The Writing Life

In the years that I’ve been freelancing, I’ve learned I don’t get sick days.  Deadlines are deadlines and I’m the only person to pick up the slack. True I can prioritize and do only what has to be done on certain days, but I don’t really get sick days.

As a mom, I’ve now learned about working through my daughter’s sick days.  Lexiana got her first cold over the weekend.  Honestly, cold is maybe too strong of a word to use.  Sniffles is probably a bit more accurate, but to this first-time mom she might as well have had the croup.  I think overall I did well with not freaking out, but I will admit I did place a call to her pediatrician on Monday morning to check in.  I’ve made sure she didn’t have a fever.  I’ve made sure she didn’t start wheezing.  And I’ve listened to make sure she is still breathing well.

And I’ve figured out how to work through this first cold.  I have utilized my multitasking skills, but I’ve also learned to get the most accomplished during her nap times (not all that different) so that during her awake times I have been able to snuggle with her a little extra.  I’ve learned to plan extra time for her to eat because, as I know from having a stuffy nose, eating with a cold is a challenge.

We are now on the downside of these sniffles.  She has a bit of a cough here and there.  But she’s not nearly so congested.  We have survived our first cold.  I managed to meet deadlines in spite of it.  I’m pretty sure we can conquer anything together!

At least that’s how I feel today.  We’ll see how I feel tomorrow on this roller coaster called motherhood.

Education is important.  That idea was pounded into my head as a child.  My parents expected both my older brother and me to go to college.  We both expected we’d go.  And we both did; each of us earning a bachelor’s and master’s degree.  When I graduated with my master’s in journalism I figured I was done with my education.  In some ways I was, in other ways I wasn’t.

I realized quickly that learning new things is something I enjoy a lot.  And selecting journalism as a career feeds right into that love.  I get to explore and learn about all sorts of new things.  Sometimes I explore topics I’m interested in to begin with.  Sometimes I explore topics I don’t know anything about.  Whether I knew much about the topic ahead of time, I am still happy to learn new things.

This week, for example, I learned about how to pick out a good mattress.  It’s not earth-shattering information, but I learned things I didn’t know before.  That information will come in handy next time I make a mattress purchase.   A few months ago, I learned how aviation security professionals across the globe use behavior analysis to identify security threats.  Though I have no plans of going to work for TSA, that information at least was intriguing and gives me some insight into common human behaviors and signs to look for that someone has malicious intent.

Even seemingly redundant articles can teach me things.  For a couple of years now I’ve been writing a feature article for the Homes section of my local newspaper.  Real estate companies pay for advertising and get these articles written.  I go in and write up a house a week or every other week that I’m assigned.  I write it as a walk-through.  I have learned what features increase the value of a home.  I’ve learned what constitutes a bedroom in a home (it has to have a closet).  I’ve learned what I will look for in my next home.

I have been finished with school for eight years now, and yet I never stop learning.  I don’t want to ever stop learning.  It’s a perk of my job!

“Balance” is one of those words that modern mothers bandy about.  We talk about balancing work and family.  But, I daresay that few of us really feel we are 100 percent balanced between the two on any given day.

I’ve realized over these last couple of months of working with a little one that one day I feel balanced and the next day I feel out of whack.  It’s a daily struggle.  Working from home leaves me in that gray area in between stay-at-home moms and working-outside-the-home moms.  Mostly that’s a good thing.  On the good days, I realize that I can still do the two jobs I love — the writing one that I’ve been doing for years and the mom one that I just started.  On the bad days, I feel torn between the two.  I struggle to spend enough time not only taking care of my daughter but also enjoying her while still meeting the deadlines.

Everyday I learn more and more about balance.  Right now, for example, I am typing this while a sleepy girl hangs out in my lap.  Yesterday I wrote an article on my laptop while sitting on the floor beside her as she did tummy time.  This morning I did two phone interviews while she took her morning nap.  A few days ago, I let a work call go to voicemail as I fed her.  It’s all about balance.

Will the balance that I find work for every mom who’s trying to live her life while still being a mother?  No.  Will it work for me always?  Of course not.  Right now, I honestly think it’s easier because my daughter is not yet mobile.  She will change.  I will change.  And we’ll make it work together.

