I didn’t have a MySpace until Facebook was already a thing. My MySpace account was under the name of my Misanthropic Internet Doppleganger, Georgette Magillacuddy. If we were friends in college, you might’ve heard me tell people (men) that was my name at bars.
I thought social media was stupid and time-consuming and–like Television–threatened to rob me of all of my proper thinking muscles if I let it.
My friend Sharon talked me into getting a Facebook. She also showed me Project Runway. I was on board with Project Runway immediately.
And, yes. I am aware of the way in which Facebook is collecting information about me in order to be able to sell demographic info to companies who will try to sell things to me, but frankly, I’d prefer smart marketing than stupid marketing. I do not like watching ads about sports equipment or hearing aids. If I liked sports or was hard of hearing, I would. Sure, the way in which it’s not a terribly far leap between April the demographic and April the person is a touch scary. But all new developments in technology are a touch scary.
I still think Facebook could rob me of my thinking muscles. But I figured out how to block users and apps, so now, If somebody posts only sentimental quotations and quips about Christ, I say, “Please, Facebook. Don’t show me any more of that.” I also ask it not to show me stuff from Farmville or Sims or any of the games.
Facebook can be a benevolent master.
It can also be a sneaky time-suck.
But as with every other guilty (and lately gleeful) pleasure, we have to exercise self-control. I have a policy where I shut Facebook down after every time I check in on it. I used to let it up all the time. But whenever I do that, I get nothing done.
As recently as eighteen months ago, I still professed to being confused about Facebook. I remember being kind of stymied when one of the smartest people I know, my friend, mentor, and fellow-freelancer, Katney B., said, “I totally get it, and I love it.”
But first when I sold cell phones, and then when I went full time as a freelancer, and it occurred to me that Facebook could be my ally.
Ah ha! A practical use for Facebook. Potential generation of capital. And so I began to tinker in earnest, and without guilt. That bit was huge for me. I have to give myself permission to do things that are enjoyable, or things that I view as unproductive.
And in so doing, I started to get it. I could check in on people about whom I am curious, but have no need or desire to spend hours in conversation with. People for whose success I am hopeful. And people whose work I admire. And if I am feeling particularly nosy, I can know what the weather is like where they are, and I know if they switch jobs or cities or S.O.s.
And in the last few months or year, I’ve re-connected with some people in my past who I missed! Two of my dearest friends ever and I now swap emails outside of Facebook. Child and I made a sweet visit to NYC via a Facebook connection with a friend from long ago.
Since I’ve been blogging and building myself a business of my thinking and writing muscles, I’ve loved the way Facebook allows me to show my work to 541 of the people with whom I’ve become acquainted along the way, personally, casually, professionally. It’s even safe to be friends with ex lovers.
I have Facebook friends who are fellow writers, authors I admire, literary journals. And in a couple of instances, the literary journals have reminded me to submit to them. Now I belong to the group Submission Bombers. If you’re a writer, check it out.
People who live where I do invite me to cool stuff. People who have kids post pictures, so they don’t have to email them to me. I appreciate that.
And while it’s utterly practically meaningless to the business, I enjoy being able to go click the big thumbs up on businesses I live near, or whose owners I know, or places I’ve been that are cool. I like that I can categorize myself as “person who likes The Nightmare Before Christmas or Mad Men,” even if it does mean that Facebook will tell other people to sell me 60s vintage shoes or vaguely creepy stop-motion movies.
And this is kind of weird, but I get a little competitive about the number of friends I have. I view it as an absurd measure of success, especially since the second most traffic on my blog is drummed up through facebook.
So what about you? What do you love about facebook? Or do you hate it?
People have been asking me lately, “How do you do it? How do you get so much stuff done?” These are usually my fellow self-employed friends and they are typically asking with respect to my blog. I spend a lot of time on my blog. A LOT. I also freelance consistently for one publishing company and a handful of publications. I’m also a mother and a partner and a grownup with a modest (but rewarding) social life.
But I’ve always been a high energy person with big ideas who digs being turbo busy. I had three jobs at a time in high school. I worked full time through college while making Dean’s list every semester. I applied to grad school 1.0 while Child was an infant and I was a senior in college and running an eBay business.
