Creating a schedule that works
In the spring, I created a freelancing schedule so you could see how I’m able to manage my time.
Since then, a lot has changed. For one, I’m working harder now. But I’m also bringing in more income. And because I still receive e-mails and comments about my freelancing income, and how much time I spend online, it was one of my goals for September to re-do my freelancing schedule to accurately reflect how much I work.
I work a lot. I’ve mentioned this before, but if I didn’t like my work, I wouldn’t do it. I fully believe in working hard, not being miserable. While I do love the additional income that freelancing brings in, I like to think that I’m not sacrifice what’s most important to me – and that’s my friends, family, traveling, and playing field hockey.
Actually, just a few days ago, my boyfriend and I were discussing how to stay motivated. He has a full-time job and is also working towards his Masters degree (almost there!). He says the hardest thing for him is to stay motivated, when all he wants to do is put his work off. I think having a schedule and a routine helps. It keeps you focused, and while it might take some getting used to, I find it’s the most effective way to keep me on track.
When I was in college, I worked extremely hard. Not only was I taking 5 or 6 classes at the same time, but I put in countless hours in the studio to finish projects. On top of that, I worked two part-time jobs, and played on two field hockey teams. In my entire life, I have never been that busy – even today, my schedule seems like a piece of cake compared to when I was in school. But what got me through school was keeping myself as organized as possible. I broke my life down into 60-minute blocks. That helped me really see what I was doing with my time, and made sure I cut anything out that wasn’t going to help me get ahead.
Here’s a typical week for me right now:
You can see that I work longer into the evening than I used to. Yes, I work until midnight most nights. Sometimes it’s much less, and sometimes it’s much more. I really like the way I’ve worked out my schedule because there’s plenty of wiggle room when it comes to available hours during the week. Nothing is set in stone, and I don’t hesitate to work shorter hours or take a night off of work during the week if I feel like it. Because let’s face it, I’d much rather hang out with my boyfriend or do something fun with friends if I can. I just have to organize my time to make sure I get all of my work done.
That being said, I think I’ve only taken one vacation all year (long weekend to Oregon) where I didn’t have my laptop with me – and even then, I still had my iPhone. Every other trip has been a working vacation, where I’ve had to write at least one article. And that’s not bad, considering it’s the writing that’s paying my way there. Eventually, I’d like to be one or two weeks ahead of schedule with my writing, but I haven’t been able to figure out how to get that far ahead yet.
The numbers
This is a PF blog, so it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t break down the numbers. I allot about 30 hours/week to my freelancing, but let’s be realistic here: it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that I only work about 25 hours/week since I’ve been known to procrastinate while working sometimes a lot (damn you, Twitter!).
But because of this hard work, I’ve secured ongoing freelancing gigs that will bring in approximately $600/week ($31,200/year). This doesn’t include any money I make elsewhere. So conservatively, I will make an additional $8,000/year through this blog, one-off writing assignments, and graphic design contracts – for a combined total of around $40,000/year.
25 hours x 52 weeks = 1,300 hours/year
$40,000 / 1,300 = $30.77/hour
Is $30.77/hour worth it? To me, it is. There’s not a part-time job I can think of that will 1) pay me $30+/hour, and 2) let me choose my own hours while working out of my home in my sweatpants.
And if I weren’t freelancing right now? I’d be holding down another part-time job doing something – anything. I’m not above working for $10/hour if it means I’m getting farther ahead.
The future
I touched upon it last week, I when wrote about when to transition over to a freelancing career. Later down the road, if I choose to try my luck as a full-time freelancer, I can feel comfortable in the fact that, if I fail and can’t make ends meet right away, I will have enough money in the bank to supplement my income until I can. Or, if I want to pack up my bags and go traveling for awhile, I will be secure in knowing that I can work while I travel, and pay my mortgage at the same time. Keeping all doors open with multiple streams of income means that I’m on my way towards financial independence.
I’ve always felt that the worst feeling in the world is having to say no to an opportunity, because money is holding you back. So my goal moving forward for the next year is to make and save as much money as I can now, while I’m young, so that I will be able to keep all of those doors open in the future.
16 Responses to “Creating a schedule that works”
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Ironically, I just read an email about procrastination (how it’s not good, obviously), then I come and read your entry on making good use of time. I think it’s a sign.
I really need to get on it, budgeting my money AND budget my time. It goes hand in hand. :)
BTW, I love the new blog design!
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I think time management is so important, especially when you have so many things going on in your life. I also believe in balance with a schedule, which is what I try to have for me.
How are there only 2 comments on this post? i thought there would be a lot more. Anyways, you’re a freelancing genuis. Are you totally dedicated to writing during those hours on the calendar? I am so bad about internet surfing, tweeting, stalking on facebook, and everything else when I should be writing. How do you do it??
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Generally, if I’m working during an evening, I’ll usually work until midnight. I’ve been putting myself on a timer. 30 min. of solid, real work, and then 5 minutes of messing around on Twitter/Facebook. Or some sort of combination like that. There’s no point in depriving myself of “wandering” around the internet, since I know at some point I’ll end up doing it anyway. At least by scheduling my slack of sessions in advance, I’m in control of that time. :)
I get distracted by the internet all the time when I’m trying to write a blog post… I call it “research” though. ;)
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Wow you are truly a hard worker Krystal. You’re so productive. You are an inspiration to so many people. Good for you!
…..boyfriend???
Yep! :) We’ve been going out for just over 3 months now. He’s awesome.
I noted the BF drop too! Congrats!
This schedule is ridiculous, good for you I wish I was this motivated. Blogging takes up so much of my time because I still have a very small following I read and comment on a ton of blogs to try to get myself out there. I really love it but it is a lot of work.
Even still I also have never been (and probably never will be) as busy as I was during university.
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Unfortunately in the process of writing so much, my commenting on other blogs has significantly decreased to the point where I’m lucky if I can comment on a dozen blogs in a week! Good for you for taking the time to network and be there for others. Am hoping to work that in somehow, because even though I read a lot of posts, I think commenting and supporting other peeps is so important… :)
Your email has come at the perfect time for me. My daughter is terrible at prioritizing her time. She’s struggling with school, work and free time. I’m sending her the link to your article to just show her it can be done. It just all depends on how your prioritize your life.
Way to go, I’m very impressed.
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I love your articles so much that I am planning to read all of them. I love your insights and dedication to your work. It really shows how much you love sharing your knowledge.
Have you always been a good writer in school? How did you learn how to blog? Did you take any special courses for doing this type of work? Amazing.
I dropped out of my marketing major/journalism minor when I was University, and ended up graduating from a marketing/communication diploma program in 2006, and have been blogging ever since. No formal training, just many, many years blogging. :)