20 January 2009
by 
14 CommentsHow many hats do you juggle each day?
As a single mother running a freelance business it sometimes feels like I never wear one hat very long before it’s blown off in a flurry of activity. From one moment to the next a new item is added to a never-ending “To-Do” list. Tasks range; day to day living (laundry, dishes, vacuuming); business organization and maintenance (email, invoicing, queries, blogging, research). Parenting seems to be a blend between, especially these six weeks of Summer holidays.
Amongst all this activity it is no wonder I often feel like I’m racing in a hamster wheel. Busy, busy, busy, but just not getting anywhere. This is what the Writer’s Round-About is for freelancers. We spin in constant circles. Thankfully, imperceptible as it may seem at times, our circles spiral upward, boosting us at varying momentum toward greater success.
Repetition is a necessary downside to the most rewarding elements of life. To be rewarded with an enchanting home there are certain chores we must do every day simply to maintain the status quo. Each day our own bodies require the same vigilant, yet repetitive, care. We sleep, we eat, we wash, over and over again.
A successful business requires similar upkeep to avoid stagnation or decline. In the beginning, freelancers wear all the hats of their business. We must keep our own books, send our own invoices, do our own research, and keep our own home office space in an order of some sort. Each of these routine tasks take their toll on the time we have available for those projects that make up the bread and butter of our business.
The Hydra: Multi-Project Freelancing
I’ve been in an interesting position these last few months. Instead of having a diverse range of short, quick projects to work on I’m immersed in a handful of longer, more intense projects. Learning how to track the activities needed for these projects and the time I spend working in each aspect has been a challenge.
Do you ever feel torn between the priority of your projects?
Because each of these projects is grandiose in their entirety and on a long term deadline I often find myself working on one project and feeling guilty for not working on another. My own personal projects get pushed aside because they feel less significant. After all, I won’t have an angry client waving their fist at me if I don’t finish this book or put off another blog post.
Even with client projects I feel a conflict between, for example, building search engine optimization into the long tail of a blog and creating new content. Both tasks are important to the wellness of that project, they are both mandates of the job I am doing. How do I decide which takes precedence?
How Do YOU Juggle?
I am sure I’m not alone in this strange juggling act. In a way it is one of the benefits freelancing provides. There is always a diversity of projects to work with and it is impossible to get bored. Maybe a fellow freelancer has discovered the secret to working effectively across the range.
How do you juggle your various hats and the priorities of your projects?
[would] love to get some feedback on WRA’s latest post http://tinyurl.com/ay8ww5 (To Do: Hats & Priorities)
I throw all of the balls up in the air and hope that I don’t drop any of them.
I wish I had a specific method for prioritizing everything. I just look around at what has to be done and I do it. This, of course, means doing about 5 things at the same time.
I just do what seems most important at the time. Deadlines have to be met; the house must be clean when visitors are expected; we all have to have clean clothes to wear; we all have to eat; money won’t come in till the invoices are sent out. The rest just piles up till there are spare moments. It doesn’t stop me feeling guilty about what’s not getting done, but I shrug it off. I have to get my priorities right. I also need some ‘me’ time so I’ve just been out for a walk with a friend. No, you’re certainly not alone.
@ Web Betty: *grins* When I was looking for images to put with this post I considered a few juggling balls precariously. I know the feeling of having all those balls in the air and just hoping I manage to keep juggling without dropping any. Or, at least if I drop one I like to make sure I do it spectacularly.
In a way it is comforting to know others are doing their own feats of organizational gymnastics. It might be stressful but we’re getting by.
@ Jakill: Wow, your laundry is near the top of your list??? *blushes* Mine is near the top of my laundry room. *chuckles* I must make note to fix that priority more firmly because, as you said, we need clean clothes.
Me time is very important. It is hard to put aside the guilt but it can be done. Thanks!
You know, I’ve been thinking about all this lately. When you consider it all at once, it’s a little – or a lot! – overwhelming.
My perfect solution? A secretary!
Of course, that’s a fantasy – not a reality. Oh, and a maid and an accountant… LOL
LOVE the pics, Rebecca!
*smiles*
Michele
I know a lot of writers hire a Virtual Assistant to take charge of many jobs they don’t need to be hands on with and to streamline their work load. The trick is to earn enough to be able to afford one.
I’d love a housekeeper, cook, and babysitter too!
Thanks, Michele!
Yeah, the VA would be nice – if it was in the budget.
Well, we gals can dream, eh?!
*smiles*
Michele
I have a newly invented way of managing that I recently discovered. It is called THE LIST.
I say newly discovered because I now use it in a completely new way.
Before I would have all these things to do and would stress that I wouldn’t get something done or something would get missed. Running the list over and over in my head. (Very mentally exhausting.) Or I could have done it more efficiently in a different order. eg doing dishes, pulling the plug out of the sink and running out the water, then finding that there was pots on the stove that I hadn’t done yet. I know you have all done that too. lol or finding dishes in another room … (you too !)
Errand Day would have me backtracking to places to do another errand that could have been done while there but I had to travelled 10k back again because I wasn’t in any order. Worst still I would get home having missed a couple of errands.
Then I learned to not only write a list but also prioritise the order in which the list was done. Well that saved me heaps of time backtracking and it helped me work out that A had to be done before B because B was dependant on A being completed. eg B washing carpets but A was to vaccume the carpets first.
But best of all it took it out of my head. I could stop trying to remember all those items because I now had it out of my head and on written paper, which I could add to and cross off as I went. This left me with a more peaceful mind-set and way less stress and worry in my life.
I discovered that life was more pleasent when I wasn’t worried about the trivial things. No more preoccupation with ’scanning’ my list to see what was next while trying to concentrate on the job at hand. I could be fully focused, hense complete each job precisely and in a timely manner.
The upside of THE LIST is that I became more present with what I was doing now and so enjoyed the current experience.
Well, for what my opinion was worth.
Cheers Stephanie
I love lists too. I use them as an easy way to keep things off my mind. By writing down what I want to get done it helps improve my focus on what I’m currently doing. As someone who is easily distracted by new ideas keeping lists has been wonderful. Instead of leaving one idea incomplete to chase another I can keep track on a list and then choose from those ideas which to work on after completing one.
I love the idea of using an A, B, C, priority system. There are times when one activity must wait on the completion of another. In these cases the priority is straightforward. The trick is then determining which of the A priorities should come first.
I think our to-do lists, schedules, and other time management techniques will remain works in progress. One system does not work for everyone and we are constantly making adjustments and tweaks to those that do work for us.