I’ve been freelancing for over a decade now. Whereas it appears like a very long time, it equally appears like a blur of occasions, achievements, and tons of busy days. In 2011, I began masking movies, then moved into digital music. In 2017, I parlayed my years-long love of getting excessive into freelance weed reporting, interviews, and different information endeavors. Alongside the way in which, I added freelance copywriting to assist cowl the payments and stretch my inventive muscle tissue.
Freelancing in weed and past has been a wild experience, one I’m glad to nonetheless be on regardless of its hardships. To maintain up, my typical day by day routine has developed quite a few occasions.
Routines Change. Objectives Keep the Identical.
Regardless of the circumstances, on daily basis I do my greatest to find out about my topic and convey it to my viewers via information shops, manufacturers, or self-published content material. After I was youthful, I embodied the extra traditional journo strategy, leaning into the breaking information mannequin particularly. I woke early, hitting the information cycles—weed-specific and common information shops—to seek out all the data on weed legal guidelines, enterprise, tradition, or in any other case. For extra views, I turned to social media, in-person meetups, and business occasions to get a pulse on the native and bigger markets.
The pandemic necessitated a swift adaptation in my fact-finding, shifting from in-person interactions to extra digital information gathering utilizing widespread information shops, social media, on-line shows, and so forth. I additionally relied on on-line introductions and chilly outreach, through electronic mail and social media. After coping with job insecurity within the early pandemic days, I started to do extra copywriting to afford residing in New York Metropolis. The transfer alleviated my monetary worries related to a journalism profession. Round this time, I started to get up later and avoid breaking information and the related rush to drop the information first on social media. Kudos to those who do that, because it is a vital position. However I discover that sort of labor equally interesting as seeing a member of the family bare. As an alternative, I like utilizing every day to plot, prep, and execute on days—or weeks—lengthy brewing subjects.
Anybody open to splitting time in information and duplicate must be conscious: The elevated workload does make writing rather more intensive and time-consuming every day. Between writing, researching, outreach, and content material creation, I used to be simply pulling 16 hour days for a number of days or perhaps weeks at a time. This hustle-culture strategy often is the norm for some, and if that fits you, by all means, take pleasure in it. However that saying about all work and no play didn’t make me a boring boy; it made me a shit author. I took on greater than I may chew at occasions, leading to a couple of subpar first drafts and even the occasional sent-back story. If you wish to hold fame in writing, keep away from doing this. Nonetheless, I’m happy with many tasks throughout this era, notably Most Affected, a Excessive Occasions collection profiling people and households impacted by the continued drug conflict. Lengthy-story quick, don’t tackle greater than you’ll be able to realistically pull off, even when the cash is alluring.
On a lesser be aware, this period jogged my memory of the significance of the occasional morning rest room hotbox sesh. It might sound reckless to productiveness, however these tweaks jogged my memory of the significance of getting enjoyable throughout the day and the way it can spark pleasure and creativity in even the darkest occasions.
My Work As we speak
As we speak, I proceed to work a extra relaxed beat. I discover this strategy permits me to get the remainder I want and assault my articles and duties at a tempo suited to me. Every day continues to be packed, and I can simply pull 12-hour days if I push myself. However I consciously do my greatest to keep away from overworking and doable burnout, even when that comes on the detriment of my profession or standing within the business.
This strategy permits me to present my all to my work every day, regardless of the project or job. I nonetheless have down days production-wise, however by managing my Google Calendar successfully, I’ve been capable of largely keep on observe, fulfill shoppers, and create work I’m happy with. Whereas I nonetheless usually tackle a workload that’s nearly over max capability, I handle it higher and know when to say “no” to tasks, whatever the payday.
Every day, I collect my pitches, sources, and information on-line. I often communicate with sources in media, politics, enterprise, most people, and elsewhere for leads and data. I learn the information, gathering intel from weed media and common information. I rely considerably much less on social media for information and absolutely anything apart from a rush of dread to the system.
Interviewing continues to be my favourite factor to do. I want I had extra time every day however must be conscious of my time, retaining conscious of deadlines and different time-intensive duties. Nonetheless, I can’t flip down dialog. For a current Excessive Occasions piece, I spent a number of weeks chatting with pot-consuming mother and father about weed and their youngsters. As soon as I’ve the small print I want, I start writing the article with a purpose of wrapping up a draft in a day if doable. I’m a type-A character for those who haven’t caught on but. I then edit the article and ship it to my editors for evaluate.
All of the whereas, I’m researching new article subjects, crossing off different enterprise associated duties, and addressing private life wants. I nonetheless make ends meet working in branding and copywriting, which makes me cut up my time between information and content material advertising and marketing. As such, my byline seems much less incessantly than it did a couple of years in the past. I wouldn’t say I like placing out much less information, however after averaging 20-plus tales a month from 2019 to 2022, I’m content material with taking my foot off that gasoline for some time.
The previous couple of years have been 100% centered on weed. However with weed shops shrinking and mainstream shops hiring different writers, I’m wanting past the plant for shoppers and publications. To garner some consideration, I’ve lately turned to YouTube, the place I’m attempting out various inventive information reporting via interviews, shorts, and long-form content material.
The times are sometimes a jumbled blur, nevertheless it’s an organized chaos that enables me to remain up on the information whereas masking among the extra urgent subjects in and round weed.
The Distinctive Evolution By no means Stops
Coupled with the continued juggling duties that embody story manufacturing, interviews, discovering new gigs, business occasions, chasing down late funds, panels, pitching future tales, and so forth., freelance journos face a difficult day by day record of to-dos. However, the rewards are little question candy.
Each canceled project.
Each rescheduled interview.
Each boof weed pattern despatched my approach.
Each time I grind myself right down to a stress migraine.
Each time I get known as a shill by a rando on social media.
Each time a hashish business chief posts how “weed media is useless,” just for them to pitch themselves for a function.
I’d do all of it many occasions extra. I’ve been to unimaginable locations, interviewed numerous fascinating topics, sampled stellar merchandise, and met many wonderful individuals—and it continues to occur all because of masking weed and different fascinating subjects I really like.
Nevertheless it isn’t about me. It’s about having the chance to tell the general public concerning the ongoing evolution of weed regulation, politics, enterprise, tradition and a lot extra. To maintain up, writers, freelance or workers, will all the time evolve so we are able to successfully and precisely inform the tales that should be informed. If the tip outcome stays, the day by day motions can proceed to vary as wanted.