This past week, I was incredibly busy with work.
In fact, I was being pulled in three different directions by three different clients. Ack!
I was working on a project for a retail company, a program and brochure for my church, and a research manuscript bibliography for an author at my grad school alma mater, all in the same week.
Guess what…this is a good problem to have if you are a freelance editor! For me, it means that my name is getting out there. It also means money coming in (although money isn’t everything…right?).
So…if you were in this situation, how would you handle this? Follow the steps below, which I did:
- Don’t panic, and don’t pull your hair out. Think of the positives: as I stated above, your name is getting out there, and money will be coming in soon.
- Look at each project’s deadline. Let’s say one is due Wednesday by the end of the day, one is due Thursday morning, and one is due the following Monday by the end of the day. Keep those deadlines in mind, or write them down if that helps you remember.
- (This should be obvious.) Work first on the project that is due Wednesday. Make goals as to how far you will get Monday and Tuesday. When you meet each goal, give yourself a pat on the back. On Wednesday, finish the project and send it to the author.
- Repeat step 3 with the project that is due Thursday morning; that is, make goals as to how far you will get Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Then finish on Thursday morning.
- Finally, do the same with the project that is due the following Monday.
Does this make sense? In this way, you are working on part of each project every day and making progress on each project every day. If you need to burn the 10:00 pm oil, don’t be afraid to, but know when to stop for the night (i.e., when you are so tired that you cannot concentrate well).
Have you ever been pulled in several different directions by several different clients? What did you do?