How to Get Started!

 How to Get Started:

What to do when Your Brain Says NO!!!

You check your email in the morning and see a fresh message from that one client, asking about your progress on their copy. Meanwhile, your sister wants to know if you'll be at her wedding rehearsal, your mom is asking to meet for coffee, and your wife just sent a message: "Hey, could you grab some milk?"

Oh, and don’t forget—you need to sign for that Valentine’s gift you ordered for your wife on Amazon… You did get her a gift, right?

Meanwhile, you haven't written a word, and that deadline is looming.

 

Don't panic!  We've all been there.  This problem goes by many names: information overload, decision fatigue, anxiety paralysis.  There is a solution!

Oh, and guess what?  If you are neurodiverse, (and many freelancers are!), you are even more likely to deal with this problem!  YAY!!!

Here are some methods to break out of the chains of your mind and get started so you can make everyone happy!

1.    Do the easiest tasks first.

Who would have thought?  One of the best ways to get moving on a project, is to do the easiest bit first.  Usually this means doing research.  Anyone can do research!  In fact, we start the first few years of our professional lives doing only that.  Research and writing papers.  

Remember that?  So open up Google and start searching.

 

 2.   Limit your research!

This isn't your grad school thesis, bud!  This is a one, maybe two page spread.  You might be overdoing it a little, don't you think?  

Do you know what is a great way to procrastinate?  Doing research!

Grab 5 or 6 sources, with different perspectives.  Read them.  Then start writing!

3.    Put it on paper!

 Post Its are my best friend!  I'm not kidding.  I generally write everything down in a notepad or a Post It before jotting it down again on Google Keep.  Then I write an outline.

The point.  Know what you are going to write before you start writing.  Keep it short and concise.

4.    Define your priorities

What does the client want from this copy?  What is the most important thing to get across to customers?  Stick with the essentials and don't move beyond that.  Stick with the story you are telling.

5.    Create an elevator pitch!

Or, if you are British, a Lift Pitch?  That sounds odd, but let's roll with it.  You have 30 seconds to tell someone what this business is about and what they do.  Generally speaking, as writers this isn't far from the truth.  We do have a limited amount of time to keep a reader's attention.

Get to the point and quick!

6.    Set deadlines...to meet your deadlines.

How long you have to finish an assignment varies.  But let's say you have two or three days.  Your deadline should not be the day it is due.  Oh no!

Aim to finish a rough draft on day one, edit on day two, and submit the final version on day three.

Set deadlines to meet your deadlines.  

7.    Summarize your topic.
 

Believe it or not, no one expects you to become an expert on that exact thing you are writing about in three days.  

Summarize the topic, highlight its key points, and showcase what makes it unique. Your job is to sell its best qualities—so do that!

8.    Ask a friend!

 "So, what is it that you actually do?"

Tap into your network! If you know someone in the field you're writing about, reach out. Most people appreciate being asked about their expertise.  Don't only talk about that, obviously.  It might be best to ask them how they are doing first.  But by all means, go to the source.

In the end, just get it done!

That's the final word!

 Have an awesome day!