I’ve written here in the past about what do when overwhelmed by writing work. But what do you do when you’re doing so much juggling that the balls start to drop? It’s time to take action fast otherwise the consequences could be dire: to your health, your finances, and your reputation.

Because freelance writing goes from feast to famine and then to feast again on a regular basis, many writers have trouble saying “No” to work. We don’t typically have job descriptions and a set schedule because most times, no two days are the same for us. The fear of famine is what gets so many of us in trouble. Sometimes we just overbook our schedules because work presents itself and we can’t bring ourselves to turn it away.

Life as a juggler, especially if you work at home and have family responsibilities, ain’t easy. When you start to drop the balls, it’s scary and things can domino out of control. It has happened to me more than once. Here’s what I do when I need to regain control:

Clean the Desk and the Desktop

When I’m feeling flabbergasted with my work load, my desk and my desktop both tend to get messy. When my environment is cluttered, I have trouble focusing.  Taking ten minutes to clean up your desk can help you focus.

As for the desktop, I’m often teased about the fact that there can be more icons on my Windows desktop than room. When it gets like that, I know it’s time to reorganise. Sit down and clean up the files on your computer and you’ll be more organised when it comes to working as well. I use a system of files that go by client for freelance work and a separate folder for my own blogs and projects, and another folder for administrative stuff.

Email

If my email inbox has more than 1 page of emails, I know I need to wade through and figure out what really needs to be there. Taking a half an hour or so to clean up your email inbox will do wonders for you because it’ll help you see what you really need to get done.

To-Do List

Writing a list of what needs to get done in order of priority is a smart thing to do. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, I find that this often comes as not having a full grasp of just what needs to be done and when it has to get done by. By writing it down you can also cross off things as they’re finished. With each checkmark, you’ll feel better.

Tip: It might be tempting to get rid of the easy stuff on the to-do list first but my strategy involves getting rid of the hard stuff first. A writing client of mine had me help him with a self-improvement book last year and the thing from that book that stuck with me the most was a suggestion to get the dreaded things out of the way first. This really helps me focus because the cloud of dread doesn’t linger over me.

Get Moving

Once you know just what you need to do, it’s time to do it. Don’t let distractions get the better of you. Avoid all things shiny and just go.  Then, once the backlog is looked after, plan to take the better part of a much-deserved day off for you.

I’m taking my own advice today as things have gotten a bit too hectic for my liking after my taking some time off over the holidays. If you have any tips for how you handle chaos in your writing life, please share! I’ll be trying to avoid  “all things shiny” for the rest of the day, though

Gain Control of the Balls in Your Freelance Juggling Act is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

The Women’s Millionaire Club, by Maureen G Mulvaney, is being offered beginning on March 17th, 2009 at 12:01 am. We invite you to go to this page - http://mgmsuperstar.com/wjtc/exclusive.html - to access the order page and then go back to this page to access the bonus page. On the Exclusive Private Invite page, enter your order confirmation code. That will allow you to gain entry to the FREE Pot o’ Gold Bonus Items.

Women’s Millionaire Club On Tour is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

If you’re a work at home parent, as I am, then you’ve probably been making some trade-offs over the summer. It’s great to have our little darlings at home, but it’s also frustrating when we can’t work in the usual way. For me, the summer has meant paring down to essentials. I have kept working, but I have had to skimp a bit on promotional activities and new projects that have been in the works for a while.

A New Routine

Once school has started again, there’s a different kind of routine, bounded by the limits of the school day, rather than whatever time you can carve out from parenting. At first, the time seems almost limitless, but it can ebb away if you don’t have an action plan. Knowing what you want to do when is half the battle in getting anything achieved.

Getting Organized

I’ve been doing a couple of things to improve my short term organisation and to help me reach my medium and long term goals. One key change is the way I handle email. I’ve been using a GTD (getting things done approach) and I’ll tell you more about that when I see if it makes a permanent difference to productivity.

Project Plans

Another project that I’m currently working on is using the nearly 500 blog posts I have here in a different way. You’ll be hearing about one way to do that some time in the next couple of weeks. I also plan to use some of the content to create ebooks. (I know I’ve said that before, but this time I plan to finish one of my own rather than simply writing for clients.) I am going to chase up recent clients for more testimonials about my writing and I’m also going to overhaul my rates.

Working For Clients

And those are just the tasks I’m handling for myself. I also have a couple of blogging and promotion gigs for clients which will lead to big things. What are your plans now that you have a bit more time?

