Home Office Organization — Schedule Your Time Wisely
http://www.rememberthemilk.com/
Back when I only wrote on the weekends, It was pretty easy to keep up. I’d take a project. Write the due date in my planner, and away I went. Soon, I started taking more projects, larger projects, and adding in additional services. Things got a little crazy, so I started a separate planner for work and another for personal. When I got super busy, I would leave the request sit in my email box on the idea that I would schedule it when I caught up. I will admit to you now that the days when you will be caught up perfectly are very few, far, and in between!
The Solution To Bad Scheduling
Once I started offering copywriting services, started preparing for niche marketing, and further expanded my services things went out of control. I needed help, and I needed help fast. Interestingly, I came across Dave Navarro’s program 30 Hours A Day.
I can’t tell you how many ‘duh’ and ‘aha’ and ‘crap’ moments I had. I won’t lie and tell you it was an easy course. It isn’t, but then, when you are changing your pattern of thinking, it never is. What it did was really sit down and decide what I wanted out of each day.
As I moved through the course, things slowly came together and I noticed things start to pull together. As soon as I was finished, I noticed a huge difference. I was getting things done faster, I wasn’t forgetting about a to-do item, and rushing to get it done.
As a result, I had less stress, produced a higher quality product, and increased the amount of incoming work. The additional work is great because I know I’ll always have money coming in. On the down side, I hate turning customers away. (I always try to recommend someone else if I can’t take the project. I know what it’s like to need the help, and unable to find it.) Sometimes, I think my hubby has the right idea when he tells me ‘the smartest man in the world is the one who knows nothing.’
How To Set Up Your Schedule
If there is one complaint I have out of all the different schedules and programs out there, it’s that they aren’t set up for copywriters. In fact, Dave includes one in his program, but I find it to needed some tweaking. It isn’t inferior. It just doesn’t fit the way I work mentally. So I’ll let you in on how I do it.
When I get a to-do item, I decide how long it will take me. Anything less than 10 minutes I do right away. Anything more than 10 and I enter it straight into Remember the Milk. (A fantastic, FREE to-do list. I couldn’t work without it!) Each morning, I open RTM, and I enter the day’s work into a schedule that is broke into 15 minute increments.
On this page, I enter the customer’s name, and the name of the main project (sometimes it is a project ID from the client). Then, I assign it an item number from the invoice and give its project number (2of3). The next two columns deal with money. The first is what I should make. I don’t enter the dollar amount into the second column until I’m finished. This allows me to identify how far ahead or behind I am. That gain or loss is entered into the next column. Finally, I include any links I need, and additional information for that part of the project.
Most important on the page is the ‘uh-oh’ column. When I lose time or do something other than what was scheduled, I enter it onto the table in this column. I add up the amount of time I ** lost ** and that goes at the bottom. Once a week, I look at them, and find the reasons I lost this time. I come up with a solution in the hopes that I can eliminate it. I have yet to have a waste-free day, but it is a utopian idea that keeps me motivated. Well, seeing the money I’m down or ahead for the day helps.
A few scheduling tips:
- Things are going to interrupt you, so plan for productivity loss by adding in empty time slots. If you have less interruption, you come out ahead.
- Don’t be too hard on yourself. Tomorrow is another day!
- If you have a habit of using Twitter, or checking your email, schedule it in. (I usually give myself 15 minutes at the completion of each project.)
- Don’t underestimate the time it takes to do a project. If you rush through it, you’ll be sorry.
- Try to bunch generic time together. In other words, make all your phone calls at once. Do the same with research, marketing, submissions, and other ‘chores.’
- When I do write, I use a program from Dr. Wicked labs called Write or Die. I absolutely love it albeit a little frustrating. Write it in the tool, and copy it into your word processor!
- If you would like to try my schedule, you can get a FREE copy of it here: Copywriting Schedule Template
January 10, 2009 at 8:51 pm | For the Writer | 10 comments
Great tips Angie! I hadn’t heard of Remember the Milk, but I am going to go check it out right now. Anything that can tame my schedule is worth taking a look at for sure!
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Please do! If you go to this link: http://www.rememberthemilk.com/services/ You can get all kinds of add ons so that in syncs with Blackberry, iPhone, Gmail, You name it!
Angie
Sounds like you’ve got a very good system in place! It’s definitely hard to get everything done if you don’t have a really good system – thanks for the tips!
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Thank you! I’m so glad you stopped by, and found the information useful
Hi Angie,
I just tried out your system, and it works great! The schedule helps so much, and I’ve flown through my normal projects in record time. (Maybe the kids were being extra good this morning too!) Either way, I know this will help me so much in my writing career, and help keep my head on straight!
Thanks for sharing your little secret!
~Kimberlee
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That sounds great Kimberlee! I’m so glad you’ve found results with it too. I love the fact that it’s all free. I tried Zoho and a few others, but couldn’t find anything that really worked. Just be sure to schedule it Twitter time, and we’re away!
Thank you so much for stopping by, and let us know!
Angie
[...] I have found one that is meeting my needs perfectly! Angie at Freedom Freelance has shared her own freelance writer’s schedule. This has helped my writing productivity [...]
Thank you Angie–
I am so happy to discover your blog! I can thank Twitter for that!!
Please follow me at: http://www.twitter.com/mukunda22
I’d like to keep up with all your great stuff!!
Peace (of mind)
Kate Loving Shenk
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@delwilliams Thanks! @angie1234p shared her scheduling secret on her blog http://tinyurl.com/a9×2or and it has helped me write a lot!
You gotta read this from @angie1234p shared her scheduling secret on her blog http://tinyurl.com/a9×2or (thanks @kimferrell )