Finances

Writing is actually one of the easier parts of freelancing writing. Maybe it’s like that with all craft-turned-businesses. The tougher parts of being a professional freelance writer can be things like finding clients, having a steady stream of ideas, and managing the finances. Because I’m no fan of mulling over finances for hours, there are some things I do to make this area of freelancing

How Word Count Trackers Can Make You More Productive

I’m a big fan of any tool that can help me get more work finished in less time. One tool freelance writers might not think to use is a word count tracker. But word count trackers are more for authors, right? Sure. They’re great for tracking your progress on a book. But there are also plenty of ways you can use them with typical freelance

5 Tips for Becoming a Happier and More Productive Freelance Writer

It’s one thing to enjoy the freedom freelance writing offers. But sometimes we still get overwhelmed. Deadlines loom, payments might seem to take forever, and our to-do lists could occupy a mile-long scroll. Fortunately there are some things you can do to make yourself more productive than ever, and even happier in your freelance writing work. Here are five tips to help you become a

What To Do With Extra Writing Income

Is your freelance writing business netting you more money than what’s needed to pay the bills? It’s not a bad problem to have. Here are some ways you can spend that extra money. Make sure you set aside enough for taxes. If you’re earning more than you expected, you may also owe more taxes than you expected. Update your estimated tax calculation and set aside

What We Can Learn from WAHM Writers

We all know that the work-at-home-mom (WAHM) writers aren’t considered the upper echelon of the writing community. If you didn’t know that, you’ve never read about the cost-savings to be had by tricking desperate WAHMs into providing ultra cheap articles in a particular forum’s Special Offers. Well, as a few of us here can tell you, having children and enjoying a professional writing career are certainly not exclusive entities, and even

10 Android Apps for Writers and Bloggers

My hubby recently decided that we should upgrade our phones, and we both went the Android route. I’ve spent a good bit of time setting things up for both personal and business use, and in the process I’ve come across some great apps that should improve my productivity. Here are five of my favorite Android apps so far (all free) that might be of interest

Managing Finances Without a Guaranteed Paycheck

If you’ve freelanced at all before, you probably already know: there are no guaranteed paychecks in freelance writing. I often tell my family and friends, particularly those who dream up things for me to do during work hours, that my pay is tied directly to my productivity. I don’t write, I don’t get paid. It’s not like a desk job where you clock in, stay

3 Basic Business Skills All Freelancers Need

Successful freelancing involves more than having the ability to write (or design, code, or whatever service you offer). Freelancers also need some basic business skills to manage and grow a freelance business. These are the skills that allow you to attract clients, manage finances, and make appropriate plans for the future. Let’s look at three basic business skills all freelancers should have, and resources that

Writing at Home: Can I Do This?

It’s not an unusual question. We all wonder from time to time if this world of freelancing from home is worth the extra time and effort it takes to be successful. Naturally we usually find plenty of reasons that it is, in fact, worth the hassles and stress. To name a few: freelance writers who work at home enjoy schedule flexibility, more time with family,

Outlining Your Writing Career Path

Recently I was looking over one of my favorite resources on book outlining — Karen Wiesner’s First Draft in 30 Days. Toward the end of the book she has a section on outlining your career as an author, including a one-year plan and multi-year planning. It was a bit of a kick in the pants (given that I forgot this section existed). You see, I have plenty

How to Become a "Super Freelancer"

Some work days as freelancers are easy. We wake up ready to face the day. We enjoy the projects we’re working on. And everything seems to go as planned. Then there are days when nothing seems to go right. I’ve had several of these lately — from backlogged work I’m still trying to catch up on to a neighbor who disrupts almost every work day

Is Freelance Writing Wasting Your Time?

I was browsing through a popular working mom forum recently and found a popular thread that was both interesting and disturbing. In the thread, moms were discussing their work schedule – a popular topic I like to discuss as well. On the forum, the moms were describing how much of their day they spend dedicated to writing part-time and it disturbed me. A lot. The

When Working Conditions Are Never Right

There are those among us who can only work when the conditions are just right. They must have the right music or show on in the background. They must have their ergonomic chair positioned just so and their office door opened exactly three inches to allow for cross ventilation while blocking 93 percent of all regular household noises. I’m not that person. Nor is any

3 Ways to Take Your Freelance Writing to the Next Level

I consider writing for a living to be a pretty sweet career opportunity. And if you’re reading this blog, I imagine you do too. But as great as freelance writing can be, it does have limits. You’re essentially charging people for your time, even if you don’t bill on an hourly basis. You can’t mass produce freelance work the same way you can with products.

7 Ways to Double What You Get Done Each Day

Very little hurts a freelance writing business as much as poor productivity. For example, if you feel too overwhelmed with client work, you might run out of time to seek out new clients (leading to a later lack of work). Or you might get so caught up in writing that you neglect important administrative duties. Or you might just work so many hours that you

I Write Like…Me?

I recently came across a fun writing toy and I’ve just spent the last hour playing around on it. It’s not earth-shattering, nor is it going to change the world, but it does illustrate a point rather nicely. Your voice is a secret writing weapon, so use it. Here’s the toy: https://www.codingrobots.com/iwl/ “I Write Like” is a website where you essentially paste a chunk of

Work Smarter: Do Take it Personally

Some days it seems like everyone has an opinion on how you should work. They tell you – don’t take it personally, but you need to work smarter. Well, do take it personally and they’re right But, ignore them if it doesn’t work for you Only you know what working smarter means for you. Three Smart Steps When I started my own business in 2008, I had

Working with Kids: Boosting Productivity

I’m split at times about how kids affect my working life. In many – okay most – cases I feel very limited by having kids underfoot or in the house when I’m working. But other times I wonder if I’d be as effective as I am if my children didn’t already have me so well trained. It takes a lot of dedication and discipline to

Plan Early for a Productive Holiday Work Schedule

Can you believe it’s already October? That means the holiday season is just around the corner. And holidays can wreak havoc on our freelance work schedules (or at least they do for mine). Don’t let the holiday season get in the way of work, or let work stress keep you from enjoying the holidays. Let’s look at a few ways you can stay productive throughout