On the Economy and Freelancer Mind

The current state of the worldwide economy has thrust a lot of people into short-term, contract, freelance and gig-based work who never really expected to be there. And it’s brought people who’ve always dreamed of being freelancers into the business, either as a sideline in case their day job gets eliminated or because they no longer have a day job to support them.

I’ve heard freelancing in general and freelance writing in particular described as recession-proof businesses, because as companies get rid of staff the same work needs to be done, so they’re more likely to hire someone on a contract basis to get that work done that a staffer might have been doing last year.

But just because there’s still a lot of work available doesn’t mean that it’s any easier than it’s always been to make a living as a freelancer. It might even be slightly more difficult now, because you have to work a little harder to make your stuff shine over the people who are just applying for writing gigs because they don’t know what else to do.

Getting into the Freelance Mindset

My goal is to help all sorts of people who want to make money through freelance writing, whether as a side business or as a long-term career. But I most want to reach people who have the mindset that this is something they’re doing because they really want to do it, not because they think it’s the only thing they can do right now.

Maybe that’s the difference between a professional freelancer and someone who’s just dabbling. Professionals know that the economy changes all the time, and bad times are not a legitimate reason for starting a freelancing business you wouldn’t want to have if times weren’t bad. Other people might be in it to make a quick buck, but when they can get a good full-time job again, they’ll be running back to it.

There’s really a freelancer mindset and attitude that I think you have to have in order to be successful at freelancing for the long term. You have to be devoted to what you’re doing, motivated enough to do it alone, and dedicated to pushing through hard times no matter what.

You know that it might be easier and more secure to have a day job, with regular pay and benefits and someone telling you when to be where, but you can’t imagine trading your flexibility and freedom, the ability to write basically what you want, set your own hours when you do it and to earn as much as you’re willing to work for in order to get that security back.

You have a passion for the words, for telling your and other people’s stories, for sharing information with others to make their lives easier and better.

And if you don’t have that, you’re just putting words on a screen for money.

Got 10 Minutes? Stop Putting Something Off

I have to admit something to you: I’m a bit of a procrastinator. I can get things done when it counts — if I have a deadline or someone is depending on me for something — but a lot of things I know I should be doing often get put off again and again.

Case in point: last week I had a doctor’s appointment, which involved scheduling a follow-up appointment and some blood work to be done a week or so beforehand. It was a couple of days later before I actually looked at the appointment cards to realize the nurse had written for my appointment to take place before my blood work appointment.

No big deal, right? Just make a phone call and reschedule. Sure, that’s what a normal person would do, but I put it off for a full week before I took the two minutes to make the call.

While putting off this kind of phone call certainly isn’t the end of the world, I think we all to some extent put off little things — and big things — because we just don’t want to think about them, deal with them, mess them up. Sometimes we even put off things we might enjoy, like sending an e-mail to a friend or going on vacation, because we feel like we just don’t have the time.

But the thing is, putting things off can really trap you where you are. I can’t tell you how much mental energy it takes thinking about doing something you don’t want to do. If you just did the thing, it would probably take you a lot less time than all the time you’ve spent thinking about not doing the thing.

I’m trying to be better about this, starting now. If there’s something on my list that keeps getting pushed off my list, if it will take less than 10 minutes to do, I’ll do it immediately. Things that will take longer, maybe there’s a small step in there somewhere that I can complete in 10 minutes or less. Or maybe taking up less time thinking about all those little things I need to do, since they’ll be done, will leave time for some of the bigger things.

You never know. For today, though, I urge you to try knocking one thing off your to-do list that’s been following you around for days or weeks. If it’s something that’s not literally on your to-do list, write it down so you can have the satisfaction of crossing it off. You may just want to tackle some more things when you’re done.

So tell me: what are you done putting off today?

Field Trips for Writers (and Other Freelancers)

Whether you work at home full-time or are still just freelancing nights and weekends, I think it’s vital to occasionally leave the house and do some kind of work, if you can, away from the house.

I call these outings writing field trips, and try to do one at least once a week, usually at a local coffeeshop, Starbucks or my local library (or a park or even my backyard when it’s warm).

You can take your computer along and work on queries, articles, brainstorming or anything else that needs to be done. I prefer to take a notebook and either do freewriting or work on a project that wouldn’t otherwise get done if I were working at home, which usually means manuscripts that will become ebooks.

When I’m home, I’m so focused on what needs to be done for that particular day that I’m unlikely to work on things that aren’t on the “must do” part of my to do list. So getting out is perfect for me, especially because I don’t bring the computer, because it gets me out of that “just do what needs to be done” box and allows me to work on other projects with more freedom.

I think I’m also more creative when writing in a notebook rather than on a screen. It’s a way of writing many of us have gotten away from but that’s really fun to do every now and then.

Yes, there’s an extra step involved in typing up a manuscript you’ve written out by hand, but this process is almost like an editing step, where you get to pay close attention to each word as you’re transcribing and change things as you go.

If you’re already working from home all the time, it’s great to get out and see that other humans exist at least once a week. Getting some fresh air when the weather is nice and being in a different locale are great ways to get the creative juices flowing.

Some people find it really hard to focus when other people are around, but I still think you should try this every now and then. Even if you can only write a journal entry or snippets of other people’s conversations, it’s a worthwhile use of your time.

I often come back from such excursions with more ideas to write about (fiction and nonfiction) and a renewed energy for whatever needs to be done in the rest of the day. It’s certainly been a benefit to me, and I think it would be for you as well.

Get to Your Goal with Small Steps

The most common question I get when people learn that I built my freelance writing business to a full-time job while I was working another full-time job is: How did you do that?

It’s a really good question. I still wonder myself sometimes. But when I think about it, I know that I did it the same way I still reach goals to this day: by taking small steps and trying to do something in pursuit of my goal every day.

When you have a big goal in mind, whether it’s losing a lot of weight or starting your own freelance writing business, that goal can get pretty overwhelming when you think about it. There is probably a lot of work between where you are now and where you want to be.

Maybe you’ve never published anything before but you have a burning desire to leave your day job behind and become a full-time freelance writer. Just knowing what first step to take can be so daunting that it keeps you frozen.

(By the way, if that’s the situation you’re in, or you’re simply stuck building your freelance writing career, I can help.)

The key really is simply to start. Do something today that will move you even just a tiny bit from the life you have now to the life you want. Spend 10 minutes brainstorming ideas or 30 minutes writing a query to a magazine or answering an online ad.

Then do something again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. Every small step builds on the ones before it until soon you’ve got a giant snowball of success behind you that just keeps rolling down the hill, getting bigger and bigger.

There’s a saying that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. The only way to build a freelance writing business is one step at a time, one day at a time, one purposeful action at a time.

Make a quick list of things you can do in 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes to further your freelancing. Yours might include such things as:

• Searching for markets
• Reading job boards
• Reading magazines or websites you might like to write for
• Brainstorming story ideas
• Writing queries
• Setting up a bookkeeping system
• Researching online for a story

Each day, pick one thing off your list to focus on. This should help give you confidence to keep moving forward and the understanding that just one small action every day can get you to your goal, no matter how big.