Even though I've been freelancing full time for over a year now, I'm still figuring out what works for me in terms of scheduling. I thrive on to-do lists, yet I prefer not to create too rigid a schedule for my day. Inevitably, the phone rings with a new client or I get an email requesting last-minute rewrites or I find a fascinating article and decide to blog about it. I like to keep things flexible so that I can follow unexpected tangents without feeling guilty.
As long as I get through my to-do list, I don't worry too much about the order of tasks or if I spend two hours on something as opposed to three. Some days I jump out of bed and crank out an 800-word article before breakfast. Other times I find myself burning the midnight oil because I suddenly feel inspired. I'd love to be able to say "My best work happens between 10am and 2pm" or "I'm a night owl, so I feel most inspired after midnight" but I haven't found much rhyme or reason to how my work unfolds. I'm just glad it all gets done!
What about you? Have you noticed a pattern to when you're most productive? What's your best time of day?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
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I am definitely a morning person. I like to get up and get to work, but given deadlines I do find myself working in the evenings if I have to get something done. I can't complain, though, because I really do have a flexible schedule as a freelancer, and I love it!
I'm a morning person too. If I get a good start to the day, I'll be able to work efficiently all day long. If I start off slowly, I find it incredibly hard to pick up speed later on in the day.
I thrive on to-do lists and a structured organization to my day, although I feel I'm pretty flexible in face of urgent customer requests.
Hi Susan
I definitely write best in the morning. I find that I have about 3-4 hours of really productive time and then I burn out, so I tend to let less pressing things wait until the afternoon (e.g. email etc).
On an unrelated note, wondered if you might do an open thread on what happens when you really mess up. I failed to properly record an interview the other day (as you know) and was a wreck. then I called the guy and he agreed to redo it. Something about when it's ok to ask for help or re-do interviews or just coping strategies when you really mess up as a writer? just a thought.
best
Delia Lloyd
www.realdelia.com
I work a pretty normal day, because my fiance has a 9 to 5 and once he's home, it's hard to concentrate unless I have impending deadlines. But I typically head to the gym at 11 a.m. and find that I have a huge burst of energy right after it and tend to plow through my to-do list until about 3 p.m. It's probably the most productive couple of hours of the day!
I'm another morning person and can definitely say I do my best work between 6am and 9am. I wish I had your guilt-free conscience, Susan. =) I think my problem is that when I get distracted, I DON'T make it through my to-do lists. Shame on me! But maybe I should relax a little - I bet I'd get more done. =)
Thanks to everyone who weighed in! It sounds like we have a lot of morning people, but maybe that's because it's before noon EST and the night owls are still sleeping.
@Delia I'm glad you were able to redo your interview! It sounds like you did the right thing by owning up and quickly fixing the problem. The mistakes I wrote about in this post are not quite like the mistake you described but I'm always on the lookout for open thread topics and I'll happily include this one for next week!
I have to go with morning, also. It seems like I am just drained by evening. I'm also too distracted by my kids/husband and their needs. I can crank something out at night but my personality will be stripped from it.
I'm a night owl myself. I do the most work during my full-time job, which has a lot of downtime, or in the afternoon and evenings on my days off.
I am a night owl. When the city and the building I live in quiet down, I pour a glass of red wine, put on some nice classical piano music and write. I realize that I sound very pretentious right now, but in order for me to be productive and creative, I need to be at peace with myself. The night is that time, and some lighted candles, a good wine and that beautiful music enforces it. I have NEVER done any good work early in the morning, and I believe I never will. The difficult part is to make the rhythm I have now fit in with my regular job. On good days I forget time and place and just write till I feel what I've written is as finished as I can possibly make it that day. Then it might be early morning, as a matter of fact, and I don't get enough sleep... But all in all, I consider that a luxury problem. :-)
Susan,
Like most here, I work best in the morning, provided no one else in the house is awake :)
If my family gets up early, I usually hold off until everyone else is at work/school so the house is quiet. I'm hopeless as writing anything while there's noise.
I find the night provides fewer distractions, no phone calls, a sense of calm, and it's even better if the deadline is the next day - now THAT'S a combination guaranteed to provide focus on the task in hand!
It's one of the great things about being a freelance copywriter - if you're hitting your promised deadlines, everybody's happy. I can take a long sociable lunch, have a workout at a client's personal fitness studio, but I might've started work at 6am, and be doing another piece at midnight.
Flexibility is a wonderful thing - so don't get too hung up on what SHOULD work best, just go with what FEELS best.
usually after my son goes to nap or sleep. That is the only time I can find a quite enviroment to do my work.
night works best for me. during the day I do tasks that require interaction with people, but I am calmer, more productive at night.
second best time is very early morning. Again, less people, fewer interruptions.
I never know when it hits. It just does. I usually need to be quiet though for it to come--like on a bike ride, working in my gardens, or driving in my car with the radio off. I also find that New Age music helps. Lately, I have been getting inspiring ideas all the time.
Lately I have been getting inspiration to write all of the time. I usually have to have some kind of quiet activity like working in my gardens, or riding my bike.
Morning. Always morning. Shower, make coffee, read the NYT for 10 minutes, and start writing. I can often get in a solid 60-90 minutes before heading out for the real job.
I'd like to get up at five and write, but other things always get in the way.
For me, 9-12, and 1-4 when I get a god strong caffeine buzz going.
Late morning, once I'm awake and between 8 & 11 PM. Usually I'm actually working from about 10 AM to 3 PM so it works out alright. I likes my coffee. I also feel like the less time I have to write, the more productive I am.
Susan,
I can totally relate - I have not yet been able to determine whether I'm a morning or night writer. In fact, my schedule is always changing. As long as I accomplish everything I set out to do in a day, then all's well. :) I just stumbled across your blog, and am really enjoying checking it out!
It's day by day for me - when I'm feeling good I'll try to get through a lot so that when I'm not feeling as good I can take it easier. But all things being equal I find that at the stroke of midnight my muse arrives and I'd better be ready to write, or at least take notes so that I can try to decipher my brilliance the next day! ;)
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