I have held several sales jobs while freelancing as an editor and writer, being a single mom, and responsible for a domicile. I’m not bragging. This is all ridiculously insane, and if I keep going at the pace I’ve maintained for the past sixteen years, I will burn out by the time I’m forty.
But if you really want to know, this is how I do it:
Be born blue collar.
I credit my ridiculous work ethic 100% to having been born into a family that doesn’t have much money but works really, really hard. I’m productive because I have to be. And I’m not going to blow any of that working class self-righteous smoke up your asses. I’m not going to say, “I’ve worked damn hard for everything I have and that’s why I’m not a twat.” I’m not a twat because I’m a nice person. I have worked very hard in my life, but that’s because I’ve had to. If given a choice, I wouldn’t have, but I would probably still be a nice person. I know plenty of people who are nice who have led reasonably charmed lives. I know lots of blue collar twats. The source of twattery is not–as the blue collar set would have you believe–privilege. The rest of this post applies regardless of the class into which you were born.
Acquire as many competencies as you can as early as possible.
When I was a kid, I loved learning how to do new things. I got bored quickly and would move on to the next thing. This did a number of things for my future productivity: It taught me how to self-motivate, and it gave me self-confidence. Here are some of the things I learned how to do before I was 20: play piano, play saxophone, paint ceramics, throw clay pots, take pictures, draw, dance, cook, sew, clean, write, read, do laundry, knit, crochet, paint, etc. To be fair, I’m only still interested in about seven of those things, and only any good at about 4 of them. But learning how to do things quickly and well sets you up to like yourself and be efficient as you go along in life. Since I was 20, I’ve learned to play guitar, knit & crochet better (though I am still a total rookie), make jewelry, do zumba, and write and read better. Continue to read and learn and grow. That will make you like yourself more, which will make you more interested in pushing your personal boundaries, which will mean that you’ll be more motivated to do more stuff.
Get Acquainted with Dawn’s asshole.
I get up at 5. Sometimes earlier. On weekends, when I sleep in, I sleep till 6. Stay in bed till 7. Monday through Friday, I’ve accomplished more than most people do all day by 9:00 a.m. I’ve grown & drawn boundaries, and I feel positive about a five-day work week these days. But if I didn’t have a child and partner who want to spend time with me, I would do this seven days a week. If you can’t get up, stay up. Work into the night. I used to do it that way. Work till 2:00 a.m., get up at 9:00 a.m. The get up early model works better for me now because I am mom.
If you are feeling shitty and you need a day off, take it.
I only relatively recently–within the past two years–started this policy, but it increases my productivity because I get all the wallow or sick out of my system, then I can return to my pursuits with full steam energy and effort instead of diminished-by-moodiness-or-illness energy and effort which can be embarrassingly lackluster. Plus, when I push through sickness or the doldrums, I hate myself for not getting anything done, and then I keep not getting anything done because my energy is all negativity and fatalism and not positivity and gumption.
The glass is half full.
My cliche mantras: It could always be worse; At least I’m not dead; I’m good enough, smart enough, and people like me. These are the little truisms that keep me going, that keep me looking on the bright side. It’s not enough to just say them, though. You have to believe them. You have to know that your life is never as shitty as it could be, and that around every corner is an opportunity waiting for you to grab on and charge forward. You have to know–without needing affirmation–that you’re good and smart and people like you.
Take advantage of every minute.
Here’s how to do housework when you’re already booked past full: It only takes five minutes to do dishes. It takes about ninety seconds to move laundry if you have to go to a different floor. It take six minutes to fold laundry if you’re anal about it like I am, less time if you’re not. It takes about four minutes to vacuum a big room. It takes fifteen minutes to scrub hell out of a bathroom, ten minutes to sweep and mop the kitchen. Whenever you’re waiting for something to happen, do something else. If you’re baking some macaroni or chicken, run up and clean the bathroom till the buzzer goes off. If you’re ready to go and you still have five minutes till you have to leave, do the dishes. Go to the grocery store as early in the morning as possible, that’s when the fewest people are there so it will go faster. Whenever you go to the basement with laundry or supplies, bring up something you need. If you can choose, put your laundry machines on the same floor as the bedrooms. In short: be efficient. A cool thing that can help you even more with this is using the Pomodoro Technique’s free timer. There’s a DROID app, too. Working in bursts of 25 minutes will keep you focused, plus give you five-minute breaks to do dishes or laundry.
