Back to Work

January 9, 2004, 3:34 p.m.
I am one of those people who thrive under pressure. Give me 15 deadlines in a week and I’ll meet every one of them – and still have enough time to write a few queries, chat on the phone and go for a long walk. But if I only have three deadlines, I struggle to get anything done.

I’ve had a really difficult time adjusting to the lull that follows the holidays. I’ve been sitting at my desk, shuffling papers and feeling guilty about not accomplishing more. There is work I could be doing – sending out queries, making cold calls, writing essays. But, without intense deadline pressure, I am having trouble staying motivated.

There was a time in late November when I was incredibly productive and feeling great. I was working for 8 solid hours a day, writing dozens of articles, sending out queries, making follow-up calls and checking everything off of my to-do list. Then December hit and I took two weeks off to enjoy the holidays with J, and I’m struggling to get back into the swing of things.

When you’re self-employed, it’s really important to be working. When I worked in an office, I could waste an entire day chatting with co-workers, picking up pens at the office supply store and taking clients to lunch while earning a regular paycheck. Now, not working means I’m not earning any money. My monthly earnings are directly related to the amount of work that I do, which means surfing the Internet is not the best way to spend my afternoons. Still, it has been fantastic to use the downtime to work on knitting a baby blanket, writing letters to my best friend and catching up on a bit of reading.