Freelancers Getting Organized

Some freelancer writers can certainly get by in less than clean conditions. Yet other freelancers (like me) could never survive a day, let alone an entire career, in a workspace that isn't somewhat clean. Fortunately, there are several methods of getting organized that all freelancers can utilize if they're willing to put in the effort.

A number of freelancers use notebooks to keep track of receipts, clients, deadlines, expenses, etc. My notebooks, especially those with spirals, look beaten up and mutilated to some extent within months or even just weeks. Once my notebook begins to look unrecognizable, I get a new notebook to add to my "collection."

Although these notebooks do save me an abundance of time, they also take up a ton of space. Currently, I have five notebooks that I constantly sift through to find information, and I like to have at least three of these notebooks with me whenever I'm working on the computer.

Microsoft OneNote 2010

A few days ago, in curiosity, I looked through some of the programs I have installed on my computer. I have Microsoft Office Professional 2010 installed on my computer, but the only program I ever use is Microsoft Word 2010. Well, for the first time, I explored everything Microsoft Office Professional 2010 had to offer.

The program that really caught my eye was OneNote. Having a digital notebook on my computer sounded oh, so appealing. I'd be able to have an organized notebook (or five) without sacrificing valuable desk space.

Moving!

Of course, moving the information from my physical notebook to my digital notebook would be no easy task. I had two options: I could photocopy each page and upload it to OneNote, or I could use my ultra-amazing typing skills. I choose the latter, since I prefer looking at computer text than my horrific handwriting.

I admit I've been lazy when it comes to moving. So far, all I’ve typed up is my short-term and long-term goals. I plan to type up my payments next.

What Can OneNote Do for You?

The only reason why I use OneNote is so I can organize and store important information. Yet other freelancers might use OneNote for more than just organization and storage.

If it fancies you, try using OneNote for research. Do you need to complete 50 articles about dogs for a client? Send all information you find on the web about dogs to OneNote. Right-click any spot on the page and a drop down menu should appear. Click on "Send to OneNote." Of course, this only works if you have OneNote installed on your computer.

Moving to OneNote won't be fun, but I expect the hassle to be worth it. I can't wait 'til the day I shove those notebooks aside to make room for my new printer. Once that day comes, I'll have nothing to worry about except backups!

How do you stay organized as a freelance writer? Are you planning on using OneNote?

April Goals

In March, I made $733.06 as a part-time freelance writer. (This money also includes work from last month; I base my earnings on all transactions in my PayPal account). It's not as much as I used to make, but this is good money for me after losing so many private clients due to Google changes and the economy.

Most of the money came from Demand Studios ($510). I only started with them during the second week of March, so I except to make about 25% to 40% more with them in April.

Come April 30, I hope to have at least $1200 worth of transactions in my PayPal account. I definitely think I can accomplish this goal, especially with Demand Studios on my side.

Weekly Workload

• 16 DS Articles ($240)
• Five Private Client Articles ($52)
• One Bright Hub Article ($10)

= $302 for 24 articles

With my current weekly workload, I still have enough time to squeeze in some blogging and marketing. I really want to get better private clients, since an average of $12.50 per article isn't really worth my time. Hopefully, the articles I write for the content mills will help get my name out there. (Ghostwriting for clients pays well, yet it doesn’t help at all in this department).

As for my blogging goals, the main thing I want to do in April is get about twenty posts up. Once I accomplish this goal, I'll start promoting this blog more aggressively. I realize that it isn't very smart to spend multiple hours marketing a blog that only has two or three posts up. I mean, what's the point?

In late April, I want to start thinking about writing an eBook to make extra cash while branding myself as a reputable freelance writer. I'll probably only end up picking a topic and creating an outline. If I manage to do at least that, I'll definitely start writing it in May and I'll finish it by June (or July). Yup... April obviously won't be too busy!

What goals do you want to accomplish in April?

Overcoming My Laziness

My long-term goal is to earn $36,000 per year as a part-time freelance writer. That means about $3,000 per month, $750 per week, and $100 per day. My goal is 100% possible if I can somehow land enough $25 per article gigs.

I can land more gigs by using many methods. I can respond to job advertisements, I can cold call (or email) businesses, and I can blog. Of course, the latter caught my eye. Thus, 3 Grand Month was finally born.

After setting up my blog, I decided to learn more about blogging. I soon realized that it takes a ton of time and hard work before you see the effects of blogging. I just shrugged and thought, "Oh well, better I start now than never!"

This brings me to my speculation. What if I had started blogging one year ago instead of now?

Before Instead of Later

One year ago, despite how little I knew about blogging, I was fully aware that it would help me land more jobs by building my portfolio. I knew that blogging would improve my writing, my presence on the internet, and it would provide me with multiple sources of income (advertisements, platform to sell products).

Yet did I have the common sense to start one? Nope. To tell the truth, it had nothing to do with my intelligence. In fact, it had more to do with my laziness. Freelance writing was already hard enough, I had no desire to run a blog to top it off.

But it kinda hurts to know that if I had sucked it up and started a blog back then, I would be pretty close to achieving my goal now.

Old Habits Die Hard

Sadly, despite my speculation, I still have trouble overcoming my laziness today. You have no idea how much I had to kick myself just to write this blog post. Moreover, my laziness is not just with blogging.

My mindset is always: "Ugh... I don't want to write this article for 'so-and-so' at all," or "Maybe I could write this article tomorrow..."

Frankly, I find it sad. I don't lack the talent or intelligence to succeed, yet I seem to lack the drive. I want to accomplish my goals, but I don't want to work hard. Fortunately, I came up with a plan to increase my productivity.

Overcoming My Laziness

To overcome my laziness, I decided to come up with a list of reasons why I'm less productive than I should be.

• I'm always surfing the internet instead of working.
• I'm not getting enough sleep? (Always feeling sluggish and tired).
• I don't have much motivation.
• I take large breaks instead of small breaks.

Stop Surfing

The wonders of the internet are always distracting me from accomplishing my work. Every five minutes, I find myself reading threads on the WAHM Forum or skimming my favorite blogs.

Interacting with other freelance writers and reading advice is fine and dandy, but "too much of a good thing" does exist. I'm hoping to limit the amount of time I spend on these websites by tinkling with Internet Explorer Parental Options.

Lack of Sleep

I'm not sure what to do about the "lack of sleep" thing. This may sound greedy, but ever since I started freelance writing, I've been unable to sleep due to thinking about the money I could be making. It's nearly impossible for me to tame these thoughts! Reading and writing (in a journal!) has helped ward these thoughts away.

Motivation

Lucky for me, I don't need my freelance writing skills to survive. If I ever stopped writing, I wouldn't have to worry about losing my house or not having the money to pay my bills.

Yet this big convenience has a small downfall. I have nothing to motivate myself.

I stuff all the money I earn as a freelance writer into my savings account. Now, I do love seeing my savings account grow, but I’m not receiving any instant gratification. To solve this, I've decided to treat myself whenever I accomplish my goals. For example, if I earn $1300 in April, I’ll finally get myself one of those nifty Kindles!

Breaks – Large or Short?

I get my work done by doing everything at once and then taking a break for the rest of the day. Usually, I'm exhausted after knocking out three or four articles (pitiful, I know) in a row.

Yet I realize I can write so much more articles if I took tiny breaks after each one.

Now, each time I write one article, I take a break for half an hour or so, and then I hop back onto the computer to write another. If I do this consistently, I can get five to seven articles done per day instead of my usual three.

So far, my plan has helped me increase the number of articles I write for Demand Media Studios, and it forced me to write this lengthy post!

What are you doing to increase your productivity?