[Musings from a freelance copywriter‘s blog]
As a freelance copywriter, one of the questions I get asked most often is,
“With the freedom to do anything you want, how do you get work done?”
That’s a great question, and a fair one. After all, with no boss watching over my shoulder or office hours to keep, I could (theoretically) spend my days binge streaming every sappy Taiwanese drama on Netflix. And watching cat videos. They’re sooooo adorable.
What actually happens | Waking up is hard to do
So here’s what really happens in my week.
5.30am: Alarm rings and jolts me awake. (At least, it used to until Apple introduced a friendly “Bedtime” mode into its Clock app. Thank you iOS – you haven’t always been kind to me, but this feature has made up for the bad times.)
Bathe. Feed the rabbit. Get changed. Grab my bag. Put on my shoes. I’m off!
6.00am: Catch the bus or train to get to work. (This means a co-sharing space either in town or a cordoned off area in the library. Co-working spaces with speedy Wi-Fi rocks! If you need a recommendation on excellent co-working spaces, just ask. I’ve got some experience in this area.)
7.00am: The co-working spaces I visit don’t usually open until 8.30am (or 10am in some places), so McDonald’s is my first destination. If you live in Singapore (like me), their $3 Grab & Go meals are excellent value for money. Plus, there’s Wi-Fi! Take your pick from the fast but OMG-why-doesn’t-it-connect Wireless@SG, or McDonald’s Wi-Fi. I highly recommend saving the headache and using McDonald’s Wi-Fi.
Daily prep work
This is where the real work (and magic) happens. If you’re an entrepreneur, business owner, freelancer or anyone else who has complete control over your daily schedule – you must plan your day.
Here’s what I do the moment I grab a seat at McDonald’s and get my MacBook Pro online.
Step 1: I complete my daily habits checklist. This is an Excel table with a list of 10 habits that I’ve committed to doing every single day. They include stuff like “Wake up before 6am”, “Deep breathing exercises”, “Exercise” and other things that are important to me. You know, stuff that will help me achieve personal goals (and all that).
Step 2: I read my list of goals. Once again, it’s an Excel sheet. This time, with a list of my top goals and a whole bunch of reasons why I need to achieve them. Sometimes, you need a reason to wake up at unearthly hour every day – and this provides many reasons.
Step 3: I enter my day’s tasks into Google Calendar I’m pretty sure more than a few personal assistants have been replaced by this fantastic tool. Best of all, it’s free! All it takes is 3 minutes to set up your entire day. Google Calendar works 24 hours a day with no breaks, no salary is never late, and is always ready to kick you in the butt and remind you when it’s time to start your next task.
I’ve paid for pricier solutions, but there’s simply no calendar or productivity app/service that beats Google’s.
Step 4: I clear my emails The final step before getting to work, is reading and replying all pending emails. This is really important, because emails are perhaps the number one productivity killers in any workplace. Reply all emails that need to be replied and flag anything that needs to be followed up on.
After that, I shut my email off and only look at it again in a few hours. This way, I’ve at least guaranteed myself an interruption-free few hours that’s completely free from the distracting “You’ve got mail” notification beeps and popups.
Copywriters write
With all the daily essentials out of the way, I’m ready to start writing (or rather, copywriting). This usually happens from about 8.30am, and lasts all the way till 8.30pm.
I wish.
What actually happens, is that I’ll write for about half an hour and take a break. Sometimes, this means talking a short walk. At other times, it means eating.
Who am I kidding. Most of the time, it involves me eating. Usually some sort of bread, bun or ice cream.
Mmm…. ice cream….
In-between, I’ll usually throw in a jiujitsu session to reinvigorate the senses (and sweat out those cheesy, sugary buns).
Relaxation
My work day usually ends in the late afternoons or early evenings. After that, it’s a night of Netflix, video games and playing with the rabbit.
Sometimes I work out at the gym.
Sometimes. (It’s sooooooo boring though.)
That’s a day in my working life
So that’s a day in my working life. I generally love variety, but implement routine into my work days because that’s the best way to get shit done. I mean stuff. Get stuff done.
In case you’re wondering – I do my blogging in the mornings, before my mind gets supercharged planning and writing about my clients’ projects.
It’s 9am now. Time to wrap up this blog post and get kickin’!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Image credit: Pixabay
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