Freelancing Momma

Friday Smile

Nothing like a little Maya Angelou on a Friday...

Source: google.com via Emily on Pinterest

Happy Friday!!!

Tee hee hee...

Source: facebook.com via Christen on Pinterest

Writing inspiration

I don't get to exercise my writing muscles as frequently as I'd like, lately. And I definitely don't get to do it when I'm actually feeling the urge. In any case, that's why I find it helpful to read articles/blog posts that will get me pumped up about writing. Stuff to reread when I actually have time, to help me get in the right mindset.

These are a few I found helpful this week:

The Positivity Blog lists Stephen King's Top 7 Tips for Becoming a Better Writer. I wouldn't call myself a huge Stephen King fan, by any means, but his tips were helpful nonetheless. My favourite (and one I need to work on)? #6 -- Read a lot.

John Paul Aguiar asked 8 Top Bloggers One Important Question: What is the One thing bloggers need to do today to succeed that they didn’t have to do in the past?

Writing Thoughts offered 7+ Reasons Why Great Content is Being Overlooked. I like the point about developing a better social media plan. Gotta get on Facebook!

Friday Smile

I don't really read that much anymore. For some reason, it's much more appealing to watch seven consecutive episodes of Storage Wars lately than it is to crack open a book.

This is something I'm hoping to change.

So, this past weekend, Hubby announced he would be heading to Indigo in preparation for a family cottage weekend. There was rain in the forecast, so we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to curl up with a good book!

I started to scan Amazon for potential titles I might like, but then got distracted with some baby-related thing, and forgot to send him my list of favourites. It didn't matter. He's a great book picker-outer, and managed to find something I loved anyway: Let's Pretend this Never Happened, by Jenny Lawson (aka The Blogess).

It seemed appropriate, with my newfound love of blogging. I've literally laughed out loud at more than a few parts. If you're looking for a good (totally quirky/weird) book, I'd check it out.

Happy Friday!

My $10 voice recorder

For a long time, I was anti-voice recorder.

Handwritten notes, I believed, were good enough when it came to writing journalistic articles. They forced me to focus on the interview (rather than drift off, confident in the fact that the voice recorder would catch all the boring stuff) and the batteries never died on a notepad.

The thing is, a while ago I ran into an issue where a source told me something which turned out to be completely false. I had my notes to prove it, but a voice recording would have been a lot better. In addition, my most recent writing assignment is a Q&A, and you kind of need exact wording for one of those.

So, since I pawned my old voice recorder a long time ago and wasn't ready to buy a new one, I instead opted to buy a $10 app on iTunes. Record Phone Calls by the Blue Square Group, in fact. 

Can I just say, it's really awesome? And I didn't have to spend a boatload on a new recorder, and all the attachments necessary to hook it up to my phone.

Sweet!

(photo by Rayparnova)

My blogging inspiration

So, I'm kinda starting to like this blogging thing. On a purely therapeutic level, it's a great way to free the thoughts that are otherwise swirling around in my head. For some reason, writing things down makes them seem less daunting.

It also helps that I've uncovered a few blogs that I really like. Blogs that are fun to read, put a smile on my face - and that also earn their authors some cash. It's something to aspire to. Right now, my freelance writing business is a little slow, which isn't unheard of in August. Still, it's hard not to panic a little bit at times like these, and that's why I need a plan of action, or a goal, to get myself thinking positively again.

The first thing that's been helping me push the dark thoughts out of my brain -- you know, the thoughts that lead me to believe I'll never, ever get a paying gig again, forcing my family to live in a cardboard box on the street -- is Joanna Goddard's blog, Cup of Jo. Ugh, can I tell you how much I love it? I think part of it is because I feel like Joanna and I have a lot in common -- she used to be a magazine writer, who then turned freelance, had a honeymoon baby and now continues writing from home in her one-bedroom apartment. The only difference is that she made the transition to blogging, and can actually afford a full-time babysitter to take care of her little one while she works. Oh, and she worked for a glamorous women's magazine and lives in the coolest city in the world, Manhattan. But I digress.

