#MakingTime A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Freelancer in New York

MakingTime A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Freelancer in New York Women can do anything but leid everything. As the largest online career community for women, we at Fairygodboss realize that balance is a myth, and that picking what to prioritize when everything feels important on a day-to-day basis isnt always easy. In the MakingTime series, women share with us how, for one day, they chose to spend their most precious resource time.--WhoMel M.WhatFull-time freelance writerWhereNew York, New York--630 a.m.The alarm on my mann an ihrer seites goes off (a little too loudly for my liking) and rings for about a minute before either of us makes an effort to turn it off. Im happy to be woken up this way, though. Since I quit my job and abfluged full-time freelancing about five months ago, probably the toughest adjustment Ive had to make is forcing myself to keep regular working hours (when I know I really could sleep in a bit if I wanted). The fact my partner has to be out the door for wo rk by 8 a.m. definitely helps keep me on track.650 a.m.Protein bars in hand, we head out the door together and walk to the gym, which is luckily just a few blocks from our apartment in downtown Brooklyn. I exercise in the morning whether at the gym, by going on a run, or hitting a yoga class at least four times a week, sometimes five. Now that Im completely in charge of mapping out my own time, starting my days with a quick workout has been crucial in keeping me energized and motivated for everything that comes after745 a.m.I hop off the treadmill and give my partner a (kinda sweaty, sorry) kiss before leaving the gym. Hell shower here before heading to his arbeitszimmer in Manhattan. Im heading back home to shower (with all my own products and towel, waaaay preferable).830 a.m.Ive showered, brewed coffee in the French press, and cut myself up a grapefruit. Its time to fire up the laptop and get to work.When I first started freelancing full-time, I used to always work from coffee shops and realized I welches spending way too much money as a result. When youre at an office that has its own coffee machine and snacks, those are little would-be expenditures that you can kind of take for granted. Working at a coffee shop that doesnt have those free amenities, you wind up spending way mora. So now I work from home three days a week (which often becomes four) and work from coffee shops just two days Id go totally stir-crazy if I didnt allow myself at least a little scenery change. Today, Im working from home9 a.m.Spent the past 30 minutes catching up on Twitter and the days news to see if theres anything timely I can pitch out. I have good relationships with editors at a few different sites, which is one of the reasons quitting my job felt less risky than it would have otherwise. If I get them a timely pitch early enough in the day, Ill usually get at least one bite. Today, I see that Vogue just released a new cover story about Kim Kardashian and that she announ ces shes studying to become a lawyer in it. Score915 a.m.Im back on Twitter, scrolling, when I hear back from one of the editors who wants something on Kim Kardashian ASAP. Time to switch gears10 a.m.I hit send on the Kim story and get up to make myself more coffee. Not every day involves knocking out a story this early, and the pay for something quick like this isnt huge but it does feel good to already have a win under my belt1030 a.m.There doesnt seem much else in the celebrity circuit (which is what Im often writing about entertainment news) happening this morning. Oh well. Time to dive into a longer-form assignment on my plate my deadline isnt until next week but Im still in need of a few sources. I spend the next hour and a half transcribing a couple phone interviews Ive already recorded and putting out various social media call-outs for more sources.NoonPutting out social media call-outs for more sources definitely turned into mindless scrolling whoops. My form of work is c ompletely dependent on the internet, but it can be hard to avoid getting sucked in sometimes, especially when no one else is mapping out my time for me. Closing out of Instagram, I decide that nows a good time to get lunch. Theres a taco place down the street I like. Since I havent yet spent anything today, I figure I can justify an $11 lunch (and I can definitely use the fresh air).1230 p.m.Im out and about to get food when my partner shoots me a text asking if I can please knock out an errand for him. For the most part, hes been good about not asking too many favors of me during the work day. Its a thin line, and Im still figuring out how to balance along it. On the one hand, just because Im not at an office doesnt mean Im not working. On the other, its true that I have more way freedom and flexibility to knock out important home maintenance things than he does. I respond that sure, Ill do it.145 p.m.How did it become almost 2 p.m.? Im back home from my errand and log back into em ail. Perfect timing I just got an ask from an editor asking if Im available to quickly write something up on the rumors that Taylor Swift is dropping new music soon. I sure am225 p.m.Second news hit of the day done, and just in time I have a phone interview with a source for next weeks long-form piece starting in five minutes315 p.m.My phone interview is done it was only supposed to last 30 minutes but she was a talker and we wound up going over. I need to get better at firmly telling people I have a hard stopping time I really should go ahead and knock out the transcription for this now, while the interview is still fresh in my mind, but I decide it can wait. I have a package to put in the mail that I totally forgot about, and if I get started on the transcription now I might miss post office hours350 p.m.Back from the post office where did the day go? I have two assignments (both pretty short, 500 words) due by the end of day tomorrow for a site I regularly work with. Better to just go ahead and knock those out now.530 p.m.Assignments are done I do more quick social media sweep to make sure there isnt any major news Im missing, then switch gears to ideating long-form pitches for the next hour. I build an hour of ideating time every day that I work since it isnt time spent producing anything quantifiable, its easy for this to fall by the wayside. But carving out time for this is so essential to what I do645 p.m.My partner gets home Im happy to see him specifically, but also happy to have the company of another human again. Working from home can be hard. We start to make dinner and talk about our days. He also brought me flowers as a thank you for the favor earlier, which is super sweet. As a house rule, there are absolutely no screens involved in our dinner time. We cook, eat, chat, and clean up.815 p.m.The Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere is happening this Sunday, and one of the show creators released a list of prior episodes that fans should re-watch be fore the premiere. Were determined to knock out three of those episodes tonight. As a major fan of the show, this is fun for me but also, its work. I will guaranteed be pitching stories about the premiere on Sunday and probably all next week, and its been so long since Season 7 at this point that I need a refresher. This is a big part of what entertainment writing entails what you enjoy is also work, which has its pros and cons.1015 p.m.We only made it through two episodes neither of us can keep our eyes open Time to hit the hay and do it all over again tomorrow.--Interested in contributing to Fairygodboss MakingTime series? 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