Snow day...

Hey y'all -

Freelance copywriting isn't all about keeping your nose to the grindstone.

Sometimes you have to give in to higher forces - like snow days.

I had been working in my office with the curtains closed, grousing because we didn't wake up to the 6" of snow the forecasters had promised (well, they really didn't promise, but in my mind they did) when my husband Joe interrupted me.

He had grabbed the camera and ushered me out into the winter wonderland. I was supposed to be posing, but heck, I don't know when I'll ever get a chance to surprise him with a snowball again!

The last picture is of Catalyst Copy dog extraordinaire, Scampers. His main duty is keeping my feet warm on days like this while I write.

Time for cocoa...

Time management...

Here's a weird quirk I've discovered about myself since I became a work-at-home copywriter: I'm not the best time manager in the world.

Why is this weird? Because when I worked for "da man" (actually I was in an all woman department-it was a hoot!) I managed the bejeebers out of time. Multiple projects, training teams, proposals, grant applications, you name it, I managed it. On schedule and under budget.

The thing is, everything at the university was predictable. So, I databased, spreadsheeted, and mail-merged my way to uber-efficiency. I haven't reached that level in my own business, but it is one of my longer term goals.

In the meantime, I'll share a bit of time-management savvy that I learned very quickly.

Set boundaries.

It's that simple.

Set office hours that work for you. Transact business during that time. If your family needs attention, do a quick reality check.

Pretend you're in a cubicle surrounded by your coworkers and ask yourself "If this was the first week at a new job, would this activity be acceptable?" A quick phone call probably would be. The visit from your sister-in-law to review People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive! issue is probably not appropriate.

Now if George Clooney stops by for a visit, well, there are exceptions to every rule. But I digress...

I know it's hard to resist family, especially if they're home at the same time you're trying to work. But if your children are old enough to entertain themselves responsibly, or if another adult has agreed to watch them during your business hours - take advantage of these precious productive moments - once they're gone, you can't get them back.

The hidden benefit of sticking to your guns on this one is the freedom you'll have when you aren't working. Never again will you feel guilty about decorating cookies with your kids rather than working on your client's project.

Why? Because you know you put in an honest and productive day's work, and you'll do it again tomorrow.

Trust me, you'll get far more satisfaction out of work AND personal time if you set boundaries.

Spreading some copywriting cheer...

Sometimes I get so caught up in the day to day operations that I forget to step back and see the big picture.

I'm taking a break from my client's campaign and had a huge realization... I forgot to schedule some time off for the holidays!

Well, of course I built in the actual holidays when planning my workload, but I didn't provide myself as luxurious a break as my previous employer.

You see, before I switched to fulltime copywriting earlier this year, I worked for a university. I'd usually bank some comp time, and paired with about 2 weeks off for Christmas - New Year's, I often had 3 weeks of paid holiday.

On top of that, my husband's a professor and after Friday, he'll be home for a LONG time, so I won't be quite as productive as I am when he's on campus.

Now the whole appeal of this gig was to have the freedom to set my hours and be in control of my work and family time.

So I'm going to remember to mark my husband's time off for the upcoming year on my calendar to make sure we can enjoy our breaks together.

What about the rest of you? If you're already afull-timer, do you remember to plan breaks and vacation time for yourself?

For those of you who are just starting out, imagine what it would be like to totally control your time and schedule? Taking a week off while your kids are on spring break. Having a romantic getawayfor your anniversary. Map out what your year would look like if you fully controlled your time. Do it for inspiration.

Want a little more motivation? That job I held at the university? It was one of the highest-grade staff positions on campus. I just got a check for one January project - it's more than triple what I brought home each month from the university!

You really can do this and there really are great jobs out there for copywriters!

Just thought I'd give you something besides sugar plums to dream about.

Copywriting, Entrepreneur, Time Management