On Sunday evening I had that feeling of dread I used to get at school (and sometimes in a staff job) about the week ahead. Sunday evening anxiety is a common phenomenon. It doesn’t usually manifest in all out panic but that sort of niggling worry or restlessness that the calm is about to break. With many years as a smug freelancer under my belt, this is not something I usually have to deal with because I know I can ease myself into Monday mornings in a way that suits me. I’m always busy but on my own terms.
Yet this Sunday night was different because I knew I had two weeks of very intense deadlines on a project that FFJ co-founder Lily and I have been working on. This is a large piece of work we are not being paid for (yet) that has to be done on top of everything else. I had turned down some potential commissions and kept the diary fairly free but I still had some news shifts and interviews for one 2,000-wd feature to sort. Lily and I took this on months ago knowing it would be tricky and we have set mini deadlines along the way but this is the final push and there is a lot still to do.
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The way I always quieten the worry part of my brain is to come up with a plan. I was about to sit down at my desk, go through the diary and write a list of everything I needed to do, when my teenage daughter came to me and asked if we could we hang out. It turns out she was also worried about some things happening at school this week, including having to give a presentation (which 13-year-old me would also have been terrified of). So I got my diary and a piece of paper and headed up to her room.
We sat and chatted about our week ahead. She practiced her talk on me while I drew a timetable for the next fortnight, dividing up my time as best I could, giving myself targets for word count. To throw a further spanner in the works, Lily and I are away from Friday to Sunday at a running festival in South Wales with all the extra planning that entails. I have other meetings, sports days, school awards, etcetera to fit in too.
As we chatted my daughter let me rummage through her fancy felt tip pen drawer to create my masterpiece. I finished, we both felt better and I went to put her youngest brother to bed. By the time I came back she had decorated my timetable with Taylor Swift stickers and other jazzy details and I could not have been more pleased (see slightly doctored version due to secret nature of the project). It now has pride of place on my wall and not only reminds me of the things I need to do each day but also makes me stop and smile which is a great way to deal with any residual stress. It reminds me of all those revision timetables I used to lovingly create all the way through school and university. Now in my 40s, it is still pen and paper I return to when I want to really organise my thoughts.
So for those of you who use apps and Google calendars (and yes of course our brains all work differently), perhaps sometimes it helps to go old school and get your best stationary and stickers out of the drawer. Two days in and I have stuck to the plan exactly. Let’s see how long it lasts eh!
Digital Notebook
Don’t forget to check out our new Digital Notebook we put together with xTiles. Look at us venturing into the world of apps! In the notebook we share a ton of resources including templates for pitching, invoicing and logging expenses as well as tips, tools, checklists and loads more. It’s all there for a one off payment of less than £20. It may be of particular use to those of you who are new to freelancing and finding your feet.
Triumph of the week
Managing to regain focus after being sucked into general election excitement
That feeling when
Two separate editors have promised an overdue invoice is sorted but the money still hasn’t arrived
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Bye for now!