Here’s answer #3 of 12 Questions I think are important for commercial writers to know. I think these questions are especially important for people newly striking out on their own.

Have you ever had times when you just can’t work out the next phase of your project? How about this: you stare at the screen and your notes and your tasks list, and you can’t decide which way to go. If it sounds familiar, you’re not alone. And, you should know right off, it’s not nearly as bad as it feels.

Following are some things that I have in my arcenal that have helped me through the roadblocks that I’ve come to. I thought they might help you to.

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This is my answer to the first of 12 questions I think are important for commercial writers to know. I think they’re especially important for people newly striking out on their own. The obvious answer to this question of activities between assignments is to look for more work. And that is true. However, I do some other things too that revitalize me, and get me ready for my next assignment.

Review

There’s really a lot involved in the work search process. I have to decide who I’m going to query, what work sites to visit, and what type of work I want to do next. I review work sites bookmarked already and search for others I might like. Review my protocols. It’s important for me to keep my routines current. That way, when I’m working on an assignment, the routine stuff stays that way, routine, and doesn’t make me hesitate. Right now, I have a routine for searching out article topics and submitting that I’m working up. Read more »

Work is interesting and life is good. I’m ticking off tasks, enjoying the activities of finding solutions to problems, making things happen, writing, and editing. I finish the work, send the files, email the invoices, mail the CDs, and I’m on to my next task. And then there are those days when I just can’t push the publish/send/share buttons? What brings on the days when I can’t move forward? I’m getting to it. But, let me share another hesitation. Read more »

There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

How many times have you heard that? A gazillion, right? Well there’s a reason it’s so popular: It’s simply true most of the times. It’s an optimistic way of looking at everything in life. If you can’t get it one way, there’s almost always another way to make a software program do what you need. If you’re not seeing what you need in a photo, there’s another way that you can set your camera to force the outcome. If it’s film, you may be able to catch it in the developing. Read more »

Have you ever heard people talk about being cross-trained? You’ve heard the groans from purists who want to do their job, and only their jobs. Well, before you fall into that rut, listen to the rest of their story. I think it’s safe to say that the majority of people in the workforce today understand that it’s a great boost to know more than their specific jobs. It’s more than just being a team player. It’s for your personal growth too. Read more »

It’s not always easy to get what you want. You spend a lot of time wishing, wanting and waiting. “I’ll do it as soon as…” It’s a familiar opener if you spend your time putting off your dreams for practical reasons. The dream job you know you can do, that you’ve already done, has to wait because you haven’t the time or the money to get the training. Really, though, is it practical to leave your dreams to fade out, collecting dust in the recesses of your memory? Is it a good plan to wait without deadline, end date, target date, with no action toward getting what you want? I don’t think so. Read more »

It’s late into the evening and I really am enjoying myself. This keeps me up having a ball. I want to be a successful entrepreneur doing something that I really love. Hopefully, this will give me a fighting chance. I want to talk about money and working for a living. If your job’s not fun, then you are part of a big community. Since work is such a major time suck in your life, don’t you think you ought to at least enjoy it? I really do. My work is a pleasure even when it’s hard. If I didn’t enjoy it, I would try like hell to get to doing something else. Read more »