Well, I’ve tried creating schedules for myself in the past. I’ve paid coaches good money to help me figure out what I’ll be doing during which hours and on which days; for example, most recently I decided to do wellness coaching and mentoring on Mondays and Wednesdays, and writing tasks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. (I typically take Fridays off.)

I was all psyched to get started on this new schedule — and it lasted exactly one day. Not even one day, in fact. I had to face it: If I’m not interested in writing on a Tuesday, then I’m not going to write. And if I’m suddenly struck by the urge to work on an article at 8 pm on a Wednesday, then that’s what I’m going to do.

Last week my partner for the Freelance Writers Blast Off class, Carol Tice, said something during the class that articulates exactly how I work: “I always do whatever I’m most passionate about every moment of the day.” I had never thought about it in those terms before, but that’s precisely what I do.

For example, Monday might find me writing blog posts all day. On Tuesday, I might work on an article that’s coming due for a little while and then follow up on some old LOIs and then implement some crazy e-course pricing scheme I came up with five minutes ago. Then, on Wednesday I may be in one of those moods where I just can’t get any work done…so I don’t. But as soon as our 3-year-old goes to bed, I’m inspired to finish that article I started on Monday.

This always felt just wrong, but when I thought about it, I realized it’s always worked for me. Everything gets done, and it gets done on time. So I’ve come to trust the process and let it go. I have one ADD mentoring client who is religious, who originally wanted me to help her come up with a schedule, and the saying that resonated with her was “Let go and let God.”

This tactic also works well with the typical ADD sufferer’s problem of being unable to force himself to focus on something he’s not interested in. If I’m trying to write an article when I’m not really inspired to do so, it’s torture and I click away every paragraph or two to do something more interesting, like check my e-mail. But when I am inspired to write, well, get out of my way!

Some people with ADD actually tend to hyper-focus on things they’re interested in and block out all distractions (including people trying to get their attention, police sirens, and other important events), and working on what you’re most interested in every minute is one way to take advantage of that.

Of course, if you decide to go this route you need to take a small leap of faith to test it out and make sure everything does get done. We’re all different, and some writers simply need to create and stick with a schedule.

So, all you writers who are ADD or even just easily distractible — have you ever tried to force yourself to stick to a writing schedule? Did it work, and if so, how did you do it? If it didn’t work, did you manage to come up with a better plan? [lf]

This morning I got an e-mail from the folks at Baydin, who developed the fabulous Boomerang plugin for Gmail. (One big flaw with Google is that you can’t schedule e-mails for future delivery; Boomerang is a plugin that allows you to do this.) I use Boomerang for everything from scheduling emails for my students so that they all receive them at 8 a.m. on Mondays, no matter where they are in the world, to automatically sending myself reminders about doctor appointments or deadlines.

Baydin has developed a 21-day program called Revive Your Inbox to help you get your e-mail under control in 2012. Each day they’ll send you an email that addresses a specific e-mail challenge, like how to conduct more fruitful inbox searches, and provide you with “battle-tested tips and tricks” to help you over the hurdles.

You can see a sample of the daily e-mail here before you decide to sign up.

The other cool feature? It’s FREE, my favorite four-letter word beginning with F. [diana burrell]

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you became a coach?

It was pretty natural for me to begin working with writers. When I got trained as a Life Coach I had the opportunity to think through the kinds of people and the kinds of challenges I wanted to work with. I’m trained as a writer; I have an MFA in creative writing with a specialty in poetry, and I’ve worked writing press releases, profiles, and grants for arts and nonprofit organizations.

I felt like writers are the people that I understood. I really know on a heart level what it’s like to struggle with productivity, life balance and entrepreneurial challenges too.

After graduate school, I worked for a while with at-risk youths. I loved the job and it was very meaningful to me, but I knew I needed to move on and I realized that the skill set I was using was coaching more than educating and teaching. So that’s what made me decide to be a Life Coach. When I got started I just put the word out to folks in freelance writing communities and things have been going great ever since. It feels good to be doing work I love.

What do you think is the biggest thing getting in the way of success for aspiring writers?