(Photo: Gekreutzigt)

Getting Back In The Saddle is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

I was tagged by Dana to list the reasons why I love working at home. Way back in another life, I worked as a journalist in an office. Then I worked as a journalism tutor in another office. Then I traded them both for a home office, and I’ve never regretted it. Here’s why:

• I don’t have to dress up to go to work. I can work in my pyjamas, in shorts and T-shirt (my preferred garb) or in not much at all (OK, I don’t usually do this, but I could )
• My daughter can wander into my office to tell me about her day, give hugs and kisses or ask for help.
• My DH can wander into my office to tell me about his day, give hugs and kisses or ask for help.
• I can take a coffee break whenever I want, though I also have to crack my own whip.
• I have a great view from my office.
• I have time to go to the gym during the work day.
• I can finish work in time to pick my daughter up from school every day so I can find out how the day went.
• I am in charge of how much I earn and how many hours I work.
• I can cram two days’ work into one so that I can take the following day off (actually, I’m not sure if I love that, but it’s sometimes useful)
• The beach is five minutes away and it’s a great place to have lunch.
• I have lots of friends online who understand the life of a work at home writer.
• IM is not a waste of time taking me away from the tasks set by my boss, but an essential communication tool
• My horizons are limitless.

Of course, working at home doesn’t mean working less. On the contrary, I probably work even harder now that I am working for myself. Being in charge of your own income brings not only freedom, but also responsibility – and I love that responsibility.

Why I Love Working At Home is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

I’m not a mirage. Honestly. I’m a real, living, breathing person. And I’m a real writer, too. When people think of writers, they often think of famous novelists, best-selling authors or respected journalists. Web content writers don’t get a look in. And yet we are real writers, too. Just like other writers, we write because we can’t imagine doing anything else. Just like other writers, we have hundreds of thousands of people who read our work. Just like other writers, we get paid to write.

As web content writers, we have other skills too. We can’t take years to germinate the perfect masterpiece. We have to produce it in hours, or sometimes even minutes. We know where to find information on almost anything, and find it quickly. We are good at speed reading research sources, extracting their essence, and making something better and more readable with our own personal flair. Our minds are buzzing with words and phrases that make any subject come to life. We know how to add the personal touch, addressing our readers directly and making them feel that they are the sole focus of our writing attention.

So the next time someone asks you what you do, or suggests that you can’t possibly have a real job working from home, or disparages your job because they haven’t heard of the places that you write for, tell them this: I am a talented writer with the same skill and creativity as other writers, and a wide range of subject knowledge. Or just say: I AM a real writer, and this IS a real job.

I AM A Real Writer is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

One of the things I love most about working as a freelance writer is that I can do it from anywhere. As long as I have access to a computer with a working internet connection, I can do my research and write and submit my articles on time. No one even has to know that I’m gone. I was thinking about this the other day, as I considered whether to take my laptop on a planned trip. There were advantages and disadvantages to either decision. If I left the laptop at home, which I could have chosen to do as there was a working computer where I was going), then I could have a lighter carryon and have more room for books and warm clothes. However, if I took it with me, I would have all my stuff with me in a familiar working environment. In the end, I chose to take it. It wasn’t that heavy, and the convenience of knowing where everything was outweighed the other considerations.

Tools For Success

Of course, that wasn’t all I had to take to make my trip a success (in work terms, at least). Although my laptop is my main computer, I use an external ergonomic keyboard and mouse to save my wrists. I don’t want to bring about a repeat of having to work one handed, so those had to go in the case.  Since I sometimes have to speak to clients abroad, I also needed a VOIP phone. To round out the package I added a USB flash drive (with a backup of my files just in case) and my paper diary. I was all set for a working holiday.

Working Holiday?

When I was employed, I never had a working holiday. I was either at work or I was on holiday. Now things are different. With enough notice, I can usually juggle my own deadlines so that I have light days and days off. However, since I also work with other writers, I need to check email, and sometimes check and forward work. It’s difficult to get away completely. Not that I’m complaining. I am far happier now than I ever was as a journalist or journalism teacher.

Who Needs To Know?

Many people wonder whether they should tell clients that they are going on holiday. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. If I am working with a client who is used to updates from me several times a day, then I say that I may be less available for a while. With occasional clients who are used to hearing from me intermittently, I say nothing. The same goes for the writers I work with. I tell those who are in the middle of jobs that I’ll be online less often; those who aren’t doing anything don’t really need to know.

Telling The World

I also make use of the vacation message. If you’ve ever emailed me in the middle of a site upgrade or hosting move, then you’ll know that I use that message for all kinds of things. Vacation messages aren’t just for vacations. They are an easy way to let everyone know that there’s an issue. I usually say what the issue is (e.g. I am working off site, temporarily unavailable or something similar), say when the situation will end and give alternatives for contacting me (if there are any). Using the vacation message means that clients and others know that their email has arrived and that they will get a response.

