Lovely Girl   +  Tips & Tricks

By Lauren Bailey

As freelancers, we sometimes encounter periods of inactivity between projects. Of course, it's always good to have multiple projects on the agenda; however, in the rare case that you don't have work, you'll want to consider some ideas for dealing with that slumping feeling of not having anything to do. Sure, you might not be able to write necessarily, but there's always something you can do to get rid of that post-project slump feeling. Basically, as a freelancer, you'll want to help grow your business, and this means doing more than simply writing. Anyhow, here are a few tips to keep yourself busy as you look for a new project. Please feel free to add more if you can think of them.

1. Go Over Your FinancesOne important part of running your freelance business is to constantly understand your financial situation. You can use the down time between projects to go over your finances. Look at your invoices and track down any outstanding invoices. Examine your budget. Look at your billing system and whether or not you need to adjust your rates. You can use this extra time to come up with a long term financial plan, with goals, for the next few years regarding your freelancing and what you expect from it financially.
2. Seek New OpportunitiesAnother thing you can do as a freelancer without a current project is to look for new projects. Spend your time tracking down promising leads. Contact old clients to ask them if they have any work, or, if you're comfortable, propose new work to them that piggybacks off of a previous project you did for them. Ask them if they could recommend you to their friends. Search out possible projects to bid on various freelance market blogs and sites.
3. Review Your Last ProjectNext, review your latest project. It's sometimes a good idea to reflect on the work you've done in order to figure out how you could further improve it. Look at how you communicated with your client. Look at the ways you revised the project and tried to conform to your client's expectations. By reflecting on your most recent project, it might inspire you to make changes in how you do business in the future. You can always improve as a writer, and you can always improve as a freelancing business person.
4. Write for Yourself!What better way to use your free time than to write for yourself. If you don't have any freelance projects going, it can't hurt to do a bit of personal writing. This not only keeps your writing muscles in use, but it also allows you to do something for you, which is very important to keeping a healthy attitude towards writing. Every now and then we writers need a break, so take advantage of it. Work on that project you've long hoped to accomplish, be it a novel or an in-depth piece of journalism to send to a major market. Good luck!
   

Flickr photo courtesy of fortinbras