No matter how organized or dedicated you are to doing things right, your queue will get the best of you at some point as a professional writer, especially when you’re starting out. Managing your queue and keeping it comfortable is an art form. Here are some of the tricks to help you understand what to do.

How to keep your queue under control

When your goal is to focus on keeping your queue from getting the best of you, the must-follow tricks are refreshingly simple. Here are my favs to help me keep on top of everything.

• Plan for the worst-case scenario when setting deadlines: When setting your deadlines, plan for emergencies or busy queues by adding in a day or two to your deadline. If you do, this doesn’t immediately make you panic if you get an influx of other deadlines that need things done faster.

• Ask for extensions before you need them: When you know you’re going to need an extension for a project, ask for one several days before the expected delivery. Explain why you’re going to be late with your delivery and offer a fair but negotiable extension. This will help them see that you’re open to making small shifts if they ask you to. Don’t make a habit of this.

• Don’t try to take on too much at once: One of the reasons why a lot of part-time freelancers get an overloaded queue is because they try to juggle too many projects at once. Be careful with your workload and really think about that first trick above.  The difference between part-time and full-time freelancing is understanding how to take care of the queue by managing how many jobs enter the queue in the first place.

• Prioritize bigger projects: Your bigger projects are going to give you a better ROI, and they’re also going to take longer to do. When your queue is busy, focus on these first and get them done. You may even find that it’ll help you see how doable the rest of your queue is.

• Find your approach: Some people are night hawks. Others are early birds. Some focus really well in the middle of the afternoon. Whatever your power time is, prioritize it and use that to pump out as much as you can! It will help you see just how much you’re getting done and speed up the process a bit!

Busy queues will make or break you

It’s harsh but true. When you are looking at the idea of surviving the tidal wave and getting through to calmer seas, how you handle this busy queue will determine just how you decide if you will make it to the next round. Every time, you’ll get a little bit more comfortable handling it, and there is something to be said for having this problem often enough that you can see how well you’re doing.

Did any of these surprise you? Do you disagree with any of them? If so, consider leaving a note and explaining why.

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