Sometimes you have to give yourself a treat.
For me, productivity and accomplishment are often their own rewards. But I’m also a deeply moody person and can be too sensitive and pissy without reason. Sometimes, I have to go get myself a ridiculous decadent coffee from Starbucks. Breve and extra espresso and whipped cream and all of it. Or I have to have an absurdly carby meal. Once in a while, do whatever gives you superfluous joy or gratification. It sometimes helps to bribe yourself: If you know that you can do anything if you get to have a long, hot bath, promise yourself one once you accomplish a micro goal.
Exercise.
I’ve been thinking about this one a lot lately, since I’ve been working out with intention. But when I was younger, I ran my face off as a food server around everything else, so I’ve usually practiced this in my life. Getting sweaty is key to optimum productivity. Do this in a way that gives you satisfaction and as little discomfort as possible. I am ridiculously motivated by self-sufficiency and money, so waiting tables was a good match for me. Now that I can’t fit that into my life anymore, I do Zumba. If you love to run, run. If you love to dance, dance. If you love to hike, do that. If your thing is outdoors, have a bad-weather backup plan. Do not make excuses, just do it–at least three times a week.
Make time for the important stuff.
This is the hardest one for me. I have no trouble at all feeling urgency about getting work done for money. Sometimes, I have to force myself to acknowledge the importance of leisure and family time. Money is not as important as good relationships or being a good parent. Volunteer at your kid’s school as much as your schedule will allow. Spend time with your partner or best friends. Write emails with people who are important to you but who live far away. Your work will always still be there tomorrow. These things will keep stuff in perspective. Perspective will keep you moving.
Know your own boundaries.
You can’t push yourself past your own physical limitations. If you need 8 hours of sleep a night, take it. If you can’t exercise three times a week, do it as often as you can. If you can’t work for 6 hours straight, take breaks. Get to know yourself while pursuing productivity, and if you must push past your boundaries, work up to it systematically: Every day, do another five minutes or hour of x, reward yourself, and drink coffee. Be careful with other, less-legal uppers. I almost called this post the Honorary Crack Files, but I didn’t want you to think that I’m getting ramped up with drugs. I’m not.
Have a clear sense of your goals in both short and long term.
My ten year goal now is to be able to make enough money just from my blog. I want people to come to me for services without prospecting. I can do this, and I will. My shorter term goals include finishing the MFA ahead of schedule, and get a couple of tidy, nice-paying writing gigs so I can give up some of the work that I derive lesser satisfaction from. My goals for this week are to read 600 pages and do another five pitches to my current target publications, Bustand Paste. I am constantly re-evaluating these goals and priorities and building action plans around them.
Reuse your work, take shortcuts, and ask for help.
If you’ve done a piece of work, make it work for you in a different context: if you’re a writer, re-sell your stories, or use your research to do different pitches. If you design something, figure out how to use that design for other, similar projects. Start from scratch as little as possible. Google Passive Income. Almost everybody has a potential passive income source. Find yours. If you find a fast way to do something that does not diminish the quality of the final product, use it. There is honor in making the most of your time, even if it you’re not using a classically perfect method. Also, use technology. If you don’t know how, learn. It will make your life easier and will give you back time you wouldn’t otherwise have. Email saves me tons of time. Instead of a list of phone calls that need to be made during business hours, I can write emails at any time, and schedule them to send at appropriate hours. Asking for help can be anything from reading a blog by a person who does what you want to do but does it more effectively, to asking other human beings for help, starting a child care co-op, or setting up a chore share with your roommates, partner or spouse.
Don’t get down on yourself if you don’t get everything done.
