Increasing Productivity for Freelance Writers - Time Management

I'm always on the look out for ways to increase productivity. Although I haven't written as much as I would like because of school work, I'm slowly gathering tools that are helping me to become more productive when I do find the time to write.

One of the most effective ways I've found to help me stay on task is using a timer. I've found a couple of online timers that will count down. I work in hours slots and give myself a 5 minute break, timing both segments. My favourite timers so far include:

• E.ggtimer - Very easy to set, just type in the minutes and press 'Go'. It'll make's about 2 beeps to let you know when your time is up. After the first hour of article writing, I then input 5 minutes for a break ... and so on. Very user friendly.

• FocusBooster - You can download the application onto your computer, but I won't be doing that. I'll just be using the online version that I linked to above. Click on the 'i' on the top right hand corner of the app to change the settings. The downside is that it only counts down a maximum of 40 minutes. You can set it to automatically start timing a break immediately after the 40 minutes. There's also a ticking sound, which you can switch off. The timer will make a short ringing sound when time's up.

My preference at the moment is for the E.ggtimer because I can set up an hour and it's more user friendly.

I'm on a roll today - 5 articles in the last 4.5 hours!!

Ok, so you're probably turning up your nose thinking "so what?!" But it's a really big feat for me, I'll explain why. The last few articles I'd written were taking me so long. Like 1 and 1/2 hours long. I like to put my best foot forward, take the time to research and really explain things in all my articles. Since I mostly write for the health sections, and am someone who is passionate about health care, I want to make sure that my articles are interesting, teach people something and really showcase my writing ability. So I've been putting a lot of effort into all my articles. But as you can see ... pay-wise... it won't work in my favor.

Anyway, today I decided to go for easier titles. And I've been whipping them up in 45 mins - 1 hr ... so I think that's the trick! There are some more technical articles I'd like to tackle, but I think I just won't because they take me too long and it just doesn't add up write $-wise. I'd be happier to do them if we got paid a little more, because I really put in a lot of work. However, if I run out of easy titles, I'll definitely go for those and work on my speed.

I'm really happy with myself today. I've been super focused for the past few hours and feel very satisfied with my accomplishment : )

I'm still loving Internet Brands. No hassles at all, the editors are very friendly. Just write --> submit --> get paid. Easy!

First Re-write and First Published Feature Article

So I got my first re-write. But I must say I'm really happy working with IB editors. The rewrite request was totally reasonable and in the writing style guide. The editor gave a short to the point instruction, the minor changes were made within 1 minute and the article resubmitted.

I also got my first article published. I 500 word article I'm quite proud of. All my articles have been accepted so far, but only one published. I'm not too sure how this works, I suppose them have some sort of timetable of when to post what. However, since they own the rights, I don't think I'd be able to link to the article here. I'd have loved some feedback from other writers!

I'm really enjoying writing for IB. Topics galore. I still haven't written as much as I'd like though. I really need to made a schedule! The personal challenge I wanted to do would probably push me to be a bit more organized. I'll work out the details and post them in my next post.

In the next few posts, i'll also have updates on the Hubpages front. I've also joined Xomba. I'll also give you the scoop on my Xomba experiment. The results are interesting! You'll definitely want to know what happened with this one!

**Update: I now have my second published article!

My First Payment for Writing Articles!!

Wooohoooo!!! This is about a week late, but I just wanted to share this anyway. My first 2 BrightHub articles were approved and published. Come end of month payments, I was paid out $20.01!! I know it's not much. But it's better than nothing, and just proves to me that I can actually make real money with my writing skills.

My ultimate goal: To pay for next semester's school feels with my writing money. I'll be starting grad school. I think I can do it! I also want to get into niche blogging. So I also want to use a little bit of that money for buying domain names and paying for hosting.

I wasn't paid by IB last month. It's probably because I didn't meet the threshold for payment. I'm really enjoying writing for them though. So many titles to choose from!!

I'm thinking about starting a personal writing challenge. I'll give an update and details on that in my next post.

My First Internet Brands Writing Assignment - Approved!

I'm all smiles right now. My first article ever was approved! It was only a short 250 - 350 word article. I really too my time in writing it and produced a well crafted and informative piece - if I do say so myself!! I'm a little embarrased because it took me over an hour to do. But I really wanted to take my time and avoid getting a re-write request or rejected!

I've got a really good pattern going now, using the writing tools for freelance writers that I mentioned in my last post. It's been working well to get me organized. I just need to do it all faster!

I've written my two Bright Hub articles. I just like to leave my articles for a day or two, then read them over, checking for mistakes and making other edits. They too took me forever and a day to write. It's ok, I'll pick up speed soon enough.

I've picked up another short assignment from IB which I'll get done by tomorrow. I'll also edit the Bright Hub articles and send them off. There are no more articles available there for this month. Loads at IB though.

I hope my next set of submissions will be sucessful too!!

Helpful Blogs for Online Freelance Writers

This is just a quick one. I wanted to share these two blogs that have been instrumental in starting my online writing journey. They both cover upfront pay gigs and residual income from revenue sharing sites.

• The Freelance Home Writer - Willow does fantastic reviews. I've heavily depended on her review of up front pay sites. It's not updated as often. But when it is updated, it's always abotu something very valuable.
  

• No Job For Mom - Lots of reviews here too. This blog encouraged me look into revenue sharing sites, which I had previously completely blown off. It's a very active blog and seems to have a large following.
  

Happy reading!!

My First Writing Assignments

I finally managed to get those kinks ironed out from yesterday. I've got access to everything on BrightHub now and have completely finished with all the paperwork for Internet Brands. And.... I've got my first assignment from both!!

• 2 articles from BrightHub
• 1 article at the moment from Internet Brands

The list from BrightHub is quite limited, there aren't that many titles. There is a lot more on Internet Brands. I know I can never run out of assignments there. I'm really spoilt for choice.

I haven't started writing yet. I'm just sorting myself out and finding my rhythm. I've been looking at tips from other writers and I've some really awesome writing tools mentioned on the The Renegade Writer blog (especially in the comments!). I've started using some of the recommendations:

• One comment mentioned Google Notebook. I had a look, but it didn't really appeal to me. But it reminded that there was Google Calendar. I use this to schedule my school and writing assignment due dates. Although, I wish there was a version that could work like an add-on on your browser. Well there is, but it's read-only.

• Microsoft Office OneNote. It comes with the Office 2007 package, so I've had it for a few years, but just never took notice of it. I love it. Easy way to brainstorm, plan articles, gather research etc.

I'm not going to rush myself for this first batch. I'm going take my time, get used to writing again. While building my momentum up over the next couple of weeks.

Wish me luck!!