7 Productive Things To Do With Your Free Time

Do you ever have a weird, unproductive feeling between assignments? Like you should be doing something, but you just can’t put your finger on it. I get that way sometimes when I finish one assignment and have some time before I start on the next. Then it dawns on me, “Oh yeah, there’s some other work I could be doing.”

1. Write some evergreen blog posts. I’m insanely jealous of bloggers who manage to post everyday, especially those who post multiple times a day. I’ve tried, tried, tried to do it but I just can’t. It dawned on me that they probably don’t sit down and write a post everyday. Instead, they likely make up several posts at one time and set the timestamp so the posts will show up everyday. You can spend your free time writing up some blog posts and setting them to drip. Sometimes I have so many ideas in my mind, I just outline drafts of a few posts, then go back and write them. In fact, I did that with this post.
2. Learn something new. When you’re in between assignments, you can take some time and learn a new aspect of your niche. Read up on some news. Research a law. We’re writers, so we can always read more about writing. Learn a new style of writing - press release writing, business plan writing, copywriting.
3. Market yourself. It’s hard to do too much marketing. Even when you’re booked up with assignments, it’s still a good idea to keep your name out there. You never know when the well will run dry and you don’t want clients to forget that you exist. You can plan the strength of your marketing efforts based on how much work you have in the pipes. For example, you would do less marketing if you have a lot of work planned, and vice versa.
4. Read some other writers’ blogs. Though you may not see them face to face or work directly with them, other writers are your colleagues. Just like you’d catch up with a coworker over a coffee break, you can catch up with other freelancers by reading their blogs. You can learn a lot about the freelance writing business, its challenges, and its rewards. Find new ways to deal with clients or collect on payments. I’ve even gotten new writing gigs, just from reading someone else’s blog.
5. Brainstorm new ideas. Use your downtime to come up with some new ideas. Your freelance writing business could always use some new ideas on marketing, running the business, organizing your files. And of course, there’s never a shortage of article ideas, especially if you run your own blogs or pitch to magazines.
6. Update your portfolio. After you’ve spent some time doing some client work, you probably have a few more clips you can add to your portfolio. It’s a good idea to put your best work out there for prospective clients to see. As you complete more work, you might replace some of your other links. Or, if you didn’t have much work to show off, add some more links to show the breadth of work you’ve done.
7. Relax. There’s no rule that says you have to spend your free time working. When you have some time between assignments, one of the best things you can do is take a break from work. You don’t want to wear yourself out with constant work. Take a breather, even if it means leaving your house and your laptop for awhile. You’ll appreciate the renewed vigor once you start back working again.

What do you do during your free time?