Just about any job requires some planning for the week ahead, but as a freelance writer, planning must be a part of your weekly routine. With deadlines looming, client meetings scheduled throughout the week, and all the other responsibilities that come with freelancing, it can be overwhelming to manage it all on your own. But with these simple tips and a little bit of time dedicated to prep work and organisation, you can handle your week like a pro no matter how long you’ve been freelancing.

1. Planning

The one thing you absolutely must have as a freelance writer? A planner. Whether it’s digital or good old-fashioned paper, you need a way to keep track of your day-to-day tasks.

Before any given week, compile every call, meeting, or deadline and write them in your planner. From there, figure out when and how much you need to work on each of your projects (which you’ll learn how to do in the following sections).

Don’t forget to factor in communication time: emailing, messaging, applying/pitching, etc. If you don’t set aside time for it in advance, it will take up your work time!

2. Prioritise

How do you figure out what to work on when? By prioritising! List everything you need to do in order of importance/due dates and let that be your guide for planning the week. Get the most important things done first, and then move on to the less important stuff. That way, if anything derails your work in the middle of the day or week, at least you’ve gotten the most pressing work done!

3. Time yourself

Learning the art of timing yourself is crucial to freelance writing. Not only does it help you set more accurate rates because you know how long it takes you to do certain tasks, but it’s crucial in planning your week. Try to estimate how long each of your tasks will take, then break them down day by day from there.

To do this, you can add up how much time all of the work for the week will take, then divide it by how many days you want to work. Say you have 30 hours of work one week. You can divide that into five 6-hour days or four 7.5-hour days.

This is especially important so that you can…

4. Schedule breaks

Yes, really! When you are your own boss, it’s sometimes easy to fall into the trap of working constantly with no breaks. But you desperately need breaks, both for your mental and physical health. Giving your brain that space to breathe will actually help you to be more productive in the long run!

I stand up and do a brief walk around the room every 30 minutes and take a brief break every hour. Your breaks might look different—it can take some trial and error to see what works for you.

5. Take care of yourself

One of the best ways you can plan for a productive week is simply by taking care of yourself. Schedule breaks and allow yourself to get plenty of sleep, food, and exercise. Don’t neglect daily routines just because you start freelancing. Just like any other job, it shouldn’t take over your life.

This is another important part of planning: setting availability and letting clients know when you’re not available. As a freelancer, you’re not on call 24/7. You have a life! When you’re done with work for the day, put away your phone, shut off work notifications and just live.

I take my evenings and weekends off and most clients totally respect my boundaries. Don’t be afraid to set limits—it’s one of the most important parts of being a freelancer.

Now, go forth, plan your week, and be prepared to be amazing!

Happy writing!
—E.J.

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Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash