Even though I've been freelancing full time for over a year now, I'm still figuring out what works for me in terms of scheduling. I thrive on to-do lists, yet I prefer not to create too rigid a schedule for my day. Inevitably, the phone rings with a new client or I get an email requesting last-minute rewrites or I find a fascinating article and decide to blog about it. I like to keep things flexible so that I can follow unexpected tangents without feeling guilty.
As long as I get through my to-do list, I don't worry too much about the order of tasks or if I spend two hours on something as opposed to three. Some days I jump out of bed and crank out an 800-word article before breakfast. Other times I find myself burning the midnight oil because I suddenly feel inspired. I'd love to be able to say "My best work happens between 10am and 2pm" or "I'm a night owl, so I feel most inspired after midnight" but I haven't found much rhyme or reason to how my work unfolds. I'm just glad it all gets done!
What about you? Have you noticed a pattern to when you're most productive? What's your best time of day?