We take it one day at a time!

Being a freelancer means I can be mobile.  I have worked a variety of places from hospital waiting rooms to the parking lot of a library in a small Tennessee town.  At home, I would almost always work in my home office.  However, having a baby to look after these days has changed that.  Now I still work in my home office some, but I also do quite a bit of work from my loveseat so I can watch my baby in her bouncy seat napping or on her play mat batting at toys.  At first I struggled to maintain productivity in a more constant nontraditional environment and have learned a few things.

I need a to do list. In my office I have a white board upon which I write tasks and appointments for the day.  I keep track of most of the same information in Outlook.  In my living room, I don’t have that.  I found the easiest way to streamline and keep on track was going old school with a smallish notebook.  I have a page per day.  I write down appointments/meetings and list everything that needs to be done each day for work and home.  This little notebook keeps me on track and organized.  It fits in my purse for when I’m out and about.

I need a way to organize paperwork. In my home office I can often get inundated with paperwork.  It piles up before I realize it.  Working between my office and living room makes it even worse.  I realized I had a paper trail everywhere.  I’m slowly converting to my new solution.  I still use file folders.  Instead of putting them in my office where I have to try and remember to get them and put them back up, I have a tote bag with folders for my current projects.  The bag can go with me back to the office or to the living room or anywhere that I’m working.  I also keep envelopes for check stubs, paid bills and bills to be paid in the same bag.  Ideally I should process all this information as it comes in, but lately that’s been a challenge.  This way I at least have it all together when I do have time to sit down and log it all.

I need to have things within reach. For various tasks that I do throughout the day, I can be tied to one place.  Having everything together helps keep me on track.  I keep the notebook and work bag nearby, of course, but I also make sure other items I need are handy like the telephone with its headset and a bottle of water.

Working in a non-traditional environment has its challenges, but it is most definitely possible with a bit of planning and organization.  I’m sure that I will learn a few more things along the way as well!

Since Valentine’s Day is approaching this weekend, I figured this is a good time to talk about the role a spouse plays in running a successful business.  Do you need a spouse to be successful?  No.  But, everyone needs support.  And those of us who are married really need support from our spouses.  I am blessed to be married to an incredibly supportive man.

When my husband and I met, I was 14 and he was 16.  Our dreams began to grow together.  By the time I was out of high school, he knew my dream was to pursue writing full-time.  We married when I was 20 and only halfway through college.  His support began while I finished first my undergraduate and then graduate degrees in journalism.  He understood when I needed to study rather than go see a movie.  He took care of us working full-time and providing health insurance.  He encouraged me to stick with it when I got tired.  I could have finished college without his emotional support, but it would have been so very difficult.

After graduate school when I felt led to start my own writing business, he was the first in line to support me.  I remember telling him what I wanted to do.  He basically asked why I had taken so long to do this.  He knew my passions.  He even supported my decision to freelance full-time, knowing that I would have sporadic (and menial!) income in the beginning.

In the early years, he encouraged me to keep sending my work out.  He listened to me bemoan the fact that I may never get another paying gig again.  (Writers struggle with self-confidence!)  He was my sounding board for ideas.  He listened when I was bursting with new information I had learned for an article, even when he wasn’t all that interested in the subject matter.  He challenged me to set goals and work to achieve them.

As my career got more established, he would often sit and talk with me to assess where my career was going.  I had a few times where I undertook work that didn’t pan out.  He would gently encourage me to let a client go when it just wasn’t working.

These days, he still does all of those things.  He challenges me to be greater.  He supports me in my work.  He listens when I tell him my latest research that I’m excited about.  He gives me advice, yet isn’t pushy.  He is my biggest cheerleader and greatest fan.

I would say without a doubt that I couldn’t be doing what I’m doing now, living my dream, without the wonderful man to whom I’m married.

When I decided to pursue freelance full-time six years ago, I knew I’d have to deal with my own taxes.  I set up a meeting with an accountant to know what I needed to track.  I must say, the bookkeeping side of having your own business was actually a bit more than I expected.  While I still don’t enjoy the bookkeeping that I have to do, I’ve gotten my system down and don’t mind it so much.

