Day 13: Catching the train

I’ve gotten so used to writing on the train that it seems to be the only place my brain functions. The writing hat is on and the words just spill onto the page. I wonder if it’s got to do with the background noise, the people, or the rocking side to side back to front. It’s become a habit, and that’s all that matters. At least I know that for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon I can get some solid writing done. 

Just this morning, I was driving to the station and an idea for a blog post came to mind. I quickly locked it in so not to forget when I got on the train. I started writing as soon as I set down and switched on my Macbook Air. Twenty minutes later I had a 1000 word draft on a current personal finance topic that will no doubt affect the majority of Australians, especially those living on credit. 

Now what am I going to do when I go on maternity leave? Will my brain function the same way when I’m sitting at home with baby? Who knows? I’ll cross that road when I get to it. 

I’m still no where near my goal of sending out 31 queries by 31 March. That’s purely my fault. I’m trying to do too much at once (prepare for baby, work, do an assignment, study for an exam, stay fit, spend time with family and friends, run three blogs, eat and still get some sleep). 

That doesn’t mean I’m giving up. On the contrary. I’m going to have to work much harder over the next two and a half weeks to meet my March goal. And I’m going to meet it dammit even if it means losing a couple of nights sleep. If I can aim for preparing two queries each day for the next two weeks then I will meet my goal. 

What I do find annoying is when editors do not get back to you. I followed up last week on a few queries I sent back in January. Response? Nada, nil, zilch, nothing. I’m very annoying. Given that they’re emailed, it takes two seconds to type up a thanks but no thanks email. No excuses. Regardless of how many you get per day. It’s not that hard really. 

Last week I requested writer’s guidelines from five publications. Again, nothing. Seriously, that’s just bloody rude on their behalf. How is a writer meant to get published, get her career off the ground if editors are not willing to give her a chance? I’ll keep trying though. I’ll persevere and I will get those queries out, and those articles published. 

What are you doing this week to make your freelance dreams come true?

Day 5: Getting Things Done

I have a day off work today. Unpaid mind you but necessary. I am physically and mentally exhausted The physical exhaustion comes from sitting behind a desk for 8 hours per day (something needs to change), and mentally drained from the boredom and dissatisfaction of my job (I like the company I’m over my role). 

The day started off with 30 minutes of gentle yoga followed by breakfast with my partner. Scrambled eggs on toast, a glass of water with lemon. Pretty standard. Nice to eat breakfast together mid week. Baby is kicking and it’s time to get productive. 

I’m sitting in the recliner chair with my feet up instead of my home office (gotta love water retention in the feet in pregnancy...NOT), staying elevated helps minimise the swelling and well at 29 weeks I gotta stay comfortable. It’s just after 9am and I have managed to publish two posts on my personal finance site. That’s task one and two out of the way. I’m tempted to play around with the template but I’m going to hold off until I’ve been a little bit more productive. 

Follow ups for three queries I sent at the end of January have been sent. Yay. I’ve been putting them off. It’s just an email, what in the world am I afraid of? It’s really not that hard. Note to self: Must block the negativity out whilst writing, it’s very unproductive.

Procrastination has set it. I’m not going to let it win this time around. The morning was a warm with three tasks achieved. It’s just before 10am. I’m going to get up, stretch, fill up my glass of water with lemon, charge my computer and work on the next task at hand. Procrastination be gone!

Then came the SMS. 

Coffee? 

Mm, I haven’t had mine yet. Sounds like a plan. And so after brainstorming and outlining a couple of query ideas, I shut everything down, locked up the house and walked to the coffee shop - at least there’s my other ‘to do’ item ticked off, a 30 minute walk. Yay!

So the coffee with a friend was great. Three hours later I was home and wondering where the time had flown. It was nice to catch up, enjoy a slice of cheesecake which I forgot to snap a photo of and wake up with my long black with cold milk. In between I also managed to shop, t-shirt and cardigan for the cooler months ahead. 

Productivity today has been on and off. The next item ticked off the list is making dinner - Moussaka. Traditionally it’s made with lamb but neither J nor I are big fans of lamb so I chose turkey mince instead. Still tastes great and keeps everyone happy. 

I wonder, do my three follow ups count towards my quota? Umm, no they do not. 

Finally, after several months I responded to a guest blogging request on my personal finance website. I’ve been slack. Baby brain getting the better of me. I haven’t been checking the emails which is extremely unprofessional. The day finished with posting on my running blog. 

That's 7 items ticked off today's 'to do' list. Not bad, not bad at all.