For the remainder of the summer, I’m restructuring my goals to accommodate time spent on the road and a few urgent projects. It’s important to have a plan, even when you have to deviate from it. Otherwise, your work loses structure and you find you accomplish little — if anything at all.

For this week, I promised myself I’d finish

• 6 units of paid work
• The initial paperwork for a new client.
• Contacting three clients I have “on the hook” about moving forward.
• Working forward on the blogs through the end of my travel time.

Tom Leykis is not my favorite celebrity. He’s probably not the misogynistic, aging frat boy he makes himself out to be — but he encourages a lot of otherwise harmless people to engage in irresponsible behavior.

However, he does have one recommendation that can be useful for working writers.

Leykis recommends maintaining a “bullpen” of women (or men), each of whom you call occasionally to fulfill your…um…physical needs. None of them provides the “time on task” you’d expect from a full-time partner. Between all of them, though, you get what you need.

Freelance writers can do well by maintaining a bullpen of their own. I have a major client who covers the majority of my monthly needs. I also have several other clients who want between $100 and $300 per month in assignments each. And I have clients who hit me up for occasional work.

I get that extra work because I ping those clients every once in a while. I’ll send a holiday greeting, or a quarterly email asking if they plan to use me — no pressure, I’m just putting my quarterly projections together. This keeps me in their minds if need pops up.

Whether you do ad copy, government reports, books or what-have-you, your client could dry up. If you have the bullpen in place, you have other sources of income. You can also use those sources even while working for your major clients. It expands your portfolio, gives you practice in producing excellent copy, and can help boost your income.

Now, I don’t recommend treating your bullpen clients with the cavalier attitude Leykis recommends treating his. But the idea of rotating through several clients with whom you retain a relationship — that’s nothing but good sense.

Thanks for listening.

I apologize for five consecutive days of “radio silence” —  including no Friday Fun or Sunday Accountability Report. I was at a conference run by Tom Callos for local martial arts school owners.

Tom is the leader of the Ultimate Black Belt Test and The One Hundred — two progressive martial arts associations. He’s my mentor and friend, and I’ve mentioned him before at this blog. His seminars are designed to help people improve how their schools are run, and the impact their dojos have in the local community.

I don’t run a martial arts school anymore. I teach a small group of private clients. However, Tom’s advice is applicable to many businesses.

Including the business of writing.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting some thoughts and resources about how to better run your writing like a business. Right now, since Tom’s seminar included about three metric buttloads of getting thrown around the mat, I’ll just throw down a preview of topics before my arms give out entirely.

1. Goal-based budgeting rather than income-based budgeting.
2. The importance of metrics.
3. New media opportunities for creative professionals.
4. The scale of audience in the new pulp era.
5. Lifestyle design.
6. Life lessons from peaceful martial artists.
7. Making your passion your profession.

Go To Your Room
If I had known how much I could have accomplished as a kid when my parents sent me to my room, I’d have
a seven-book series by now. Today, I treasure alone time in my room where instead of plotting revenge on my
sister, I actually get quality time to write. Claim your own space, whether it’s a room, a corner, or a table. Your
area should also consist of only what you need to write. Don’t work at a desk where you pay bills, or do other
hobbies. You need to focus on writing. My area is the guest bedroom. I found a small desk at a flea market,
painted it and parked it by the window. The closet, situated behind the desk, houses my weapons of writing:
reference books, research, and all those extra office supplies I stocked up on. (You can never have too many
Post-Its). Make the space inviting—but only to you. You need to be left alone, so politely inform your spouse,
your kids, and your dog (who’s holding the leash in his mouth) to not bother you while you are in this special
space of yours. I’m one of those who needs a change of scenery every once in a while, so sometimes I’ll work
in the sun room, out on the deck, or on the living room couch. But inevitably, I find that I’m most productive
when I go to my room.

Break it Down
I tend to freak myself out thinking about the amount of work I have ahead of me. Nothing like a bit of fear to
kill your motivation. I must remind myself to take baby steps. Luckily, Folsom’s 93 can be broken down into
roughly 93 steps. So, I tackle one at a time, sometimes two. If your project feels like deciphering the Dead Sea
Scrolls, then break it down. Work on one scroll at time—or half a scroll. Don’t put more pressure on yourself
than you need to. Shoot for a certain number of pages a day to get done. Maybe it’s one chapter at time, or one
article a day, or the introduction of your book proposal. You will feel more accomplished and productive if you
take on only what you can handle that day. When I applied this method, I had those scrolls deciphered in no
time.

Reward Yourself
What does your little heart desire? (Think small for this, okay?) Maybe it’s a new book, a nice bottle of wine,
or going to the theater to see a movie. Now, choose the task or project you need to do and set a deadline. When
you meet that deadline, reward yourself. I know this may sound simplistic, but it works. Yes, you could give
yourself the reward anyway, but show some willpower, because trust me, that reward is way less satisfying if
you truly didn’t earn it. Write your deadline and reward on a board or post it on the refrigerator to keep you
motivated. Get the family involved to help support you on your journey because it’s even more rewarding when
others can share it with you.

With a bit of creativity, it’s possible to be a productive writer without fleeing to deserted beach house, or a
lonely cabin in the mountains.

Thank you, April, for this great advice for us all. And thank you, readers, in advance, for checking out April’s project when you get the chance.