In the morning your mind is fresh, fortified after coffee,
you have had your fix and you are ready to plunge in. Hold on. Take a few sane
minutes and plan your day. This writer knows all too well the pitfalls of poor
planning and distractions which can cut a good working day in half. Here are
some suggestions on how to get the most out of your work day – so that when you
relax you can do so one hundred per cent.
Planning your day
– Do not do a little here, a little there and confuse yourself with what is
most important to do first. If you have clients to contact, do all your calls
in the morning when you are at peak performance. Make list of the articles you
want to write about.
Research – Look over
the articles you have to write and do all your research at the same time. Do
not go from topic to topic or site to site; have your information ready so that
you can just write. Take a look at your list of keywords and write down ideas
that come to mind.
Keeping records –
if you hate the paperwork involved, doing your accounts, calculating taxes for
the government, do not put off doing it as it can spoil your day. Do everything
you hate most first thing in the morning so that you do not have to stress
about the paperwork waiting for you.
Start writing –
as soon as you have drawn up a schedule, follow it and vow to write a certain
number of articles for the day, and do it. Have a hearty lunch, go for a short
walk, and get to the laptop to continue writing. Be ambitious but not too much
as you will find yourself biting off more than you can chew. Writing is fun
after all and you are not just spewing words out onto a page for the sake of
making your word count; you are trying to inform, educate and entertain; do not
lose sight of your objective. Stretching your legs every two hours is good not
only for your health but it also allows you time to ponder the next article.
Do not multi-task
– It is okay to do several things at once when you are serving someone a
hamburger at a burger joint and can take orders and serve coffee all at once;
it is not all right to do this with articles and clients who are relying on you
to deliver well-written articles. If you
are an individual rather than a business do not take on more than you can
handle. If you are lucky enough to land a client who wants on-going writing you
have the best of both worlds; at least for a day.
