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Self-discipline is needed for those of us who choose to freelance as a career. Without self-discipline we are sunk. Limit the interruptions and you can become more productive.

Limiting the interruptions while you are trying to work at home, as a freelance writer is a daunting task without a doubt. For a year and a half now, I have had this career of working from home as a freelance writer on a full time basis. Trust me I have had to deal with many interruptions during that time.

Many ask how I do it, and that answer is kind of complex. Some days it is a mystery how I am able to accomplish stuff even to me, yet other days like today it just kind of flows naturally. I so wish that all days were like today, but then again I would not appreciate days like this so much if they were all easy.

Here are some tips for you if you work at home and battle the constant interruptions.

Get in certain habits that promote working.

Sounds simple I know yet so many of us do not do this. On mornings like this I feel compelled to write, so I wrote two of my articles before I even went to say hello to my friends on the accentuate writers board. I then wrote two more articles before I even took a break to check emails; even then, that is a process.

For novels or short stories I prefer to work at night when I can have hours of interrupted time in which to write. Yes I have been known to write for 8 hours only getting up for potty breaks and to get a drink in the midst of a must write chapter. I type those words by hand to keep things quieter here at night as I live in a small home, besides I cannot use the voice software if I am listening to music escape.

Check emails a few times a day.

With 200 odd pieces of new email that entered the inbox over night, I delete all the spam first. Then go thru and read the personal emails from those seeking help with one aspect of writing or another. I went through and read the comments on all the articles on AC that was about fifty comments on various articles to remove the ones with profanity.

Then it is time to check the twitter emails about whose added me or sent me direct messages. It is time consuming without a doubt, but I know the next time I check emails in a few hours there will be far less.

I post my articles directly or put them in the queue for processing and then I grab some lunch to eat at the desk as I read the forums or catch up on emails. At 1 today I thought I was done writing the articles for the day, until my friend Cindy inspired this one.

Use the answering machine.

Phone calls, if it's important I will answer straight away but I do not routinely answer the phone when I am working as it interrupts the flow. Then I return phone calls and so forth as I have time, my writing time is valuable to me, and it is a necessity here as well to pay the bills.

Laundry and other housework

Both of these things along with other household chores are something I can do when working on the articles but not really, when I am doing the short stories or working on the novels. The bulk of the work falls on my shoulders as a single mom so I have to work around that, but most days it is easy.

No instant messengers

Turn of instant massagers, and those other things that take you away from work. Log out of facebook, myspace, forums, and twitter. Get the work done and then you can freely have fun with those things you enjoy online.

Learn more about this author, Amy Jo Browne.
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