One question people frequently ask me is how I land stories in big-name publications while teaching, maintaining my corporate clients, and you know, raising three small humans. I wish I could say I have mastered the art of time management and tackle everything on my to do list each day, but the reality is, it’s messy.
In recent years, I’ve focused on how I can make the most money with the least amount of effort. I have written for healthcare organizations, nonprofits, niche magazines and websites. I even teach a Health Sciences class at a local college in addition to online essay writing. While I enjoy each of those assignments and the paychecks they bring, writing essays (both personal and reported) still fill my cup. When I’m writing an essay, I get lost in my art. It’s not work; it’s therapy.
Which brings me to my word for this year. Each year, in lieu of resolutions, I select a “word of the year” to guide my business and personal decisions. Usually the words are lofty and big… Things like connect, inspire and balance. My word last year was breathe. Sadly, I didn’t do a whole lot of breathing in 2021. Instead, I often felt like I was gasping for air. Still, every time I sit down at my computer, I see the bright orange sticky note with the word of the year attached and it reminds me to take that moment and reflect on how I can live that word.
This year? My word is “passion.” In the months before the year came to a close, my husband lost a beloved coworker, I lost a cousin, my brother-in-law lost his mom. In the midst of this grief, it strikes me that I owe it to them and myself to live each day with passion, or at least a little oomph.
Pay, Passion, Portfolio
More than a decade ago, Katherine Lewis Reynolds coined the phrase “pay, passion, portfolio” to describe the matrix she uses to make business decisions. For years, I have subconsciously run my business on a similar sort of three-legged stool, selecting projects that fill these three basic needs of freelancing, but passion has been largely neglected.
In 2022, as I work to push passion to the forefront (thanks to my word of the year), I’ve decided to be more intentional about making this pie-chart of projects more balanced. Here’s how it breaks down form me:
- Pay: I have a few corporate clients that pay really well, but are sporadic in assigning and others that provide steady income but suck up a lot of time. To free up time for passion projects, I’ll be making a concerted effort to limit the assignments I take from the lower-paying gigs and regularly reach out to my higher-paying clients to stay top of mind when they dole out assignments. I have a minimum target I need to hit each month. Once I make that, well, it’s time for the passion stuff.
- Passion: I’m passionate about writing essays and teaching essay writing. Yet, when it comes to putting pen to page, essay writing gets short shrift in my business decisions. I just don’t make time for it. Sure, I’ve published a handful of reported essays this year, but I haven’t written a personal narrative in months. To make time for these passion projects, I’m dedicating one evening each week to personal essay writing. Maybe that means writing in a journal or musing about essay topics. Maybe it’s just reading a handful of essays. Or maybe it’s actually writing that first draft or revising the 30th. Of course, since personal essays will NOT pay my bills, I need to make sure I meet my pay target each month so I have time for personal narratives.
- Portfolio: Pay for magazine and newspaper stories has plummeted in recent years. A story that used to net me $2,500 for print now earns only $300 on the web. What’s worse, after this $300 story goes live on the Internet, the publication decides to run it in the print pub for, you guessed it, no additional compensation. Despite these sad facts, I still feel a need to pitch the big name publications. I still get a thrill when I see my byline in the New York Times, Washington Post and Good Housekeeping. I also recognize that those clips open other doors for me. For example, when I published a piece in Wired about using music to connect my son to my late father, an editor at an AARP pub commented on it. I pitched him and landed a higher paying project. So sometimes the portfolio projects pay off.
Time Tracking
To make room for more passion, I really have to assess where I’m spending (and losing) time. I’ve tried time tracking in years past without much success. But I’m bringing it back. I used Toggl before (it’s free and easy to use) and I’m using it again now. I also use Pomodoro to help chunk my work and stay on task.
The reality is, passion isn’t just about work. I’m also looking to restore passion in my personal life. To spend more time with loved ones and be present with my three boys who are growing like weeds.
Will I be successful this time around? All remains to be seen. I do know one thing though: I’m ready for more passionate living!
WRITING PROMPT
Describe a time when you felt most vulnerable. Who were you with (if anyone)? How did it change you and your relationships? What did you learn?