There are two mindset pieces that I think people overlook the importance of. One is making a very clear decision to be successful. I’m not trying to come off like a Tony Robbins, but we really do have to think about our mindset when we start a project.

And part of what gets in the way for aspiring writers is that we also have to believe in ourselves and give ourselves permission to envision ourselves as successful. So you need to be able to make a clear decision: “I am going for this. This is meaningful. It’s worth it to me. I will find the help I need to get there.” You need to believe that it’s possible and worthy and you need to give yourself permission to step into that bigger vision of yourself.

On top of that, it can be hard as a freelancer to find time to do the big picture business-building or portfolio-building activities because you are a professional responder to the market. You’re trying to figure out how you can fit into the needs of the marketplace, and to really be successful you also have to learn how to be self-directing.

How can writers change their mindset?

Many people thrive by working with a private coach. So I just plugged my business! It’s a great way to get custom tailored help. It’s like having a personalized self-help book or someone to really help see your particular challenges and help you rewrite your narrative in your mind.

Also, accountability can be really helpful. If you have a group of peers who are striving for the same thing, and you think they’re positive people who will support you and challenge you in a good way, that’s another way to support yourself. Also, journaling, self-reflection, and affirmations can be helpful. There’s a whole host of tools for changing your mindset.

Many newer writers are overwhelmed by all the possible niches, all the markets, and all the marketing activities that could be doing. How can they overcome that?

That gets back to this idea of clarity and strategy and decision-making. There are many types of writing and the people that I work with and talk to are multi-talented. They could easily write everything from profiles to in-depth reporting pieces. So I think that to make things simple, it’s important to set yourself short-term goals and to allow yourself to focus on just one type of writing. If you’re aware of other specialties or other genres that appeal to you, make note of that but give yourself a clear space — a month, three months — to do just one or two things.

It’s really important to keep things simple. It’s important to organize your time as well — to not just do the next thing that’s in front of you, but have your big picture career strategy in your mind. And to get that you have to know the importance of setting aside time to think about the big picture.

How important is your environment to reaching your writing goals?

Environment is super important. In my Two Days to Write intensive, I coach people to really take a look at their environment and make small tweaks in the course of a week to help them feel better about their space, whether it’s to get more organized or to make it more appealing to their senses. Your writing environment can also help you see yourself in a professional way, so posting magazine covers from markets you’re aspiring to write for can be helpful. Use your environment proactively so that it works for you.

Is support important for reaching your writing goals?

I think support is incredibly important, and there are lots of ways to get it — but as I mentioned earlier, one of the things that writers tend to overlook is being choosy about their support. You want to hang out with people who are really modelling what you’re going for. It’s very easy to find people to commiserate with or to feel stressed out with, but it’s much more helpful to find a coach, a mentor, or a group of colleagues who are actively pursuing their dreams and their goals.

And how do you find this support?

We have so many options now in the Internet age. Check out some of the freelance writing boards that are popular — Freelance Success comes to mind. I’m sure there are many other online communities. [Ed: Like the Freelance Writers Den!]

How can busy freelance writers find the time to market?

My recommendations to people depend on their goals. If you’re in a situation where you need assignments now, my suggestion to you is to do a marketing push. You really want to do everything you can to set aside dedicated time with a specific goal, like getting more queries or letters of introduction out there or prospecting for new copywriting clients.

If you’re someone who just wants to maintain your business or maybe catch a new market here and there, a great way to do that is through a sustainable writing routine — finding time in your week that is dedicated to big picture thinking, to brainstorming new markets, and to actually writing and sending out queries. If you really want to jump into making more time to write queries, the best way is to do the marketing push first, and then ride that momentum with a more sustainable practice that you can fit into your regular work life.

Can you tell us more about the marketing push?

Absolutely. The best way to do it is to set aside some time, and then the important thing — and this is something that most people overlook — is the pre-planning phase. It’s great to take some time to really set up your environment so that it supports you. It’s also incredibly important to clarify your goals for your time and set some benchmarks. Support is also very helpful, so see if you can line up another person to do it with or join a challenge.

Do you have an example of a writer who did a successful marketing push?