All that said, fourth quarter taxes are due tomorrow (Jan. 15), so I have taxes on the brain even though the rest of the United States doesn’t really start thinking about them this soon.  While writing checks to Uncle Sam isn’t exactly a thrill, I do take solace in the fact that owing taxes means I’m making money.  I try to focus on that.  I know that if I’m having to pay taxes that’s because I am earning an income.  That means people are hiring me to write for them, which is the ultimate goal of having a business!

And when annual tax time rolls around in a couple of months, I will also be thankful that I have an accountant to help me sort through everything.  I give him my records and he takes it from there.  He charges me to do this, of course, but I am glad to pay for his services.  It saves me so much headache.

So as I write out my fourth quarter tax check today and drop it in the mail, I will remain focused on the positive side of tax time!

Working from a home office means not having to worry so much about a business wardrobe.  But, even when spending all day in the office, what you wear makes a difference.

I have always dressed up in nice clothes to go for article interviews, client meetings or teaching classes.  On days I don’t leave the office, though, what I wear doesn’t matter as much.  Clients, interview subjects, editors and students can’t see me over the phone or through e-mail.

I learned early on, though, that I really am what I wear.  On days that I stay in my pajamas until noon, I am a bit more lackadaisical about my work.  On days I get dressed and do my hair and makeup right after breakfast, I seem more productive.  Somehow what I wear makes a difference.  I take my work seriously all the time.  Getting dressed for it, makes it even more serious to me.

And, of course, working from home doesn’t require me to wear shoes.  Another trick I learned has been that on days when my motivation is lacking, I put on a pair of shoes.  When I’m wearing shoes I’m more likely to keep my feet on the floor rather than have one tucked under me.  Sitting more formally and less casually also helps keep me going.

I think the whole thing boils down to how I feel about myself.  While I am comfortable in my PJs, I don’t feel like I’m at my best.  I wouldn’t want people to see me.  Being more presentable makes me feel better about myself and, in turn, makes me have more energy to do the work I need and love to do!

Just in time for Christmas, my computer decided to end its life.  OK, it’s not actually dead just yet, but it’s well on the way.  If it were human, the family would have been called in.  It kept getting slower and slower.  My husband checked it out, being the wonderful IT guy that he is, and found the processor is going bad.  Unfortunately we were unable to buy a new processor.

So, after doing some research online and in person, we found a good deal and purchased a new laptop last week.  I realize during times like these how much I rely on technology.  I know I’ve written about this a time or two before, but I had to again.  The last week I’ve been in transition from one computer to the other.  Right now, my Outlook, which organizes my entire life, is still not moved over to the new computer.  So for e-mail and calendar functions, I pull out the old slow computer.  For just about everything else, I’m using the new one.

The transition should be complete within the next couple of days.  Then I’ll have a whole new issue to face — saying goodbye to the old computer.  Every time I get a new computer, I cry over the old one.  It’s insane, I know.  I just get attached and think of all we’ve been through together.  First it was classes we went through together.  Then it was writing my thesis.  Then it was starting my business.  You get the idea.  I have resolved not to cry this time around, but I do that every time.

I do, perhaps, rely too much on technology, but I’m not sure I have too much choice in this day and age.  I know my business wouldn’t be successful without it.  And so I mourn the loss of an old friend and look forward to getting to know a new one!

We all have moments where we do something and find ourselves embarrassed.  And for those of you like me, that embarrassment really does lead to a red face.

Today, I’m taking a jab at myself and the faux pas that I’ve made in the past when trying to be a svelte business person.  We all have them.

My most recent red-face moment happened a couple of months ago.  I was working on a series of articles for my local newspaper.  I was conducting interviews with business owners all over the city.  I headed to a downtown restaurant that is closed for a couple of hours between lunch and dinner.  The owner asked me to come during the downtime.

I entered the closed restaurant, told the employee who I was there to see and he went off to find the owner.  I stood beside the bar, waiting.  A minute later, a well-dressed man came walking through with a purpose.  I assumed he was the owner.  Trying to be assertive and overcome my natural shyness, I stuck out my hand and said, “Hi, I’m Stacey with The Star Press.”  The man kindly took my hand, shook it and responded, “Hi, Stacey.  I’m just passing through.”

