Tips for freelancers

Get up early – 6am for a 7am work start is good.

Never treat yourself with a TV show over breakfast. It will probably be the best episode of any show you've ever seen in your life... and you will want to see the next, and the next... until you convince yourself to have a 'treat day' and watch the whole season. Baaaad idea! lol

Grey's Anatomy, Mad Men, Rubicon, The Event, The Hills, The City, Desperate Housewives, Brothers and Sisters = very lovely but baaaaaad.
Interesting work for money = gooood! :)

Eat raw food so that you have more energy and need less sleep.

Plan your day. Make a list of everything you need to get done – and how long it should take. Stick to it.

Get yourself down to a nearby cafe (if it has internet access). You'll be less distracted than you would be at home and you'll be amazed by how much you get done.

Don't faff over a story that you know you could get done pretty quickly. Don't spend a week gathering interviews and writing a feature that you know you could get done in a day. Don't leave that desk till it's finished!

Ok, so you might already have regular work, but don't forget to keep sending out those proposals. Always follow up with a phone call (or the other way around)... An email gets forgotten about. A phone call produces results.

Work as if you were at work. Freelancing shouldn't be a code word for one hour of writing and five hours of shopping.

Work like a full-time employer would expect you to work. How much did you used to get done at that office job? If the answer is picking out news stories, rewriting handfuls of wire reports, subbing stories, laying out 10-15 pages, proofing, re-proofing, chasing up PR peeps for an interview, go home, grab dinner, do interview, write up 1000 word feature and flop dead... all within the space of a day, then you know there's no excuse for taking it easy just because you work for yourself. Make sure work remains the biggest part of your day and relaxation comes as more of a treat a treat at the end.

If you were used to writing and rewriting several wire reports / press releases every hour at the newspaper job, there's no reason not to keep up the pace at home. The more you do in one sitting, the more free time you'll have.

Don't become a hermit. As a freelancer, you won't be getting that important day to day contact with random people, so make sure you plan regular time-out sessions with friends. Don't miss those dance classes, volleyball sessions and meet-ups. When your life stops revolving around the office, freelancing can become a great way to expand your world.

Getting yourself out there: Get yourself a website (I still need to do this!). Your various freelancer profiles will work too but story proposals will be helped if you can link your email to your own professional-looking website with story links etc...

Follow your own rules!!! You wrote them for reason! ;)

Freelancing is a wonderful route to freedom. You can pick the stories you choose, work where you want to work, travel at the drop of a hat, pick your own schedule. All you need to do it put the work in.

Happy writing! :)