Summary:

It feels like I’m really not getting anywhere so far this year – with paid work or with my own projects. I know intellectually this isn’t true (I’m plugging steadily away at everything, even if I’m not exactly where I want to be) but it’s still the way it feels…

 

Monday:

I felt very behind with everything today, and the start of my day didn’t help.

I spent the time before the focus session and the first section of the focus session itself on bits and pieces and sample edits and social media content – and I’d hoped to be completing my only remaining paid editing project during that time.

However, I did manage to get onto that for the rest of the morning and finished it before lunch. The client was very happy with my work and gave me a lovely testimonial for my website, so that felt good.

In the afternoon, I cracked on with adding notes to the revision plan for my fifth novel, Dividing the Darkness.

Later, I contacted a few past clients to find out how they’re getting on with their writing and if they’ll have any more work for me in the future.

Later still, I edited the most recent episode of the podcast, which had been on my list for some time.

So, after a slow start and generally not feeling very motivated, I ended up getting quite a lot done.

In the evening, we also recorded the next episode of the podcast with a special guest star!

 

Tuesday:

I had a fairly leisurely start, since I had no paid client work to prioritise – but made a list of useful things I could do with the extra time. And then a sample edit came in for a prospective clients, so I did that – though I didn’t manage to get started until nearly 11am!

It was Revision Club after lunch, which revitalised my enthusiasm for working on my novel, so I added a load more notes to my Darkness revision plan.

I also did some submissions and some more marketing activities.

Then my brain essentially shut down and I couldn’t focus any more so I called it a day.

 

Wednesday:

I bit the bullet on my mentoring homework and signed up for a year’s membership of the EFA – I completed my profile and also applied for a project on the job list.

I also went through all the notes from my last mentoring session and added some extra activities into my marketing list.

 

Thursday:

I did a bit of work for my blog client and also updated my profile in the EFA directory.

Then I wrote the scripts and blog posts for Stanley’s March online content.

I did a bit more of the CIEP proofreading course, which continued to be more challenging than I’d expected.

In the afternoon, my focus buddies kept me on track to send out emails to publishers asking about freelance editing opportunities, review and comment on the extract for next week’s Revision Club, and also add some more notes to my Darkness revision plan – so yay for focus sessions!

I was totally wiped out by the end of the session, though, so I decided just to take Friday off, especially since it was shaping up to be a very sociable weekend.

 

Friday:

I focused on reading today, finishing my current book and writing my review.

I then read the whole of the book that’s been chosen for our next book club meeting and also wrote my review.

Later, I finished my current audiobook and wrote the review for that too.

Yay for reading day!

 

Saturday:

I broke my boundaries rule today by having a client meeting at 9am and also answering a few queries from other prospective clients. This came about because I have no paid editing work at the moment and am in panic-mode, so I thought it would be a good idea to capitulate to prospective clients’ wishes in terms of timings for meetings/communication.

It was a good call and none of it took very long – but I also discovered the call client was having his other editor interview on Monday – so I could, in fact, have pushed back to rearrange the call till then. Ah, well!

 

Sunday:

I caught up on yet more reviews – a graphic novel, a DNF’d audiobook and a museum visit!