Not only does her blog make me feel much less alone in my quest to continue my freelance business with a baby -- she did an awesome series on the freelance momma's quest for work/life balance -- but she makes me believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Like, if I work really hard, a living can be made from social media.

So, as I continue to collect daily inspiration from Joanna, I've also signed up for Shes Connected Social Media Conference 2012. I'm kind of excited to learn A GAZILLION things about blogging and social media. My main goal is to acquire better (more organized) content for this blog -- and maybe start to acquire a few followers. I think it will also help me in my other freelance assignments.

One of the things that worries me most about being a freelancer for so long is that I'm falling out of touch with the industry. That's why I need to make a concerted effort to stay sharp and keep my goals in sight!

My plan of action for work-at-home success

There are days when I just don't think it's possible to work from home in a one-bedroom condo with a one-year-old. 

For starters, it takes about one-eighth of a second for my newly-mobile Baby Tornado to make a mess of our home. Chaos is something I'm terrible at ignoring. So every time I get sidetracked with tidying, that's cutting into my work time.

Secondly, have you ever been around a one-year-old? If you have, I don't have to tell you it's EXHAUSTING. I feel like a zombie by the end of each and every day, which makes it difficult to work once she heads to bed. 

Thankfully, I have two days a week to get stuff done. But what to start with? Between household tasks (like dealing with the annoying ants that have decided to move in) and paying jobs, not to mention personal appointments (my new contact lenses are definitely the wrong perscription), it's enough to leave anyone frazzled.

So, basically, if I was kinda sorta organized before, I'm going to have to be super-over-the-top-organized now if I'm going to make this self-employed thing work. Below is my plan of action:

1. Make a to-do list the night before.

After Addy's dinner, bath, bottle and bedtime story -- and after I make and clean up dinner for us adults -- it doesn't make sense to say I'm going to do work. That's just setting myself up for failure. What I can do is jot down all the things I'd like to accomplish tomorrow, so I can check them off as I go along.

2. Wake up early.

Just the thought of this makes me tired, but it has to be done! Addy typically wakes up every morning around 7. If I head to bed at 11, I can wake up at 6am and still get the 7 hours of sleep I need. I also can use that hour for whatever I want -- like drinking my coffee in peace, checking my email or jotting down story ideas for the various newsletters and blogs that I write.

3. Make the most of her naps.

My daughter does not take monster snooze-fests, but she does sleep for 1h 15min two times a day. That's enough time to get a few things done, if I'm disciplined and know what my plan is ahead of time.

4. Set a time limit for tidying.

It's really easy to get carried away with getting my home in "perfect" condition. The thing is, a lot of stuff I can do while Adelaide's awake (she loves emptying out the Tupperware shelves in the kitchen while I do the dishes or get dinner ready). I have to pick and choose what needs to be done and set a time limit of, say, five minutes.

5. Have a designated work area.

Since Adelaide's moved into our solarium, my office has since moved into our bedroom. It's not ideal, by any means, but it's a room with a door on it. If I use my tidy time to make sure the bed is made and the clothes are in the hamper, I should be able to block out the rest of the apartment and work on the tasks at hand.

I know I have it in me to be productive even when Adelaide's around. I just have to let go of the excuses and get 'er done! I'm secretly hoping that things might get easier as she gets older, and she can entertain herself for more than 10 minutes at a time.

A question for my fellow work-at-home mommies out there: How do you do it? What fool-proof tips do you have for the rest of us?

 

 

My quest to become a more consistent blogger

As I've mentioned before, I'm not the most consistent blogger that's ever ventured into the blogosphere. And I'm pretty sporadic at Tweeting too. The thing is, I'm confident that my incompetence isn't unfixable -- I just need to take a bit of time to sort through the vast array of information available on the Internet, implement a few helpful tools, and devote myself to my craft. Right?

Please say that I'm right.

