7 Ways Freelancers Can Avoid Procrastination

When I first had children, I thought that they’d slow down my writing career.  And so they have. But in some respects, they’ve done wonders for it.  

Having kids has made me a far more efficient writer. I used to be a big-time procrastinator. But when you only have 2 or 3 hours a day to work, you tend to get to the heart of things fast. There’s no time to waste staring at a blank page or revising the same sentence twenty times or checking the refrigerator to see if some new, interesting food has miraculously appeared.  It’s Butt in Chair, fingers flying, until someone starts crying. 

But as my children grew older and started school, things started to change.  I had more time on my hands and guess what? I didn’t always use them wisely.  Now, my youngest son just started school full-time, and so for the first time in more than five years, I have about 6 (count ‘em! 6!) consecutive hours a day that I can devote to work.  

Those extra three hours a day seem like an ocean of time...and oh, I see the dangers already. So, to keep myself on-track, I’ve set out here certain anti-procrastination techniques that have been effective in the past.

Care to give these a try? 

1. Make the 15-minute promise. Pick the highest priority task on your list - especially the one you most dread doing - and vow that you’ll work on it for 15 minutes.  Promise yourself that you can stop after 15 minutes have passed you can stop, but until then you’ll give it your all. Most of the time,  once you get started, you’ll keep going.  That 15 minute bump is all that’s needed to get you over the hump of procrastination.  (This is also a great trick for house-cleaning.)

2. Make a To-Do List.  It may seem obvious but making a daily to-do list every single morning can help prevent procrastination.  Seeing all the things you need to do written down can be a great motivator, as is the satisfaction gained from crossing each item off your list. Remember to always put the most important items on your list first - maybe even bold them or put them in a different color.  

3. Eliminate Distractors.  Oh, it’s hard to stay away from that wicked temptress known as the Internet.  So, when I do need the internet for a particular project and want to make sure I’m concentrating, I seek out a location where the Internet simply isn’t available.  Yes, I know great internet blocking software is available but getting out is a good excuse to work in a different environment. (In other words, not Starbucks.)  If Wifi isn’t your biggest distractor, figure out what it is and eliminate it.  Ringing phone? Put it on silent.  Tempted by what’s on the tube? Put a large note on your TV screen saying something like “how does surfing the channels cost?” or place the remotes somewhere so inconvenient, you feel ridiculous seeking them out.  

4. Avoid Taking On Hateful Projects.  I learned this lesson the hard way.  Last spring, responding to an editor’s request, I pitched an idea that I wasn’t enthusiastic about at all.  The editor accepted the pitch (that figures) and gave me an open deadline. Oh how I struggled to write the piece. Not because it was difficult but because it just wasn’t that interesting to me. I must have wasted several hours dragging my feet on the research and writing – hours that could have been used on other paying assignments.  While I don’t have the financial luxury to be wild about every single project that comes my way, I did vow never to inflict such pain on myself again. Well, unless the financial or career rewards are simply too good to resist.

5. Get an Anti-Procrastination Buddy.  Do you have a friend or colleague to whom you can faithfully swear that you’ll get X, Y,  and Z done within a particular amount of time and will hold you accountable if you don’t? Or who’s can give you an firm but inspiring pep talk when you find yourself wandering off-track?  I have a buddy like this and she’s priceless. 

6. Bribe yourself.  It’s an old standby but it works.  I have often promised myself some culinary reward (usually almond ice cream) for finishing a project or task.  It’s effective, though - the way I do it - not too healthy.  Maybe it’s a better idea to reward yourself with a long, hot bath...a good run...20 minutes on Wii...whatever will spur you to get the job done.  You don’t even have to wait until the completion of a project. Try setting up mini-rewards for finishing difficult paragraph or sending an email that you’ve been putting off. 

7. Declutter.  Maintaining a messy desk or computer is an especially insidious way of promoting procrastination.  There’s always the temptation to clean it up, which seems like it’s not procrastination because it feels like you’re doing something productive.  And even if you don’t clean it up, there’s often something on a cluttered desk or computer to distract you. Just declutter.  Take an hour to clean all that extra crap of your desk or computer once and for all, and watch your productivity increase.  

What techniques do you use to stop procrastinating?

