Don't Write Cold: Use a Warmup

And the Blogathon continues! 

As a freelancer, your time is limited. Even if you freelance full-time, you'll benefit from writing as efficiently as possible. That's where a warmup comes in.

Athletes warm up before competition to get "up" for competition, both mentally and physically. I suggest you do the same thing. Think about what you're going to write before you sit down to write. You can make a few notes if you want, but simply engaging your brain makes a difference. 

I've been using this technique for the last nine days of the Blogathon. I get up and take Sugar Cookie, my golden retriever, for a quick morning walk. During this time, I rough out a plan for the day, including what I'll post about. When I get home, I feed my kids and then sit down and bang out the blog post. It goes a lot faster than if I simply dropped into a chair and waited for inspiration--and the bottom line is that writing quickly makes me more efficient, whether I'm writing blog posts or articles or book chapters. 

Your assignment: use a warmup. Think about you're planning to write before you sit down to work. 

**Want more advice about successful freelancing? Check out Dollars and Deadlines: Make Money Writing Articles for Print and Online Markets is aimed at brand-new freelancers in search of their first clips. Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer's Guide to Making More Money, Second Edition is a freelancing classic that helps both new and experienced writers boost their bottom line. And my latest book,Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: Make Money Ghostwriting Books, Articles, Blogs and More, Second Edition, shows how to break into the ghostwriting/content marketing field.