Make More Money with Associated Content with Better Organization

Writing for Associated Content, while fulfilling in many ways, can also be quite trying at times. While many of us would love to make a living with the proceeds of our writing, we often find that at the end of the day or week, we simply have not produced enough quality material for submission.

As discouraging as that may be, take heart!

A little bit of organization can go a long way in improving the quantity of your work. As Mary Kay Ashe (who embodied a super-organized self-starter) said, it's important to, "Plan your work and work your plan."

When starting your week of writing, begin by creating a simple, 10x10 table on Word or WordPerfect. This table does not need to be fancy at all- In fact, please do not waste valuable writing time creating a pretty chart! You can print this chart out and keep a copy near your work area. Highlight the empty boxes with different or alternating colors to indicate the number of articles per day you wish to accomplish. As you do each article, enter an "X". As you accept bids for your articles, write dollar amounts next to the "X". Somehow, seeing those dollar amounts add up (perhaps you could even enter a running total) can be a wonderful motivator.

Although it sounds super simple, it is amazing how a little bit of accountability can increase your productivity. As you are writing from home and not working for a boss per se, it is very important that you are able to establish milestones for yourself as you do your work. Otherwise, when working near the kids, the TV and the 'fridge, it can be very easy to become distracted.

It might also help to plan your workday just as you would if you were going to a "real job". Allow yourself time for lunch and a coffee break every 2 or 3 hours or so. An excellent workday setup is for a super-efficient 6 hour day that breaks down as follows-Work for two hours, break for 15 minutes, work for 2 more hours, break 1 hour for lunch (or dinner, depending on what time you decide to work), and work for 2 more solid hours. If you can do 2-3 articles per hour, you could submit 12-18 articles per day. At a minimum pay rate of $3.00 per article, that would equal a minimum of $6.00 per hour (before performance payments, no less) and could go up greatly from there as you become more established and your articles become better and more in demand.

Not too shabby for work you can do in your pajamas!