As a freelancer, my time is limited. With two little kids and a part-time schedule, I have to make the most of every minute I’m at my desk. Over the last five years, since my son was born, I’ve become more efficient than ever about making the most of my time. You can, too, when you give these 10 strategies a try. They may be simple, but they add up to saving minutes every day, which results in hours of increased productivity.
1. Stop thinking so big. When I started freelancing, I tended to over-research. I’d interview more sources than I actually used in an assigned story, wasting my time and theirs.
Since then, I’ve developed the following rules of thumb: For a piece of 300 words or fewer, I typically interview and quote one “real person” or expert source. For stories of 300 to 700 words, I’ll use two sources. Stories of about 700 to 1,200 words get three sources, and