Photo credit:©Stuart Mills (fotalia.com)

Want to write a nonfiction book in one month?

Today marks the start of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), a month in which fiction writers double-down and attempt to write a  50,000 word (or more) novel during the 30 days of November.  Participates officially sign up on the NaNoWriMo website and submit their manuscript at the end of November to get the word-count checked.

As a non-fiction writer, I've always been a wistful witnessing the enthusiasm and community spirit of the would-be novelists participating in NaNoWriMo.  I mean - I love it!  Trying to complete a novel in one month?  That's inspired! 

But there's no need for envy.

Yesterday, while reading the Writer’s Sherpa blog, I was excited to learn that there is also a NaNonFiWriMo challenge going on.  Anyone who accepts this challenge will do his or her best to complete any work of non-fiction by the end of this month. 

Unlike our novelist counterparts, we non-fiction writers don’t have to meet a word count or officially enter a competition. And it doesn’t matter if you already started writing the piece prior to November.  This a personal writing challenge, pure and simple.  The only prize is the deep satisfaction of having completed a non-fiction writing goal. 

As a bonus, Nina Amir, the author who started NaNonFiWriMo, is offering 30 days of blog posts from top writing experts offering tips on writing non-fiction and how to get that work published. You can read more about the NaNonFiWriMo challenge on Nina’s blog.  

I definitely need this kind of fire under my butt to finish my “Kids in Paris” ebook, so count me in! 

Any expat freelancers out there with me?  Let’s help each other to get some serious work done this month!!  Please leave a comment if you are taking up the challenge!

5 Reason Why You Should Become an Expat Freelancer

(© IKO - Fotolia.com)

Well, hello there!  Yes, I’m back after a 3-month hiatus.  That’s right – I took 3 months off from posting and I’m walking right back in here, unashamed. 

I know all the social media gurus say that taking such a break is to commit social media suicide.  That I should at least arrange to throw some old content or some guest posts in my absence.  And I daresay they’re right.  But the Expat Freelancer blog isn’t Copyblogger. And while part of me wishes that I was mistress of all that brilliant content and had an audience that runs in the tens of thousands, the other part of me is happy that I can sneak away for a nice long summer break, lounging on the beaches of Corsica and Narragansett, without feeling guilty or stressed.  

This is the beauty of being an expat freelancer.  As an expat, I have adopted that French “give me vacation or give me death” mentality.  As a freelancer, I can indulge it.  (Not that I didn’t continue to work some while I was away.  An expat freelancer at home has to take advantage of the situation, especially if you target American magazines and clients.) Okay, yes, my beach reading did the latest edition of Peter Bowerman’s “The Well-Fed Writer.”  And yes, I did outline a novel.  But none of that felt like work. Can I help that my work is also my passion?

At the moment, I’m feeling so satisfied with life as both an expat and a freelancer that I thought I’d kick of the new season of this blog with 5 reasons why being an expat freelancer totally rocks.  If you’ve been dreaming about writing abroad, maybe this will spur you to make a change!

Reason # 1: You get a fresh perspective…on everything.

Good writers do more than turn an elegant phrase; they offer a new perspective or insight to their readers. As an expat freelancer, you get new perspectives and insights in spades.  Everything from driving on a highway to standing at a bus stop can be a cultural revelation – and potential copy. Even now, I'm working on an essay about my trip to the local Stop & Shop when I was at home in the U.S.  Did anything special happen there?  Not really. But as I wandered the huge aisles, wide-eyed as a refugee, picking up tons of stuff didn't need, I suddenly had a perfect understanding of that mixture of awe and distaste that many Europeans have toward America. What an enormous, greedy, fabulous country. 

Reason #2:  You’ve got instant entry into travel writing

It’s easy to create a niche as a travel writer as an expat, even if you don’t actually travel much. Plenty of magazines and websites will pay good money for to know what’s happening in your backyard.  This is how I got my first clips as a freelancer: writing 100-word reviews of Paris attractions and restaurants.  No travel greater than a metro ride was required. 

Reason #3: Wider Client Pool

Today’s freelancer can work with clients all over the world – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to tap into a client pool in another country.  Unless you live there.  As an expat, I can market my copywriting services with facility to both France-based business as well as those in the U.S. (particularly those in my hometown).  In a sense, I’m a “local” in both locations – or at least, that’s how I spin it.

