Being Prepared for Emergencies

A few week ago everything was going well. I was pretty healthy, had many clients and assignments, and I was working with an organization specialist to organize my office space. A few days ago things changed. I had several tests done and diagnosed with some serious illnesses. I have been told that I will require at least one surgery if not more. I am not prepared.

I am prepared for the trials ahead of me. I have arranged care for my children, taken care of housework, and researched different options available to me. I am NOT prepared for the effect it will have on my work. As soon as I found out, I notified clients. I unfortunately had to cancel a few assignments I was excited about, including a travel blog that I would have loved. I hired a few other writers to finish up a few articles I needed as it was a one time client and felt it would be better to hire out than to upset the client. I did not want this client to think badly of me or expect other writers to flake out as well.

Illness is not the only emergency we should be prepared for. Other emergencies may include computer crash, internet failure, sick child, death in family, or natural disaster (or fire). Are you prepared for an emergency? Here are a few things that all freelance writers and bloggers should do before an emergency occurs.

• Join forums and participate regularly so other writer will learn about you. When people "know" you they are more willing to help in an emergency. This will also help you know which writers are reliable and provide quality work when other writers recommend them.
• Have back up posts ready for your blogs. Writing extra posts that can be posted at any time will give you time in case you are unable to write for a few days. The goal should be a weeks worth of posts, as you don't know how long the emergency will be.
• Be organized. Have a list of all articles or blogs you need done with a list of due dates. Keep this list in an easily accessible area. If you use a computer system, print a hard copy just in case something happens to your computer.
• Have a list of all clients email addresses or phone numbers printed out, so they can be reached easily. If you are injured and can't get to your computer, having the list on your desk will allow a spouse or friend access to it to notify your clients for you.
• Be ahead of deadline. If at all possible, do not wait until the day before deadline to start your work. If you are ahead of schedule, you are less likely to miss a deadline if an emergency happens.

After my illness is under control, I hope to return to writing and blogging regularly. If I had been dishonest with my clients, or not reliable before the illness, they would be less likely to take me back. I notified my clients immediately, instead of waiting until deadline hoping I would be able to complete the assignments. The lack of pay will hurt, but losing clients because of a missed deadline would hurt more.

What have you done to prepare for an emergency?