What I’m working on:
I’m currently juggling several news and feature stories on varying timelines. I’m also looking for more editing clients and trying to figure out whether it is possible to have less of a feast-or-famine pattern in my freelance work. It’s a beautiful dream.
As I write this, I’m working on a feature draft, waiting for edits on a news story, going through copy edits on another feature, emailing with editors about assignments, working through the logistics of getting a client to pay me electronically, trying to figure out my health insurance, and putting other projects and stories with deadlines farther in the future out of my mind so that I can concentrate.
Where I work:
I work from home at a desk next to the refrigerator in my small San Francisco apartment. I keep a periodic table and a few plants close by. But sometimes there is a lot of construction noise in my building, so I go to the library. I recently joined a community that has a coworking space, The Writers Grotto, but I have only gone there a few times so far. The fiction writers have good stories.
Daily routine:
I start my day with tea and muffins, listening to Morning Edition on KCRW or a podcast (some news, like On the Media, but also a lot of fun stuff like Drag Race recaps). I play the NYT Spelling Bee and then move over a few feet to my desk and check my email.
From there, every day of freelancing is different. Sometimes things are very slow, so I’ll take an early walk, run errands, send out a few pitches, and otherwise poke editors. On busy days I’m usually writing or doing interviews in the morning. The rest of the day will involve ping-ponging between assignments (or taking some solid writing time for a feature) with breaks for walks and lunch.
I try to keep pretty regular hours—9:00 to 5:00. But that goes out the window if I’m on a fast-turnaround news story or need to interview someone in a distant time zone. That said, it’s 6:00 p.m. as I write this sentence.
Most productive part of my day:
Definitely the morning, especially if I can get in some solid writing time without too much distraction from email.
Most essential ritual or habit:
Walks. I love to look at the plants in people’s yards and go down to the bay to look for harbor seals and cormorants. Sometimes I see “my” great blue heron eerily staring into the water at San Francisco’s Aquatic Park. And once I saw him catch a fish. Ideally, I take two hilly walks a day. It keeps me from being a stress monster when I’m busy, and from freaking out about my career when things are slow.
Favorite note-taking techniques/tools:
I still take interview notes by hand, and I’m very particular: It’s got to be the blue Pilot G2 pen and a college ruled 9.5” x 6” Five Star notebook. I’m a lefty, so it’s important to me that this pen not only moves quickly but also dries fast! I mark the first page of each interview with a neon-colored tab so I can go through my notes more easily. Writing things down by hand helps me listen and remember. But it can backfire when I spill an entire glass of water on my notebook.
How I keep track of my to-do list:
I keep a list of the stories I’m currently working on and tasks I need to do for them on scratch paper. When a list gets too crowded and messy I make a new one. I also use small sticky notes to break out tasks for the day and for other lists.
I maintain a story list in Excel that helps me keep track of deadlines, how much money I am making, whether I’ve invoiced and been paid, and the URLs for my published stories.
Writing things down in multiple places helps me tame the wild multitasking of freelancing. I keep multiple calendars and look at all of them a few times a day, including a Moleskine weekly planner, a monthly calendar I draw on (you guessed it) scratch paper, and my phone/computer calendar.
Essential software/apps/productivity tools:
The best way for me to enhance my productivity vis-à-vis apps is to close my browser and put my phone where I can’t see it.
I record most interviews on Google Recorder in case I need to listen back to something—the transcription isn’t great but it does the job.
I love listening to music while I work; it gives me great energy. After writing about an AI that generates sequences of notes in the style of Bach, I have been on a Bach binge (there is no comparison to the real human thing). I’ve also been listening to the new Caribou album and, always, Deerhoof.
Favorite time waster/procrastination habit:
Sometimes I take an hour and cook something, which is very tempting since my desk is by the fridge. Right now I am thinking about pasta with cauliflower and green olives.
I have a few other freelancers I talk to on the phone and text with to give and receive advice and support.
My reading habits:
I love reading and am in two book clubs—one is an LGBTQ+ book group; the other one focuses on the NYRB Classics series. My main reading time is in bed before I fall asleep. I’m usually reading a few novels at once. Right now I’m reading The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, Every Living Thing by Jason Roberts (a beautifully written nonfiction book about Linnaeus and Buffon), and In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust (currently on volume 3).
I subscribe to a few print magazines, The Washington Post, and catch up on science news mostly via email newsletters. I do most of my national news reading as procrastination during the work day.
I go to the library once a week and try to resist the temptation to buy books in bookstores. I recently got my first eReader because I was excited that they have color eInk now—I used to see it promoted at Display Week when I covered that industry a few beats ago.
Sleep schedule:
I usually get in bed at 10:00 p.m. and read for an hour or two. I wake up without an alarm at 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. unless I have an interview scheduled in the morning.