Reason #4:  Cool Office

Expat freelancers have some of the most exotic offices in the world: tropical beaches, mountaintops, or, in my case, sweet little Parisian cafés.  And if I chose to work at home? I’ve got a kick-ass view of the Seine and La Conciergerie, the tower in which Marie Antoinette was imprisoned.  I admit, I often take the beauty and history of my adopted city for granted, but when I remember, it gives me a shiver of pleasure, privilege and gratitude.  (But you know what? When I’m in the U.S., writing at my favorite Starbucks, I’m pretty thrilled too.)

Reason #5: Positive influence of local customs 

As an American it’s hard to turn off that compulsion to always be productive, to never be caught slacking.  But, as I noted in the intro to this post, living in France has been a good influence in that way. For better or worse, here, there’s no shame in just kicking back and enjoying life at the expense of productivity.  I have no doubt that my work-life balance is more evenly distributed than it would be if I lived in the U.S.  I guess you could say that being an expat helps puts the “free” in freelancer.  (Sorry – couldn’t resist!)   Just make sure you chose to reside in a country more laid-back than the one you live in!

Are you an expat freelancer? What do you love about your career/lifestyle choice?

Finding Balance in Life

 (Photo credit: Michelle Meiklejohn, freeditigalphotos.net)

I couldn't decide where to put this post because I think the advice is useful for both moms and freelancers.  So, I'm doing something I've never done before and cross-posting it at my other blog, International Mama.  Wherever you're reading it, I hope you find it helpful! 

Last week, the Urban Muse posed the question: what is your biggest challenge as a freelance writer? Many of the responses, including my own, concerned finding a suitable work-life balance.  Because we freelancers don’t have to punch the clock, it’s all too easy to allow one aspect of our life – usually work –to dominate the other.

  

But you know what?  One day, last September, I did it.   For about, oh, four hours, I understood my life to be in perfect balance. Don’t laugh!  As far as I'm concerned feeling that the world is perfectly aligned for four hours is an amazing achievement.  As an expat, I am perpetually seeking – consciously or not – to find a balance between my own culture with that of my adopted country.  Because I’m married to someone of a different nationality, I have to do the same in my marriage.  Throw a couple of young kids and a new career into the mix and you’ve got one off-kilter lady.

But last September, for that brief period, it all worked.  More than worked – it flowed.   

That day was no less busy than any other.  I had to drop my three-year old off at school and then pick him up three hours later.  I had two big assignments due that I hadn’t yet begun.  The baby had a doctor’s appointment later.  My husband was out of town for the week, so, I’d have to handle the exhausting evening rituals (dinner, bath, bed) by myself and then pray that the kids would stay asleep so that I could work as late as I could, then get some sleep myself.  Normally on days such as this, my mind is constantly abuzz, skipping ahead to the next task on my list before I’ve completed the first one.  But  on this day, as I picked up my son from school, my mind grew quiet.  

As we walked down the street, I noticed that the sky was a deep, pure blue and that the leaves on the trees were beginning to turn yellow-brown. I became aware of the pressure of my son’s hand in mine, of the sweet, singing quality of his voice, and of the rush of pleasure these things gave me.  I enjoyed the way the autumn breeze made my open trench coat flap slightly as we walked, and the tapping sound my boots made on the pavement.  With every step we took, I grew more and more connected with everything around me, as if I were beginning to see my place in part of an enormous, smoothly functioning machine. For once, I wasn’t borrowing time from the future or the past. Every moment belonged to itself. I was wholly – in New Age parlance – “in the moment.”  

This sense of connectedness lasted until we got on the metro, and then slowly began to dissipate. But I didn’t feel any panic or depression as the feeling left me.  Instead, I felt both relaxed and empowered. I suddenly understood the key to having a balanced life: being truly present. 

Riding the metro home, I had no urge to check my cell phone, check my to-do list, make notes on an article, send out a tweet,  dwell on my crammed schedule or engage in any of my usual multi-tasking habits.  I was simply happy to sit and listen to my son tell me how he “drew a picture of my belly” at school (no, I wasn’t pregnant – thanks kid.)  