If you fall short of your goals, don’t fret. Step back, re-evaluate, and do better next time. There’s always a next time. Some failures do not mean failure is constant. It just means that you have things to learn. Learn them and bear forth. Be diligent and thorough, and the rest will follow.
I read job boards like Freelance Writing Jobs, and recently I discovered Blogging Pro. I check out Craigslist for larger areas than mine. I am on the email list for Virtual Vocations, though that is my least favorite. I belong to two discussion boards relevant to my field on LinkedIn, and I very occassionally troll CareerBuilder and Monster, though these almost never have relevant results for me. Invaluable, however, is Writer’s Market. Subscribe. You’ll pay yourself back. They’ve done all the heavy lifting for you.
Reading job ads, writing an engaging cover letter or pitch (I like to be funny in mine), digging up relevant clips, and the requisite follow up take a HUGE amount of time.
Each opportunity has specific needs, and these need to be specifically addressed in the cover letter. I like Kristen Lamb’s thought that form letters should never be used when approaching someone who has the power to honor, publish, and/or employ my work. Lamb is talking about winning the hearts and minds of bloggers, but it’s my contention that editors and developers who employ writers are equally appreciative of original queries.
I used to apply for and/or query anything for which I felt even remotely qualified. I used to sell cars, so I applied for automotive writing spots, even though I haven’t followed the auto industry since 2009. I used to sell cell phones, so I have applied for technology writing gigs. I am slightly more qualified for tech writing because I use and enjoy gadgets, technology. But I love these for their productivity, efficiency, and how cool they make me look. I love them less for their layered processors, unbelievable software, and operating systems. Technology, though useful and exciting, is not my passion.
I wasted a lot of energy asking for jobs I was sure I could do, but for which I was not adequately qualified.
People want you if you have proven skills relevant to their needs, not if you are sure you could do the job, but can’t show them any proof.
I have learned some things that save me time and self-esteem. Here they are.
Follow your passion
Only apply in subjects about which you would consider yourself an expert, or to which you have easy access to research. Don’t apply for work you wouldn’t do for free. There are ways to identify what kinds of writing for free are worth the time and effort without monetary compensation. Take a look at CopyBlogger‘s blog for tips about how and when writing for free can be a benefit to you. But if you write a food blog and you love food, apply for writing spots about food. If you read Engadget every day, and you never keep a computer longer than 6 months because something new has come out that you must own, apply for tech writing jobs. If you’re not an expert, you’re not a competitive candidate.
Be efficient
Try to sell articles and get positions that will be either re-sellable, or that will give you a new nuance of your topic or skill. Look for jobs and publications for whom you’ll get a bunch of practice writing about what you love that you can point potential clients or employers to. If you write for a section of your local paper, re-tool your material and market it to other publications. Other local publications may take it as-is. Too, if you do interviews, ask your subjects who else has interviewed them. Maybe you know of a publication or blog that hasn’t featured them, but should.
Stay Engaged
If you’re spending 2-5 hours applying for jobs, cut that time in half, and go read somebody you admire’s blog. I have found an unending source of amazing content from the folks I follow on Twitter. I have gained huge insight, access to career-enhancing information and tips, grown my network, and I have a sense that I belong in this world, doing what I do. When my inner editor is screaming about what a crappy writer I am, and how I should just give up, I go hang out with Twitter for a minute. Read and comment on some blogs consistently. Be courteous and thoughtful. Knowing what other people are saying about your field means you won’t repeat them. Being informed is a huge competitive edge.
Be nice, follow up
If there’s an editor with whom you made contact, but who didn’t offer you any work, or who didn’t accept any of your pitches, reach out to her once a month or so, just to say hello, remind her that you exist. Maybe she’s forgotten. It’s likely that she works with tons of freelancers, subjects, and editors. If an editor declines a pitch, or you get a note saying you won’t be considered for the position, think of it as a victory, a success. If the editor took the time to reply to you, that means she liked your stuff. That means she’ll probably look at more stuff from you in the future. Always send a note or make a call thanking her for her time. Never react defensively. Don’t give up. Keep sending pitches, queries, and checking in. It’s much easier to get work from people with whom you have established a relationship.
April Line Writing 