I mean, sure, today I'm starting out with the best of intentions. My baby girl is off at daycare and I have all the time in the world to get lost in a myriad of links that promise to make me a better blogger. But come Monday, I know my spare seconds will be few and far between -- so I need a

strategy that will allow me to get all my social media tasks completed in a span of two days, and all my posts and Tweets and updates scheduled for the week ahead.

Below are the most helpful tips I've found so far that will help me achieve my goal of consistency:

1. HootSuite is my friend.

I wasn't always certain of this fact. The first time I signed up for an account I finally understood how my Grandma must have felt when we tried to explain the concept of the Internet to her. I mean -- there's just so much information in one space! The layout, the multiple tabs, the millions of different streams. Gaaaahhh!

This time around, however, I took the time to watch the HooteSuite educational video -- HooteSuite 101. I watched it all the way through and - I have to admit - it really isn't all that complicated. My favourite feature? The AutoScheduling button that will find the most prime time for my Tweets to be published. Genius!

2. Those who fail to plan...

I came across this great article on Problogger entitled 31 Days to Building a Better Blog. While some of the steps are for a more established blogger, the task for Day 7 really resonated with me. It's all about Planning your Next Week's Posting Schedule. My lack of planning has always been my downfall with blogs. I'm thinking I might even aim to plan them a month in advance. If work pops up and I can't write my next week's blog post on my Thursday and Friday time slots, the preplanning will allow me to quickly write them on the weekends, when I have the benefit of Daddy's babysitting services.

3. Have a goal in mind...

Not only should my blog have a goal (or a "mission statement"), but so should each individual post. A common theme throughout the blog will bring consistency to my content, which is just as important to my blog as the frequency of my posts, I think. 

Chris Brogan offered a great sample blogging workflow here, which highlights these points:

• Seek link traffic – I write certain posts (like anything with a big number) with a secondary goal of deriving links from you to the story. Why? Because that tells Google and Technorati that I’m doing good things over here, and that matters.
• Seek advice – I often write posts where I ask for your opinion. Why have a blog if you can’t start conversations?
• Establish thought leadership – When I write about something way off from the norm of what others are blogging about, it’s to show you that I’m not a “me too” blogger.
• Promote something interesting – This might be people or software or an event. One point about promotion posts versus other kinds: if you’re looking for comments, promotion posts rarely get them.
• Link love to others – Sometimes, I want to give other people the spotlight, or point out good writing elsewhere. It’s important to keep that in mind. Linking out promotes linking in.

These three tips are simple enough. Hopefully I'll be able to implement them and get my blog humming along at a decent, consistent clip. Fingers crossed!!

 

 

 

 

Okay. Let's try this again.

I'm terrible at blogging.

It's a slightly embarassing thing for me to admit, given that I'm a freelance writer and all. And probably not the smartest, since I'm hoping to use this blog as a way to market my business. But in this age of social media, I figured it was only appropriate to lay everything out on the table. I mean, that's the thing with blogging, right? Aren't the best ones supposed to be honest and transparent?

In any case, for all you potential clients out there -- I don't want you to get the wrong idea. It's not that I'm bad at writing, or that I don't know what to write (check out my last blog, here). It's more that life seems to get in the way of blogging consistently. I either forget, or get distracted (usually by my one-year-old daughter), or someone wants to actually pay me to write (which is always, ALWAYS better than writing for free). 

In any case, I'm hoping that by choosing a blog topic that I like -- and one whose story ideas are constantly staring me in the face -- I'll be motivated to stick to it. I also plan to use this space to study the art of blogging -- among other social media and writing-related concepts -- which I'm hoping will inspire me to put the techniques to use. Who knows? Maybe this will end up being a resource for other freelancing moms or social media outcasts. Maybe it will propel my business into the six-figure domain! Maybe it will bring me fame, or fortune...or both!

Sigh. Okay, maybe -- just maybe -- I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll focus on more attainable goals -- like writing a second post.