We became independent writers for a reason. Apart from our love of writing, we wanted independence. We wanted to get away from the forced strictures of other workplaces and create our own business, run according to our own terms.
However, as a business coach at a seminar once put it, how many of us feel like the business is running us instead of the other way around?
This subject has been alluded to in a recent post by James of Men with Pens, in which he made an analogy between whitewater kayaking and creating an online business. He urged the reader not to "toss in your kayak to ride a crazy river. Slow down. Admire the stream. Take the time to chart your course. Launch a quiet, steady and comfortable canoe into gentle waters."
I like that. And I think a lot of freelance writers would do well to think about it.
I don't have an online business (in that I don't do Web design or make a living off writing solely online), but I do know that the writing business can drive a person nuts--if you let it. And that's the thing. You don't have to let it.
So let me offer a couple of articles I found that could get you thinking about how to better focus your energies and not let your business run you.
One was in The Happiness Project, a blog I just discovered thanks to Leo at Zen Attitudes (a must read blog, IMHO). The Happiness Project's post has a great list of organization tips. I know, I know--this all sounds like stuff you've heard before, but these are really good, so trust me on this. And check them out.
And the post that led me to that list (a contemplation on happiness) is itself a great guide to living. And, I don't know about you, but one reason I went freelance was to try to enhance my quality of life. So thinking about what makes you happy and why seems like part and parcel of that.
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