What do you do if you're overwhelmed with multiple temporary and contract writing assignments?

In addition, do not bite more than you can chew. Outsource if needed! It is okay to reject some contracts if you know you can deliver effectively. Every client wants to get value for their money.

I tend to do so many things at the same time because I don't want to ever be idle. For me, prioritising based on deadlines can be helpful. I am old school enough to write on a small notepad the list of writing gigs I have, and I attend to my gigs based on the list, ticking off anyone I complete. It is also important not to succumb to the temptation to accept more gigs when you feel overwhelmed until you have cleared at least 60% of pending gigs.

If you have a lot of tacks to complete then being able to prioritise your work load is critical. If you have the ability to re-assign lower priority work, or longer duration work that others can assist with then doing so can help balance your workload. I am not sure how beneficial tools like Trello and Asana could be, with respect to a high volume of short and/ or time constrained tasks. Being able to track your tasks and their timelines, e.g. using a spreadsheet/ calendar, may be more beneficial in certain cases. Tools like Trello and Asana may, however, be beneficial if tracking work associated with large complex pieces of work with inter-dependences with other pieces of work which all have varied/ dynamic schedules.

Be honest and acknowledge your mistakes or pacing. When you make a mistake or encounter failure, don't try to sweep it under the rug or downplay its significance. Instead, acknowledge the error openly and honestly. Admitting mistakes demonstrates humility and integrity, and it can actually enhance your credibility in the long run. Be transparent about what went wrong and why. Provide clear explanations and context to help others understand the situation fully. Transparency fosters trust and credibility, even in difficult circumstances. Use failure as an opportunity for growth and learning. Reflect on what went wrong, identify lessons learned, and consider how you can prevent similar issues in the future.

Outsourcing can be tricky because sometimes you may not get the quality of writing you want from someone else. This means you have to rework the outsourced work most of the time. Therefore, it is always advisable not to bite more than you can chew, except if you want to play the middleman role.

Taking breaks is very important for your mental health, especially as a writer. Also, remember to sleep well. I only work late into the night if I have an urgent job. If I don't, I sleep well. I also like to travel. I go on a trip at least once yearly as a form of self-care.

Taking breaks in such circumstances may seem contrary to what you should do. This, however, is not the case. Taking breaks is a critical part of your work. As it enables you to regain a 'physical and mental balance'. This is why you should have breaks during the day and get a good quality (7 hours) sleep each night. Not having 'productive' breaks during the day and outside work hours, can leave to short and long term physical and/ or mental health issues. Ranging from bad posture resulting in positional scoliosis through to memory and related issues. As well as the impact that stress can cause. So, you need to find a way to obtain a good work life balance. As a poor work life balance with have immediate and long term ramifications.

I have been a professional writer for over seven years, and it has been a great learning experience. I basically transitioned from creative writing and blog writing to academic writing, business writing, and journalistic writing. Through writing, I have learnt a lot, pushed myself beyond certain boundaries, made good cash, and lived a fairly stable life. This is likely what I was born to do, and I love it!

As a writer, always strive to learn something new and enhance your skills. I am a learner for life. Knowing how to write is not enough. Learn how to leverage digital tools to ease your writing process and enhance the quality of your content.

Implement a "project batching" system to streamline workflow across multiple temporary and contract writing assignments. Group similar projects based on factors like subject matter, style, or content type, then dedicate specific days or time blocks solely to working on batched projects within each category. This batched scheduling allows you to stay immersed in a particular writing mindset, enhancing productivity while maintaining consistency across related client projects. Leverage shared calendars to block off batched time slots, communicating your availability windows upfront. This intentional batching prevents overwhelming context shifts, enabling you to deliver high-quality, coherent work across diverse assignments.