As a freelance writer you are free to do set your own schedule, your own pace, and your own lifestyle. One of the big advantages that people often talk about is that freelancers can travel the world and work anywhere they go. But I am not wondering if it’s possible or not to write anywhere you go, I’m wondering if it’s actually probable.
Can you, as a freelance writer, write from anywhere you go?
I tend to sit either at my desk (when I’ve got a tough project) or on my couch (when I’m blogging or doing quicker articles). If I try working other places I find that I am far less productive, making it almost a complete waste of time.
My last two vacations I had the idea of working for 3 hours a day in the evenings…but that didn’t quite happen:
- Lincoln, Nebraska (visiting my fiancee): On this trip I simply couldn’t get any work done. Okay, I might be be under exaggerating, but I completed the bare necessities and nothing else. Granted, I was in Lincoln to ask my girlfriend of two years to marry me…so the excitement definitely played a huge role, but outside of that I still thought I would have been able to focus a bit more. I couldn’t.
- Las Vegas, Nevada (BlogWorld Conference): On this trip I was in awe of the bright lights and gambling that was all around me. While I won some money playing poker, I didn’t make too much money by working on freelancing projects. The hotel room is a tough place to work when you know you’re in Vegas. I just couldn’t get it done…
Now I’m considering a trip to Alberta to visit some of my close friends from college. My only concern around this trip is that I really do have work to do. I wouldn’t feel accomplished if I wasn’t able to get 5 hours of work done each day while I was there - and I’d be hoping to stay for a week.
I know freelancing is all about being free, but I was wondering if there were any pointers for staying focussed while you travel, while you’re around friends, and while you’re around family. I tend to work in extremely quiet environment - is it possible to find such a thing on the road? Is it possible to focus when you’re on an exciting trip?
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1 - Work in the morning. Never in the evening.
2 - Get up in the morning. Work. (This involves not drinking the night before.)
3 - Make it a point to schedule all activities and get-togethers with friends in the afternoon only.
4 - When making arrangements for your trip - before you leave - stress that it’s a working holiday and that you’ll be working in the mornings.
5 - Be reasonable about bedtimes. Yes, staying up late is cool. Dragging your ass in the morning isn’t.
6 - Be realistic. You already know you aren’t going to get in five hours of work during your trip
I don’t drink, so that helps me out a bit. But I’ve never been much of a morning worker, but I agree that it would be much easier to get things done in the morning than in the evening when I’m trying to have a “holiday” (if you can call it that).
Good tips!