I hear you. I think it’s always wise to be conscious of the pragmatic part of this work–there’s no way to dismiss meeting our billable requirements and keep our real-world jobs. As you say, it’s a balance.

One thing that helps me is to treat each writing project on a case-by-case basis. When I find myself creeping toward my budgeted hours through no fault of my own (I didn’t procrastinate; it’s just really challenging), I try to communicate that to my clients. They usually understand and appreciate that I’m willing to put in more time to produce quality work. If pushing out the deadline causes trouble for the client, though, I usually just bust it and finish on time.

My former boss, who is really good at switching hats, read this post and smartly reminded me: Y’know, it’s just kind of how it is.

Tricky!

Thanks for the thoughts.

One thing I’m really interested in is how billable hours and the ‘creative’ part of writing go together.

I write copy for an agency, but I’m salaried — so there’s a continual little part of my brain going “get the writing done, you’re on the clock”, while another is saying “take the time to do this right, no matter how much.”

Since the clients only see the work at the end of the day, and my higher-ups rely on me to manage my own time, it’s a tricky balance. There are some days when I can crank out what seem like thousands of words, and others where a simple 200-word page takes ages.

Curious to hear your opinions. Ciao!

Yep. I once read that brainstorming sessions have a 0% success rate. Probably not true and I don’t know what that even means, but there is definitely wisdom in taking time to brainstorm and “throw people at the problem” ONLY when doing so moves a project forward.

Thanks for the thoughts, and happy Friday!