Time Audit Results: Freelance Writing and Managing Distractions

Posted on 18. Jan, 2010 by Writer in On Writing

The results of my time audit are in and well they are exactly as I had feared – I am a horrendous time waster. Although I don’t piss away hours at the TV or on the phone, I spend several hours in front of the computer willing beautiful prose to spontaneously compose while I stare enviously at other people’s work and I get distracted by every thought that pops into my head – oooh what was the name of that book I wanted to check out, I should see if they have it at the library or I wonder what the weather is going to be like tomorrow or I better check the laundry or I wonder if the mail is here yet – ughhh.

For, four days I kept track of what I was doing in 15-minute increments. In doing so, my awareness heightened for any time I was distracted and landed off task. I started keeping a tally sheet near my desk and every time I took a short break, checked my email, grabbed a snack, checked the weather, and answered the phone (basically anything that threw me off task even for seconds) – I got a tally mark. Within hours I had filled up the sheet and totally discovered my problem, a borderline addiction to distractions. Here are some ways I am going to work at minimizing all those distractions:

7 Ways to Minimize Distractions as a Freelance Writer

1. Clearly identify goals at the start of the day. Many of you have suggested clearly identifying your daily, weekly, and even monthly goals. Weekly goals include some biggies such as find a new writing market or send out 3 new queries whereas the daily goals are the smaller more manageable ones like finish that blog post or do the background research for that article.

2. Plan to work at your most productive times. The Time Audit also made me aware of my most productive times. I already knew that I am totally worthless from about 2-5pm, so I shouldn’t expect to accomplish something big during those hours. The afternoon (for me) is a great time to catch up on reading, twittering, work searches, and emails or is a fabulous time to head to the gym or just take a nap.

3. Turn off the phone, email pop-ups, and instant messaging program.

4. Close all Internet browsers that are not relevant to the task at hand.

5. Say good-bye to multi-tasking. I always thought the ability to multi-task was a good thing, but it just doesn’t seem to work for freelancing. For me, attempting several tasks at once only results in several unfinished tasks.

6. Change up the workspace. Unfortunately my bitty cheap-o apartment has no room for a separate office space and I am not upgrading anytime soon. I’ve found that I get more accomplished during 2 hours at the coffee shop or library as I do for the entire day at home.

7. Relax. Remind yourself regularly of why you are writing and the amazing life you are working towards. If I can just keep myself on task – maybe I will never need to see the inside of the cube again.

Helpful Freelance Writing Time Management Resources:

How to Stay on Track with Your Freelance Writing Business

Discipline and Persistence = Freelance Writing Success

Managing Performance Anxiety: 5 Tips for Freelancers

Tags: Distractions, Goals, Plans, Time Audit

10 Responses to “Time Audit Results: Freelance Writing and Managing Distractions”

Run Junkie

18. Jan, 2010

Great piece. Changing up the workspace is a really big help for me. Unplugging from non-essential distractions is tougher to do, but a really big help as well. The most productive 2 hours in the last three months for me was on a wifi-free flight from Salt Lake to St. Louis.

Keep up the good work.
Abbie

18. Jan, 2010

Great tips, thanks
Robyn

18. Jan, 2010

I also am worthless in the afternoon if I’m home – but mine starts about noon! I’ve often called it The Crisis,as it’s when I’m most likely to think there’s no way out…of what I’m not sure but it just feels like that. I have to be away from home to get through it. I’ve found I’m best in the early morning or evening – and most inspired then too.
Today I was working at a coffee shop that had a 2 hr time limit for wi-fi. This helped me stay focused on my projects since I knew I only had 2 hrs.
Celeste Stewart

18. Jan, 2010

My goal this year is to manage my time better so this post caught my attention. So far, I’ve turned off my email notifications and that has helped a ton.

I agree with saying no to multitasking! I also like the idea of closing all Internet browsers except those needed for research. I’m constantly checking HootSuite/Twitter and a forum that I like. I know those constant checks add up to a ton of wasted time. Tomorrow, those tabs are being closed for most of the day
Writer

18. Jan, 2010

Just saw this post – some more great ideas for dealing with distractions. http://www.farbeyondthestars.com/?p=893
T

18. Jan, 2010

Great post! I agree that multi-tasking is highly over-rated and ultimately reduces productivity. Focus works much better. I also do my bet to set limits on social networking… far too easy to justify it as promotion for my work.
JoAnna

19. Jan, 2010

I agree completely with #5. I have a terrible tendency to start one thing, then move to another and another and another … and none of them actually get completed. I’ve started making a daily to-do list which is manageable and entails both small and large tasks so that I can continue to cross things off as I finish them.

Good luck with the balancing act!
Nancy

02. Feb, 2010

Great tips Amiee. You’ve inspired me to try the time audit soon. I’ve started trying to actually map out my day the night before so that when I wake up I know exactly what I’m doing. It helps! I have a bad habit of multi-tasking too, and know I do much more quality work when I’m focused in and not doing 7 things at once.
Reannon

06. Feb, 2010

Hey there,

Thanks for posting these…I want to get more into freelancing and this post motivated me to stop being so lazy and start writing. I really admire what you’ve done…quitting your job to pursue your dream. That’s awesome.

I love to write but I don’t think I would if I had to do it full-time…and as a means to survive. I would think that the pressure would kill any creative energy I had and I would just sit around all day stressing out. How do you deal?
Writer

10. Feb, 2010

Reannon – Thanks for reading! Interesting comment. I haven’t found that the stress of writing full-time has zapped my creative energies (yet). I think that I am sooo stoked about actually following my dreams that I haven’t felt the stress of having to produce just yet. I think it may have to do with the fact that I am not actually writing all day but spending quite a bit of time looking for work, marketing work that I have already done, and in actuality doing more technical writing rather than creative writing to pay the bills. But what I do get stressed about is figuring out how to better manage my time and stay productive while also still managing to have a life…