A Day in the Life of a Fulltime Writer (Part 2)

When last we left our intrepid fulltime freelancer, it was high noon and he had just made his first major decision of the day.

What was it? As you will recall, I chose to prepare a salad for lunch rather than a sandwich or a steaming bowl of ramen noodles. Now, my afternoon and evening will be revealed.

12:58pm – Back from lunch, ten steps to the office. I’ve got two more football (soccer) articles to write and some editing work to catch up on. I plan to get six more pieces of content ready for publication on the AlfaBlue sites. During slow periods, I use the afternoon for marketing my services and writing bids for projects, too.

2:23pm – As it turns out, today one of the submissions I have to edit is terribly disorganized. Rather than waste time explaining all the problems and emailing the provider, I go ahead and rewrite the entire piece. Too bad, but she probably won’t be getting more assignments of this type from my client. It also means only five pieces get edited before the 4:30pm deadline I had set for myself today.

4:30pm – Court TV is on NBC every weekday. This is my afternoon delight. I get a kick out of the messes that other people get themselves into. Judge Judy rules! I watch a bit of the local news afterwards, too. A pedestrian was killed crossing the street. A convenience store was robbed. Seeing nothing quite as newsworthy as European football or misplaced participles, I turn it off.

5:14pm – Time to go to the supermarket. Taking my life in my own hands, I walk, as usual. I bring along cloth bags to carry everything home. This is my major exercise for the day. I typically don’t buy much when I go—fresh fruit and veggies mainly—about two or three times a week. Shopping gets me outside. On the way back, I check my snailmail box—one bill and a bunch of advertising. Does anyone write letters anymore? I know I don't.

6:23pm – Load up the rice cooker; defrost the frozen curry from last week’s fresh batch. Shower. Watch a “King of the Hill” rerun on TV while having dinner. It’s important to laugh a little every day. Life needn’t be so serious, methinks.

7:36pm – The day is pretty much done from a work point of view. I’ve updated the spreadsheet on which I keep my schedule. I might check personal email once more before bedtime, but clients can wait till the morning. Some evenings I will go a nearby sports bar; more often I will watch a DVD movie borrowed from the public library. Tonight, I’m settling in with the History Channel’s   Journey to 10,000 BC  .

10:24pm – I like to read a bit before going to bed, or else I’ll play a game on Facebook, often with a glass of Merlot or Amontillado Sherry in hand. I make a point of trying to get to bed by 11:30pm for 7½ hours of sleep, although the temptation to stay up and watch Jay Leno deliver funny headlines sometimes trips me up. Eventually, I get to bed, and then the entire 24-hour process begins afresh.

I warned you that it was mundane. The biggest single difference between my day and doing a 9-to-5 stint in an office is the lack of a commute. I’ve talked to lots of successful freelancers and they all tend to agree: you need to establish a regular work routine. Otherwise, it’s too easy to let huge chucks of time slip by and get little accomplished.

So there you have it. Stayed tuned for the next “brand new” Diary installment, which you now know was written a couple of weeks ago.

T.A.J.