I’m not sure what I said, if I even said anything.  I do know my cheeks turned bright red, though.  Now, it’s quite funny.  It was a bit funny then, but it was definitely more embarrassing.

And of course smaller embarrassments happen as well.  I have a small digital voice recorder that I often use for in-person interviews.  Combine that with my clumsiness and the formula for disaster is quite apparent.  I was interviewing a local school principal for an article when the recorder flew out of my hand and hit the floor.  Like everything I own, I’ve dropped this recorder numerous times, but somehow this time it hit just right and the cover flew off and the batteries rolled out.  Yeah, I’m a professional…  Definitely worth a good laugh now, though!

Even though it isn’t a work-related incident, I have one more red-in-the-face moment to share with you.  I suppose sharing my shame is cathartic!  Not so long ago, my husband and I were working around our house.  He needed to make a quick trip to the home improvement store.  I decided to tag along.  Since we’d been working, I had on old clothes and ran inside to change quickly into something more presentable.

I grabbed a green V-neck T-shirt from my closet and threw it on with some clean jeans.  We headed to the store.  I never looked in the mirror.  As we were walking in, I realized I was getting a breeze on my back.  Yep, I’d put my shirt on backward.  I looked down and realized the size information was on the front.  Not only was it backward, but it was also inside-out.  I was already embarrassed.

Fast forward to paying for our items.  The cashier looked at me a minute and said, “You’re shirt is on inside out.”  I mumbled something about how I knew that.  Then he said, “And it’s backwards.”  Yeah, thanks for pointing out my incompetence!  I was definitely red-faced over that one.

No matter what happens to embarrass us, at the end of the day we are at least left with good stories and good laughs.  We are left with lessons learned.  I know make sure to find out who is walking toward me before I introduce myself.  I am still working to clutch tighter to my recorder and not drop it.  And I most definitely check my clothes to make sure they are right-side out before I put them on.

Feel free to share your red-in-the-face moments so that I don’t feel quite so alone…

Part of this blog is to share with you the ins and outs of freelancing.  While I’ve listed the drawbacks of being a freelancer on here before, I also felt it was important to share some of the tasks I dread.  Though these are tasks that I personally dread, I know they aren’t dread-worthy for everyone.  Perhaps I just needed to vent them!

Updating my clips. I love what I do.  I love having articles published, but I hate organizing my clips once I have them.  Right now I have a pile in my office of clips that need to be organized.  I started by cutting out each article, pasting it on black card stock and inserting it into a sleeve in my portfolio.  I’ve stopped doing that for all articles because I have too many.  But, I still try to do that for my big articles that I’m most excited about and want to really showcase.  I also will scan clips to have the electronically for my Web site.  However, I put it off.  This task is especially easy to put off because I can justify that doing paying work takes precedence over non-paid work.  The downside is that I end up with older clips than I’d like to have on my Web site, too, which could inhibit my paying work.

Processing income. I also love getting paid for what I do.  But as a self-employed person, it’s up to me to track every check that comes across my desk for paying taxes.  I also have to track them to ensure I’m getting paid for the work I do.  I tend to let check stubs pile up until there are a few to process at a time.  I’m not sure why I put that off, but I do.

Processing expenses. This is pretty much the same as above.  I tend to wait until I have a few expenses to track, like mileage, office supplies, etc., before I knuckle down and just process the information.  All I have to do is enter it into a spreadsheet, file receipts and make sure my business check register is updated, but I still put it off many times.

Filing. This kind of goes along with processing expenses, but filing is another task I just don’t enjoy.  I’ll let the aforementioned receipts stack up a bit before filing them.  I’ll have a pile on my desk of papers that need to be filed somewhere in my office that I also let stack up.  I just put it off.

I guess that’s my top list of tasks that aren’t fun.  They are all part of my work, but I’d much rather be researching and writing than conquering these tasks.  Since none of them directly result in income, I find it all too easy to make excuses for putting them off.

What tasks do you avoid doing?