Life of a Freelance Content Writer – Problems I Face & How I Tackle Them

I am a freelance content writer and I work from home. Before you start envying me for the freedom I enjoy, I want to tell you that I have a toddler at home and a bunch of crazy people to look after too. Being a content writer has its own perils. There are lots of problems I have to face daily and working from home simply adds a few more. From fighting distractions to feeling lethargic, from not finding enough time to write to being dissatisfied with the payment, there are so many of them.

Yet, I know that I am not alone. Most freelancers go through this ordeal daily. How do they tackle the daily problems that affect their work? Here are the ways I fight them.

Not having ideas

I make a nice cup of tea. I sit down to write…..blank. That’s how it goes. I simply do not get any idea for my weekly blog assignments.

I write down a sentence or two, delete them, think of something else, put them in words but nothing happens after that.

Not getting ideas that excite you as a writer is one of the most common problems that we face.

In such a situation, I simply leave my desk. I head towards the balcony and sit there alone. Or else I go grocery shopping and switch off my mind. Once I am back from a long walk and feeling victorious after successfully bargaining with the vegetable vendor, I get enough energy to start afresh.

Most often, I read to distract my mind. Newspapers, editorials, or a simple self-help book can boost me to think from another angle and come up with ideas for my readers.

Distractions that kills

This can be very annoying. I have got assignments, the deadline is close but there is too much commotion in the house to concentrate. There are guests at home, my daughter decides to play in my room with her friends and the television in the drawing-room is blaring.

No matter how much I try to make people understand, it’s impossible to make them realize that I too have to follow a routine. So what I do is simply shut myself off in my bedroom and use the bedside table as my temporary desk. I request my baby to spare me a few hours so that later on I can take her out for a stroll in the garden. I focus only on the work at hand and finish it off.

Inefficient use of time

When people work from home, they usually face this problem. No matter how much I try, I usually end up wasting a lot of time in unproductive things like checking emails, Twitter, and Facebook and chatting with my neighbor. As a work-from-home mom, I need breaks to enjoy myself but the problem is these activities eat into my time and affect my productivity.

To make the best use of my time, I have created slots for working on my projects. I begin my day with small assignments and before breakfast complete them. I take a break, enjoy my breakfast, chat a little with my daughter, and again sit for work.

During the afternoon, when I feel bored I check the social media sites but for only half an hour. I keep aside weekends to call my friends. This way I balance my work and leisure and have increased my productivity also.

With time and trial and error methods, I have come up with my own strategies to deal with daily problems. How do you manage your work and home? Do you have any tips to share with us? Please comment.

About the author – Koyel Majumder – A writer with an eye for perfection. She is a freelance content writer from Mumbai, India with over 6 years of experience in writing web content, blogs, and articles. When she is not writing, she will be reading for ideas that would help her to remain up to date. In short, she lives and dreams words and finds this writer’s world fascinating.