In popular media, frelance writers are often portrayed drinking cocktails all day long, sitting in the café or lying on the sofa with their laptops, writing what they wish and getting paid thousands of dollars for it. This is in addition to a good everyday sleep till noon and much fun on weekends, when they never have to write anything.
I bet you find this introductory paragraph amuzing and laugh at it, especially if you are a freelance writer. Yes, your life is probably nothing of the above. Well, maybe there is some true in it, but instead of drinking cocktails, we drink coffee, all day long, just to stay on move and keep writing for the clients they work for. So what does an ordinary day of a freelance writer look like?
For those of you who are not in the business or are about to enter it, here is a quick look at a normal day of the average freelance writer:
- Waking up (please note, could be any hour of the day (or night)
- Time to check emails/job boards/messages/etc
- Kids (and most freelance writers have them) must be fed and sent to school
- Yes, time to pour your coffee drink: latte, cappuchino, espresso, etc.
- Laptop’s waiting for you, so you’d better start typing
- Yes, pour your drinks all throughout the day
- Pick up kids from school, probably hungry
- You received a cople of new emails
- Check if kids are done with their homework, play with them, get them in bed
- Time to get back to work (maybe till morning)
After you’re done, it starts all over again. In fact, this can be a seven-day routine, which means you don’t get a single day off in a month. Still, there’s a bit of glamour in the life of a freelance writer in its own sense. In particular, there’s no boss sitting right beside you, controlling your every move and telling you not to leave the office to get your kids from school. Yes, you still have to pull your self out of bed, but you pick the time. Sure, nobody cancelled the deadlines, you still have to meet those too, but considering the fact that you plan your work ahead, meeting the deadlines might never be an issue.
In addtion, it’s kind of adventerous that you can take your work with you on vacation. It’s kind’a funny that while your significant other and/or kids are having fun in the pool, you’re lying on chaise-longue doing what you love best. Nope, I’m not talking about sunbathing. That would be writing! Even though some freelancers consider this as a disadvantage, for others it’s one of the greatest things in the world.
Anyway, here is some piece of advice for you. The main thing is prioritize your time right. Set your own limits and boundaries. This could be, for example, eight hours of everyday sleep and 8 hours of work (works good for me, but numbers are subjects to individual adjustment). Just don’t forget to spend quality time with your family. You’ll see you can make even more money by prioritizing your job tasks and personal responsibilities. This is because your productivity is improving.
