A Day In The Life Of A Freelance Writer

One of the main questions I get asked as a writer is: What do you actually do each day?

It seems that plenty of people understand the concept of a freelance writer, but few people know what we actually do. The concept of a writer is pretty simple, we write things. But our day-to-day life remains a mystery to many.

Well, I'm going to dispel and mystery and reveal what I actually do. I'm going to be as honest as I can. No, I don't work tirelessly all day without breaks. Yes, I get distracted.

Here's a true, real-life example of a day in the life of a freelance writer. While every day is different, this was yesterday.

7am: I wake up to a very annoying alarm. Gentle alarms do nothing for me, so it's a blaring scream that makes me feel like I'm waking up to a national emergency or a zombie apocalypse. Shocking but effective.

I usually grab my phone (bad) and spend a few minutes on social media (very bad). However, my 10-month-old puppy reminds me it's time for a walk by aggressively pawing at the bedroom door until I get up. She hates my alarm.

7:15am: I dress quickly in dog-walking clothes. This means pockets full of poo bags and dog biscuits. I put the dog's collar on as she sleeps without it. She now runs around between my feet while I finish getting ready. Eventually, I leave the house.

7:30am: I walk around the corner to my parents' house and meet up with my mum and our family dog for a morning walk. It's still very hot here, so early morning is the best time for the dogs. We walk down to the river and let the dogs swim. Mum swims; I don't; she makes fun of me for not swimming.

8:15am: Dad picks us up at the river in the car, so we don't have to walk back uphill. He's already been to the bakery and got a fresh baguette (bless the French). He makes fun of me for not swimming.

8:30am: Back at home, the dog gets fed first with a mix of regular dog food and raw food. I boil the kettle while she eats as loudly as possible and then make a pot of tea. Loose-leaf English breakfast tea only. I consider changing out of my dog walking clothes, but it's too hot, and I have no video calls today.

8:45am: I sit down at my desk and get started. This means checking emails and around six different freelancer platforms. A small edit came in on a forum, so I immediately make the required changes. It takes five minutes.

8:50am: I open my planner, affectionately called my external brain, and check my to-do list. If it isn't in the planner, it doesn't happen. I did some planning last night, so I check what I need to do today and add a few things from my emails.

9am: Remember I made a pot of tea, so pour a cup and find we're almost out of milk. Add milk to the shopping list. This distracts me, and I spend five minutes going through cupboards and making a shopping list. The dog hangs around like she might get a post-breakfast snack even though she didn't finish the bowl.

9:10am: Back at my desk, I begin my first task: research for a 1,000-word article. It's fairly quick as the topic isn't complicated. Ten minutes later, I know enough to draft an outline.

9:30am: With a draft outline and preliminary research, I start writing the first draft with even more tea.

10am: The first draft is written but needs more research to fill in the gaps and back up the points. I take a short break to pet the dog, who pushes me away with her paw for waking her up from her nap.

10:30am: Fully researched, I fill in the gaps of the first draft for a complete second draft. I feel my concentration waning, so I prepare some food (baguette) and get my pomodoro timer.

11am: 1,000-word article totally written, edited and submitted. I'm very confident I've nailed it, so pick up a quick 500-word article on a topic I've written on before. It takes half an hour, and is accepted by the client without edits. The dog demands some attention.

11:30am: I have some feedback on a longer 2,000-word document for one of my favourite clients. We work collaboratively, so I had previously submitted a document with lots of questions and plenty of places for them to choose the phrasings. It's on Google Docs, and I don't need to do it for several days, but it's an ideal pre-lunch project, so I get it sorted and send it over. The client is online on the document, so we hop on a call and nail down the final details. They're happy and ask for a new document immediately. I reward myself with a snack and a stretch for a few minutes.

12pm: I release I forgot to make coffee, and that's why I can't focus. I turn the coffee machine on, and while it's heating up, I do the washing up. Then I make an iced coffee. It's over 35 degrees at the moment, and I need a cool drink. I opt for caramel flavouring, which is my new obsession. I give the dog an ice cube and fill up my water bottle.

12:15pm: The dog demands to go out after finishing her ice cube, so I let her into the garden while opening all the files I need for my next project.

12:17pm: It's too hot, so the dog demands to come back in. I let her in and refill her water bowl while thinking about how to approach the next task.

12:18pm: The dog drinks the whole bowl and demands to go back outside. I let her out; she walks around and then comes straight back inside.

12:20pm: The dog is sulking because she asked to go outside again, and I said no. She's taking her anger out on a rope toy. I ignore her and start the planning phase of a longer, multi-text project

1pm: Plans complete, I get lunch. The dog suddenly forgives me and follows me everywhere. She gets nothing until she goes to her bed, and then she gets a slice of watermelon. I do some online shopping while eating; I don't really need any of it.

1:30pm: Lunch over, I recheck my emails. I have to jump on another quick call to talk to a new client about their expectations. It's at 1:45, so I don't start anything else and spend the time faffing around on my phone.

1:45pm: Call with the client. He's wonderfully clear with his expectations, and there is only one deadline I won't be able to meet. He takes it well, and we arrange a compromise. After the call, I rearrange my plans in my planner for next week to incorporate his demands.

2:15pm: I have a 1,500-word article to write. The client sent a video brief with all the information I need to write the entire article.

3:15pm: I'm absolutely shattered after a full hour of concentration. The article is written and just needs some final edits and polishing. I boil the kettle for tea and get biscuits. My partner has taken the dog, so I use the time while the kettle is boiling to vacuum without the dog freaking out.

3:30pm: I turn on an audiobook to help with the editing process. Grammarly drives me half-mad with incorrect suggestions, so I eat some chocolate to help me through. We forgot to put it in the fridge, so it's half-melted.

4pm: Article edited and submitted. I take another break and bring the laundry inside. It's too hot, so I close the shutters to block more sunlight.

4:15pm: I'm feeling very unproductive, so do some planning for tomorrow and send some emails. I get another minor edit which takes a few minutes.

4:30pm: I've planned to write a set of three 500-word articles on related topics. They overlap, so I start to research and plan to avoid being repetitive. Hopefully, writing tomorrow will be smooth.

5pm: I have a general plan, but I'm not feeling very focused. I cruise around Spotify for some of my focusing playlists, but they all sound annoying to me today. I settle on a true crime podcast.

6pm: Very happy with my planning and research. I'll be able to write fairly quickly tomorrow morning. A few more emails have come in as it is 5pm in the UK, and everyone is doing end-of-the-day stuff. I reply to some emails and then remember that I was supposed to put more laundry on the line when I brought the other laundry in. I ignore it because I have sudden end-of-the-day motivation.

6:30pm: Having done some business admin and tax stuff, I feel pretty content. It's the end of my working day, and still very hot. I go to find my partner and the dog and take the dog for a swim. While swimming, I entirely change my plans for tomorrow to work on another project.

 That's it. That's a typical day. I usually find that switching between articles and working across multiple projects is a good way to keep me interested and focused. When I lose focus, snacks and coffee are usually a good answer.

Much of my day depends on the dog. She's still young enough to need a lot of attention. Luckily, it's now so hot she basically naps all day, so I get much more work done. A few months ago, my average day involved much less work and many more dog-related activities.

Every writer is different, and every day is different. I certainly have days when I'm not so productive, and I take more breaks. On these days, I try not to be too hard on myself. Bad days happen. But so do good days. And tomorrow might be a good day.