Oh, the glamorous life of a freelance writer. On a daily basis, we wake up to a butler waiting on us hand and foot. We drink lovely beverages all day long, sitting on the beach with our laptops, writing our content and then selling it for thousands of dollars. At nighttime, we are tucked away to count sheep in our heads by nine o’clock every night. Oh yeah, and on the weekends, we never have to tend to our writing duties.
If you’re a freelance writer, you’re probably laughing right about now. You know firsthand that the daily life of a freelance writer is nothing like what was described above. Well, OK, maybe the whole “we drink lovely beverages all day long” is true. At least it is for me. And to be honest, my beverages vary from one hour to the next, and they are greatly influenced by the client I’m working for. There are a few clients that I simply refer to as Jim Beam or Merlot.
For those of you who aren’t freelance writers, let’s take a quick peep at a normal day for the average freelancer:
- Wake up: could be any hour of the day or night
- Check emails and job boards
- Get kids ready and off to school for those of us who have them
- Pour a good drink: could be coffee, whiskey, water, wine, etc.
- Start typing: crank out anywhere from 500 to 10,000 words in a day
- Pour drinks all throughout the day
- Get the kids from school (hopefully, no alcohol has been consumed at this point)
- Fix supper and spend quality time with the kiddos
- Get the kids in bed
- Get back to work: sometimes into the wee hours of the morning
And then it starts all over again. And many times, this is a seven-day process, meaning we don’t get a single day off for several weeks.
I must admit, the life is pretty glamorous in its own sense. I mean, there’s no boss looming over my shoulder, nobody to tell me I can’t leave the office to go get my son from school, and no one to tell me what time to pull myself out of bed. Sure, I have a few deadlines to meet, but being that I work my butt off all day, meeting these deadlines has never been an issue.
Oh yeah, there’s also the glamorous aspect of freelancing that relates to me being able to take my work with me on vacation. While the hubby and kids are living it up in the pool, I’m poolside doing what I love best~~writing. Even though some people may consider this as a downside, I consider it one of the most wonderful things in the world.
At one time, my priorities weren’t straight, though. I sat in front of the computer 16 to 18 hours a day, writing content non-stop. While this has went a long way in helping me secure clients, the toll that it took on my mind and my family wasn’t so impressive. And it definitely didn’t do anything good in regards to the sock pile that was growing bigger by the day in my bedroom floor. You know the sock pile I’m talking about. The pile where you throw all your socks from the dryer because you’re too busy to match them.
Nowadays, though, I limit myself to about 10 hours worth of work a day, seven hours of sleep, and the rest of my time gets spent with my family. And the crazy thing is, I’m making more money by prioritizing my tasks and personal responsibilities. By taking care of all the things that REALLY matter in life, my productivity as a freelancer is improving. So, while some writers complain about the nagging clients and endless work hours, I must admit, my life is pretty glamorous and I couldn’t ask for a better career.
Whitney W creates content for both online and offline clients. She spends her days switching back and forth between the roles of a content writer, mother and wife. As she continues to progress in her career as a content creator, she has learned the ins-and-outs of prioritizing the many tasks that life throws her way. And most importantly, she no longer has a growing sock pile in her bedroom floor.
