This year, the Fourth of July falls on a Friday and if people aren’t taking off a few days before, they’re taking off a few days after.
Either way, nobody’s around.
And that’s not a bad thing. There’s a lot that you can get done when you’re working and nobody else is, especially if you’re not on an urgent deadline.
Stay Busy During Holidays
Here are some practical, productive things freelancers can do to maximize the slow times that happen around July 4 and other holidays:
1. Update your bio and resume.
2. Freshen up your social media profiles. No need to reinvent the wheel. Use language from your updated resume and bio to redo your profiles on your LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook fan pages and any other social media accounts.
3. Start an e-newsletter.
4. Research story ideas.
5. Clear out your email inbox.
6. Clear out the piles on your desk. You know you won’t have time to deal with these once you’re back on deadline.
7. Create a blog. Here’s a few tips for how to get started.
8. Get a new head shot. Ask a friend to take it for you, or find a freelance photographer who’s around and wouldn’t mind earning a couple extra bucks during a typically slow time.
9. Take a class online. News U. has a bunch.
10. Practice using your phone. Use it to record interviews or shoot video.
11. Read a book. Grab a print or e-book on a subject you cover or an aspect of writing that you’ve been meaning to learn more about. Here’s a list of my 5 favorite books on writing.
11. Read for fun. I’m a huge fan of reading good writing in order to do good writing. Try a new book from a favorite author. If you usually read fiction, try non-fiction — I just finished Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear and recommend it.
12. Declutter your office. Paint the walls. Move furniture around. Hang an inspiration board.
13. Get a new office chair. Your back will thank you.
14. Uninstall smartphone apps. Toss whatever you’re not using. It’s amazing how much space they consume.
15. Teach yourself to use new software. Haven’t started using Evernote yet? Now’s the time. Read this: How writers can use Evernote to get organized, be productive.
16. Upgrade. Get the latest version of Chrome or whatever web browser you use.
17. Create a Greatest Hits page. Your blog needs one. Here’s my 101 most popular posts.
18. Update your Clips page. Or start one on a service such as Contently or Muck Rack, which offer free portfolio pages for freelancers and journalists respectively.
19. Send queries or letters of introduction. Pitch editors at publications you’ve been thinking about approaching.
20. Start outlining a book proposal.
21. Sign up for a writer’s conference.
22. Call a writer friend to catch up. Share how the year’s going so far and what your goals are for the next six months. Facebook is great, but it’s still no substitute for a nice long catch-up chat.
23. Sign up for Pinterest. Create boards for your resume, blog and subjects you cover, and start collecting images to put on them. Read this transcript from a #wclw chat to see how other writers are using Pinterest.
24. Move your work outside. You might not be going someplace exotic, but even working in the backyard or the neighborhood pool can feel like a holiday.
25. Book your next vacation. Even busy freelancers need to get away every once in a while.
[Flickr photo by Giorgio Montersino]
Thanks for the reminder of taking advantage of ‘summer’ vacation and holidays such as the Fourth of July. The early bird does get the worm! 🙂
It’s interesting that you mention Pinterest. I was wondering how writers use Pinterest and if the social network works for them. I’ll check out the link you posted.
I’m a public school teacher, so I’m well versed in getting things done while school is out. I like your suggestions of simple tasks such as getting a new head shot and refreshing profiles. When I’m in school (on deadline every day), those tasks get relegated to the back burner.
It’s good to keep a running list of low-priority projects so when the free time comes up you can do a quick scan of what there is to do and pick something that appeals to you at that moment.
Michelle
Thanks, Michelle. It was so helpful. I was wondering about this list of upcoming writers’ conferences you are publishing next week. I would appreciate if you can email me with more details.
Regards,
Ahmad Abdel Maqsoud
Ah, Ahmad, you picked up on that. I ended up postponing writing that post. But it’s on the calendar for Wednesday, Aug. 15. Look for it then.
Michelle
Great list Michelle. I was not aware of the resources available on NewsU and have already enrolled in a class. From the initial baseline quiz, it appears that experience has made me more sloppy, not less so!
What a good list! I’d also add “power down that phone”. It’s amazing how easy many of those suggestions become once you sit down distraction-free. 🙂
A new headshot is definitely on my list, thought maybe not over the holiday weekend. I meant for my current one to be a temporary one for a few weeks. It’s been up for a year and a half. Whoops!
I got professional headshots last year, well worth the money.
Michelle
Life of a freelancer eh! This profession is indeed different from the kinds of what we know traditionally. Thank you for sharing these things as I am a freelancer myself. Also, I have bumped into this freelancing info graphic and just like what I said when I read this post, it also said a lot about me and for sure for other freelancers as well! Thought you might like to see it so I’m sharing it too here:-) http://visual.ly/beauty-and-madness-freelancing