I didn’t set out to be a freelance writer. It’s the compromise I made in order to do it all, be a journalist and a mom.
It’s made for a good life, and a good career. There are days when I envy friends who are still on staff at national news organizations. But with newspapers and magazines in their current state, I wouldn’t trade places with those staff writers anymore. Besides, over the years, freelancing has let me choose what I write about, make my own hours and still be there when my kids get home from school.
It’s also portable, as I found out when we moved from California to Oregon nine years ago after my husband took a new job, and my business didn’t miss a beat.
I don’t regret it. But I’ve had to work hard to do both.
Read my secrets for making life work as a writer and a mom in a post I wrote on writer Annette Gendler’s namesake blog:
Fantastic article, and I agree with all of it. My clients have NO idea how chaotic my house sometimes is…the beauty of email vs. phone communication!
I would add two things that work for me:
— Multitask. When all three of boys played baseball one spring, I would take my laptop to the field. If you’ve watched a 7 yo play baseball, you know the action is few and far between. To be at the field for 12+ hours/week and keep my sanity (and job!) I would do rough drafts, etc., while there. Ditto hockey practices these days.
— Take advantage of the flexibility. I am sure all work at home parents do this, but I will take a break to take one of my kids to lunch, go on a hike in the summer, etc.
Oh, one bonus! I know people talk about quality/quantity time. I am a believer in both. My kids like to hang on the couch in the morning, so I sit right there with them, catching up on my social media, LinkedIn groups and blogs. It’s my favorite part of not rushing off to an office!
Great tips about multitasking. When my son was taking tae kwon do, I brought my laptop or phone to catch up on email.
MVR