TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR FREELANCE LIFE

Creating the Business and Life YOU WantBy Laura Poole, Copyediting.com

© 2016 Laura Poole

Balance Feast or Famine Mind-set Changes Business Practices Task Management Focused &

Productive

© 2016 Laura Poole

BALANCE

© 2016 Laura Poole

© 2016 Laura Poole

BALANCE NOT fitting everything in NOT saying “yes” to everything NOT about time management

It’s knowing when to say “yes” and when to say “no”

Arranging your life the way YOU want it

BALANCE

“If I’m working ‘when I want to’, why does that mean I’m working all the time?!”

© 2016 Laura Poole

BALANCE Revisit your vision of freelance

life How do you want it to be? What’s working, what’s not?

© 2016 Laura Poole

BALANCE

If I say “yes” to this, what else am I saying “yes” to?

What am I saying “no” to?

If I say “no” to this, what am I saying “yes” to?

What else am I saying “no” to?

© 2016 Laura Poole

© 2016 Laura Poole

FeastOverwork

Stacked deadlines

Too much to do

Adrenaline rush

FamineNot

enough to do

Little or no billable

work

Panic

THE BIG QUESTION

How do you break the cycle and

create a steady stream of work,

thus living the life you want?

© 2016 Laura Poole

THE FEAST PARTSometimes it’s seasonal and expected (and can be planned for): Fiscal year starting Publication schedules Journals on a regular

schedule

© 2016 Laura Poole

THE FEAST PARTIf it’s expected or regular, you can plan ahead Keep your schedule more open for

when work is incoming Arrange for support during busy times

(subcontractors, referrals, child care, etc.)

Stock the freezer with meals, delegate tasks to others

© 2016 Laura Poole

THE FEAST PARTSometimes it’s unexpected and you have to cope: Deadlines slip, then stack on top of

others Projects are larger or more difficult than

planned You overcommitted yourself

© 2016 Laura Poole

© 2016 Laura Poole

COPING WITH THE FEASTWhat do you do when you are overcommitted and overworked? Triage your schedule (delete, defer,

delegate) Put your blinders on and get to work. Support your body to stay strong and

healthy Boost productivity

© 2016 Laura Poole

AFTER THE FEASTTake the time to learn from the experience How did I get so overworked? What happened that was beyond my

control? What did it cost me to finish this work? What choices did I make that affected

the work load?© 2016 Laura Poole

THE FAMINE

Down time—a great break after a feast, but can quickly

turn to panic!

© 2016 Laura Poole

COPING WITH THE FAMINEDown time (lack of billable work) can be a good opportunity Rest and recharge Build your professional presence Networking Long-term business building

© 2016 Laura Poole

BREAKING THE CYCLE

To create a steadier business, you need to break the cycle and even out the peaks and

troughs

© 2016 Laura Poole

MIND-SET CHANGES

© 2016 Laura Poole

Think 2 weeks ahead

Figure out what’s ending

Start drumming up work

MIND-SET CHANGES

© 2016 Laura Poole

Start thinking bigger

Beyond the here and now

Better paying work

MIND-SET CHANGES

© 2016 Laura Poole

Start saying NOYou don’t have to accept

everything

Preserve your sanity and health

MIND-SET CHANGES

© 2016 Laura Poole

Be bold!ASK for what you want and need!

Do the scary things (big leaps) to move forward

BUSINESS PRACTICESSome key changes to your business can ease the feast or famine cycle

© 2016 Laura Poole

BUSINESS PRACTICES Client communications

Be proactive—tell them what your schedule is

Gentle reminder keeps you top of mind and is more likely to put work in your inbox when you need it

© 2016 Laura Poole

BUSINESS PRACTICES Pay attention

Review your schedule, compare with previous years

Look for trends in cyclical work that you can plan for

© 2016 Laura Poole

BUSINESS PRACTICES New clients

Seek clients who have steadier work, pay more, offer what you want to do

Draw the velvet rope—weed out some clients who aren’t serving you

© 2016 Laura Poole

BUSINESS PRACTICES Raise your rates

© 2016 Laura Poole

BUSINESS PRACTICES Passive income

Do the work once, continue to get paid

Writing, speaking, and so on

© 2016 Laura Poole

TASK MANAGEMENT

© 2016 Laura Poole

TASK MANAGEMENT

© 2016 Laura Poole

Time chunks

Calendar/diary

Task trackin

g

Schedule

priorities

© 2016 Laura Poole

TASK MANAGEMENT

List making:Master listDaily to-do list (night before,

5–10 items)Digital or paper

TASK MANAGEMENT

© 2016 Laura Poole

The 3

D’s

Delete

Defer

Delegate

TASK MANAGEMENTCommit to business building with important but not urgent tasks: Learning Reading Writing Networking

© 2016 Laura Poole

FOCUSED & PRODUCTIVE Know thyself: best time of day for

working Support your body

Ergonomics Cushions and footrests Glasses Lighting

© 2016 Laura Poole

FOCUSED & PRODUCTIVE Sound/music (Noisli) Multiple monitors Minimize distracters

Phone Social media (Pomodoro timer) Email

© 2016 Laura Poole

ABOUT ME Co-owner and director of

training, Copyediting.com Founder of Archer Editorial

Services Author of Juggling on a High

Wire: The Art of Work-Life Balance When You’re Self-Employed (£10, autographed!)

Instructor for UCSD Extension Twitter: @lepoole

© 2016 Laura Poole