When I got home and turned my son over to the babysitter, I sat down to work without guilt and without anxiety for the tasks ahead.  Time felt different to me; both more precious and more plentiful. It occurred to me that we generally view time as something that is forever slipping away from us, not as something that we always have.  But we do always have time.  Maybe not time enough to achieve every task on our list, but time enough to fully appreciate the things we can accomplish. 

Since this revelation, can I now claim to always have a perfectly balanced life?  God, no!  But now, whenever I feel overwhelmed with work or life, I take a moment to recognize that it’s not necessarily my work-life balance that needs adjusting – but my attitude.  Multi-tasking, letting my mind wander, worrying about anything except the matters in front of me can make my whole world spin.  

Taking a good look at the advantages, opportunities and beauty of the moment helps to set it right again.

How about you? What helps you to find balance?

How to Be Your Own Client

image provided by freedigitalphotos.com

Has this ever happened to you?: You’re writing a piece for a client or editor and that piece is singing to you. Your mind is fizzing with fresh ideas; the words are flowing, smooth as milk. Every time you meet an obstacle, you battle it like a knight and leave its steaming carcass in your wake. You almost hate to let the piece go, you’ve enjoyed working on it so much, but it’s done, finished. You look it over, hit send, and off it goes to the client/editor.

Now it's time for your personal writing projects!

But your creative well has abruptly gone dry. Composing every sentence feels like pulling a live tooth. Each obstacle you meet looms big and scary and it whispers really mean things about ability as a writer and the pointlessness of your task. Your mind starts to wander. You start tweeting random stuff. But then – you remember that there’s another assignment you could be working on! One for a paying client! You quickly abandon your own project and start working on the other assignment. Amazingly, your energy is restored, the words are flowing, and every challenge you face, bested.

If that’s never happened to you – respect. But I’m sure there are more than a few people out there who know what I’m talking about. I had one of those days last week. But as I put away my own stalled project to be fruitful with someone else’s, I sighed: I wish I could be my own client.

Cue the thunderclap, light bulb, choir of angels or whatever imagery you prefer to use when you have a revelation. Suddenly, I realized that there was absolutely no reason why I couldn’t offer myself the same attention and creative power than people who pay me. I just had to figure out how. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Don’t just set goals – set a deadline.

Write down every task you need to do for your personal project: research, writing, interviews, etc. and then set a firm deadline for each one. I have never missed a deadline for a client/editor. The very idea makes me feel ill. Meeting deadlines is the bare minimum of professional conduct, right? Why, then, are we so willing to push off personal deadlines? If you want to be your own client, you need to start holding yourself to the same professional standards.

2. Keep the “big picture” in mind as you work.

When you’re working for someone else, it’s easy to keep the “big picture” in mind. The big picture is usually a paycheck. Or exposure. Or building a portfolio and what have you. Once you’ve done the work, you know immediately what you’ve gained. It’s not so easy to see the big picture when you’re working on a personal project. You know what you hope to gain, but you also know that it may be a long while before you reap the fruits of your labor. Find some way of keeping the big picture in front of you as you work. It may be as simple as putting a big Post-It note on your computer screen saying: “Fame & Fortune” if that’s what you seek. Or “Financial Independence.” Or “I’m Quitting My Day Job.” You could also find a picture that embodies whatever it is you aspire to through your personal writing and put that on your desk. Whatever method you choose, make sure it’s something physical and in plain view so it can constantly remind you of your ultimate goal.

3. Obtain feedback on your work.

The nice thing about working for people other than yourself is that you usually receive feedback on your work. Of course, it’s always lovely to get positive feedback, but sometimes even critical feedback is welcome. When working on personal projects, you often get no feedback at all. This can make you feel as if you’re working in total darkness, groping and feeling your way forward. And who wants to work like that? Get some feedback on your work. Form a writer’s group. Join a writer’s forum. Get out there and let another writer you trust to shine some light on your project.

4. Praise yourself when you’ve done a good job.

Of course there will be plenty of times when you know you’ve done a good job without anyone telling you. And when that happens, don’t be afraid to pat yourself on the back or publicly acknowledge the good work you’ve done. After all, you’re the client. And when you’ve made the client happy, you deserve to feel good.

What would you add to this list?