And here’s something I learned from another self employed person I know. Sometimes clients panic if they think that you won’t be available. If you are travelling on a Friday, you don’t need to enable your vacation message till the Monday. Most people don’t expect instant responses over the weekend. And you can remove the vacation message before you travel back, too.

Keeping On Track

So, what else do you need for a successful working holiday? The most difficult thing to find is discipline, especially if you are holidaying with others. When I visited Orlando last year, I took my WiFi enabled PDA with me so that I could check email for anything urgent before heading out for the day. I even managed to type a few responses, though it wasn’t ideal. On the way back from an outing, I would stop in at the computer room so I could do another check.

A little bit of forward planning means that you can keep your writing business on track and still have a great time. What works for you when planning a working holiday?

Technorati Tags: writing career,work at home,get paid to write,freelance writing,writing

The Travelling Writer is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

Men with Pens is one of my favorite new blogs. It’s the successor to the Web Content Copywriting blog which I mentioned last year. Run by James Chartrand and Harry McCLeod, this is a writing blog with a difference. These guys really know how to write unique blog posts. It’s refreshing to read new perspectives on the issues we all face as freelancers and that’s why it’s one of the first blogs I read every day. Since moving to its new home, Men with Pens has kept up the quality that attracted me to the old blog, but the blog design is way, way better. It looks great, you can find lots of great posts from the home page, and the navigation is clear. The blog offers ‘web business tips for writers, freelancers and online entrepreneurs’ including:

• Will Content Kill the Web?

‘PLR content drives down the market value of web content. Why buy pricier work when nearly-free (and sometimes free) is right there for the taking?’

• Handling Your Perfectionism

‘One of the biggest problems perfectionists have is setting realistic goals. I never realized I set the bar too high for myself. Halfway through whatever I was working on achieving, when nothing went according to my vision, I would give up in frustration.’

• What a Camera Can Teach You About Customer Service

Sorry, you’ll just have to read this one. No excerpt would do it justice.

There is so much good stuff in there it’s hard to give you a flavour of it. The blog focuses on blogging, business, design and writing, and currently has a great series on fiction writing. Just to round out the list, here are some posts with great titles that made me stop and look:

• Bloggers That Fake It
• Don’t Be Efficient if You Want a Successful Business
• Knitters Never Comment!

Over the past year, posts from this blog, and its predecessor, have turned up regularly in my links roundups, which shows how consistently readable it is. If you haven’t done so, check it out.

Technorati Tags: writing,blogging,reviews

Men With Pens Review is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

Sometimes you just have to know when it’s time to take a day off. This is an issue that most work at home moms face, especially during the summer holidays. Most days, I try to work from just after breakfast till just after nap time, leaving several hours in the afternoon for me to play with and hang out with my daughter.

Today was different. We had to visit a family member, which ended up taking twice as long as I had thought. By the time I had run some errands, the day was pretty much shot for work. Instead of stressing about how little I had accomplished, I decided to revel in some family time, so we played in the pool then went out for dinner. It has been a day of much needed relaxation.

Don’t get me wrong. As a freelance writer, I firmly believe in having a writing schedule and sticking to it. That means that I always meet my deadlines and that all my clients are happy. However, as a mother, it’s important to spend time with my family. Since my daughter’s back at school next week, I will enjoy this last week of her company, and I’ll work evenings this week to make sure I complete all my work on time. How do you handle this balance during the school holidays?

The WAHM Writer Balance is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

How to Create the Ultimate Home Office for Writing is the title of my latest article on Garden and Hearth.

As writers we may find ourselves crammed into the only available space at home, but there are still some things that we need to do our jobs. Check out How to Create the Ultimate Home Office for Writing.

The Ultimate Writer’s Home Office is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.

 Happy 4th of July!

When you blog a lot, it can be hard to find inspiration, but sometimes other people find it for you. Here’s what someone suggested I blog about today.
Today I was trying to finish up a batch of eight articles to partly meet a tight deadline that’s looming. While I was doing that, the phone rang and I had a ten minute conversation with a friend. (OK, I could have told her I was busy, but talking to friends is part of having a balanced life, so I chatted for a short while.)

I went back to my computer, finished the articles and started to upload them into the CMS for checking. While I was doing that my daughter came to ask me to help her find her trousers, which she had lent to her full sized doll a couple of weeks ago. We haven’t seen them since. I had to stop for a moment, help her with her problem and then go back to work.

Many of us are juggling the joys and responsibilities of motherhood and friendship with the joys and responsibilities of freelance writing. It’s not always easy. Often, while you are writing you think you should be with your child, and while you are with your child, you are thinking about that looming deadline. But although it can get a bit manic sometimes, I wouldn’t have it any other way. How about you?

The Joys Of Juggling is a post from Get Paid to Write Online, copyright 2005-2010, owned by Sharon Hurley Hall.