Here’s the tough lesson I learned this week: with any regular project (especially a blog), it’s always a very, very good idea to have a buffer. Having a few extra posts in your back pocket for a rainy day could really save your butt if you need to take an unexpected break. That’s what happened to me, when a family emergency came up and forced me to let my writing work slide a little bit.
Here are some strategies for building a buffer without an enormous amount of effort, so you can avoid being like me:
Capture Everything
I know I’ve extolled the many virtues of ubiquitous capture in a previous Task Blog post, but the ideas you write down now could turn into brilliant posts later. When you have a little extra time to get ahead in your work, you won’t have to look any further than your capture device of choice, be it paper, smartphone or other.
Rely on a Friend
Soliciting guest contributions, or making sure you know a handful of talented people who might be able to step in for you in a pinch, is a great contingency plan. It’s the work equivalent of giving a spare set of housekeys to a trusted neighbor. When you find yourself locked out, you can go to plan B and ask for help. Helping goes both ways: letting someone fill in for you might give him or her additional exposure or some new work for a portfolio.
Collect Previous Work (in a useful way, of course!)
Everyone hates to see old work passed off as new, but you can score a real coup if you collect your old work in a new and valuable way. Gather up everything you’ve written on a specific topic, and put it in one useful place. Revisit something you’ve previously covered, and provide an update. A little work goes a long way
Resort to Honest Filler
I understand that we all take a certain amount of pride in our work, and it’s a shame to fall back on filler. If you’re honest about it, though, your bosses, readers, or clients should understand. Explain the situation candidly, and show that you care about the deadline by filling in with drafts, outlines, sketches, links to relevant resources … just make an effort and make it interesting, even if it’s no substitute for your best work.
If had employed some of these strategies, this post wouldn’t be late, even though I couldn’t have predicted the circumstances that caused the delay. Although it’s a couple of days late, I the experience has made me much wiser on the subject of buffers.
Do you have a buffer? How did you go about building it? If you don’t have one, why not?
Jay is a freelance writer based in Seattle, WA. He blogs about software for Download Squad and contributes interviews to The Morning News, among others. You can also find him on Twitter.
photo credit — splityarn
