How To Easily Boost Your Productivity - And Your Income

How disciplined are you?

If youre like most freelancers, you love the time freedom of your lifestyle. No more punching a time clock or being chained to a desk. No more hanging up quickly when the boss walks by.

As a freelancer those days are gone forever...but one quickly learns that in order to make a great living as a copywriter, youre now the boss to whom you must be accountable!

Its ironic, to be sure. And as you strive for higher and higher income and greater and greater success, youll realize that neither will come without strict time discipline on your part.

Setting Your Policy

Now that you work from home (as most freelance writers do), people will know that youre available for rides to the airport and other favors. Since part of the pleasure of freelancing is its time flexibility, you might want to be able to say yes from time to time.

However theres a big danger lurking called part time work, and if you spend too much time not working, you wind up with part time pay. If you have a family or small children, enormous amounts of time can also be siphoned away through small but endless interruptions.

The best way to deal with time thieves is to institute a policy, as most businesses do. When you say Im sorry, my policy is to devote two hours per week to doing favors and this week Ive already used them up, youll probably find little resistance. Thats because policies are like printed signs: people rarely argue with them.

A Simple But Powerful Daily Schedule Document

As a freelancer, youll need to create your own work system and your own documents. Over the years Ive refined my own system and documents to near perfection (Im always changing and improving as ideas come to me).

One of my most powerful documents is my Daily Timesheet and Schedule. It helps me prioritize my most important projects, lays out what I need to do in half hour increments, shames me into doing my daily exercise routine, and forces me to be accountable throughout the day. If someone needs a favor of me, it must go on the Daily Schedule where it bumps a work item.

Here is the Formula for Creating Your Own Task Master

Since its so easy for us freelancers to procrastinate when were faced with a task wed rather put off, I put right at the top of my Daily Schedule the question, How will I earn money today? And then I must write it down in the top position for that days work.

This forces me to put aside the fun but less important jobs, to focus on the most lucrative.

My Daily Schedule also has two columns: the left hand column is for Task; the right hand column is for Activity. The Task column shows what I should be doing at any appointed time. The Activity column shows what I AM doing.

Having to write down what Im actually doing under Activity exposes those moments when Im doing something I shouldnt be doing...those time-wasters that detract from my income. You can imagine how powerful it is to acknowledge by physically writing it down that youre not doing what youre supposed to be doing!

If you adopt this system for keeping you on the straight-and-narrow, be sure to create your plan for the day the night before. That way you can gather the tools, papers, research and other items you need so you can truly stay on schedule throughout the day.

By working from such a schedule you can identify your personal work weaknesses, increase your billable time and effectiveness, and conquer your procrastination.

Try this system for yourself and see if you dont get more done, earn more, and feel more successful because you are!