One woman I coached wanted to start over in a new niche. She was an established health writer and wanted to pursue something completely different. One of the ways she did that during her marketing push was to use her time to generate, generate, generate — new blog posts, new work. She cleared the space and gave herself permission to just spew out text, and also to shape it — and by the time she finished, just a day-and-a-quarter later, she had come out with three regular blog posts and two guest posts. So she used her time to build her visibility in the blogosphere.

Do you have any other tips for freelance writers?

November is the perfect time to make a clear decision to go for it. You still have time to take action and get some queries and letters of introduction out there, and do whatever you need to do to make connections with new markets or new clients. I’d suggest you set yourself a goal that by January 2012 you’ll have what you need in place so you can step into the new year with confidence.

Originally, I was charging $140 per hour and $75 per half-hour for phone mentoring. But as a wellness coach, I offer a package of three 45-minute sessions, which is the way many coaches structure their pricing. To keep my writer mentoring consistent with my wellness coaching, I’ve decided to offer a package of three 45-minute phone mentoring calls for $300 per month.

I believe that offering a package of three calls will let me better help my clients and give them ongoing motivation and accountability.

Interested? Here’s what a few clients have said about my writer mentoring:

“The phone mentoring session was amazing! Linda answered all of my questions, and she gave me a lot of great advice on how to work more efficiently. She really helped me to get unstuck. Just a few days later, I landed an assignment with Spry magazine. I was thrilled. I would recommend the phone mentoring session to any newbie freelance writer.”
—Gail Short

“You’re good! I talked to you on what? Tuesday? And have a positive response (copied and pasted below) by Thursday! Holy cow, that’s the fastest any advice I’ve ever received has worked.”
—Karen Scott

“In just a half hour session, Linda distilled years of information in a way that was instantly accessible. I started getting paying assignments in just ten days after following through on just one of many suggestions! Although I am a seasoned writer and have had my name in print, getting insider tips from someone in the know is invaluable.”
—Yael Grauer

If you need help with the basics of freelancing, idea generation and honing, motivation, accountability, overcoming fear, and more, consider using my mentoring services. You can get more info on my mentoring page, and e-mail me if you have any questions or would like to get started.

Thanks, and I look forward to helping you reach your freelance dreams! [lf]

As you probably know — because I never stop talking about it — I’m now a wellness coach. I offered 50 lucky people a free wellness coaching phone session to help me towards my certification (I’m full up, by the way!), and many of those people happened to be writers because they responded to a post about the offer on the Renegade Writer Blog.

As I coached these writers on their wellness, I started to see an amazing trend: These writers’ health woes were directly related to the state of their writing careers. For example, one client was an emotional eater who reached for sweets whenever she felt she wasn’t making enough headway on a writing project. Another blamed problems ranging from allergies to liver issues on the fact that she deferred her dream to be a writer due to a lack of time. And there are more examples.

It’s no secret that stress and emotional disturbance can lead to health problems. I’m not sure whether everyone’s job is so closely linked to their health, but I’d wager that the connection is stronger in creative professions where we consider our careers our passions — our very lifeblood.

So how can you improve your writing career — and your health?

The biggest obstacle getting in the way of most would-be professional writers is that between their regular jobs, their families, and their other obligations, they can never find the time to build their writing careers — time to brainstorm ideas, time to write, time to market.

The trick is to make the time — don’t find it. Many writers moan that they can’t find the time for their writing — and their frustration leads to health issues ranging from anxiety to emotional eating. The trick is, you can’t just find unused time lying around waiting for you to come along and use it for writing — you have to make time.

Ask yourself this super-secret coaching question: If your doctor told you that you had to work on your writing career right away or you would die, how would you do it?

I’ll bet if this happened, you would manage to carve some time out of your schedule. Maybe you would cut an obligation or two out of your schedule. Or ask your spouse for one kid-free hour a day. Or start ordering more take-out meals (healthy ones!) so you don’t have to cook and clean every night — or even take advantage of the many meal-prep places that are popping up. Or get up an hour early (or stay up an hour later).

See? There’s no shortage of ways to make time if you really, really had to. And trust me — you have to. If you’re a writer, your health depends on it. [lf]