The Best Way to Prepare for Emergencies

by Rico on May 18th, 2008

The best way to prepare for emergencies is to simply practice good productivity. Over the last two weeks, I had to help someone dear with me cope with the loss of a loved one. This commitment meant that I had less time to finish my work.

In practical terms, an emergency to a freelancer is an urgent situation that, more often than not, reduces the available time to accomplish projects and meet deadlines. It is a fact that things will always go wrong—and that they’ll need your full attention at possibly the worst time. Sometimes these emergencies can be intergrated into your schedule; you can budget enough time to deal with them and still have some left to finish what you need to do. But I bet that many emergencies, by their very suddeness, are usually those that have no clear cost in time or money. You have to deal with them, without being really sure when you can return to your work.

So, where does good productivity come in?

The Foundation for Handling Emergencies Effectively

Good productivity is the best foundation for dealing with emergencies properly, because it establishes relationships of understanding that make unforeseen situations much easier to deal with. For instance, if you’ve always submitted your work to a particular client on time and to spec, then he or she will have an easier time understanding your need to delay the completion of a certain project by say, a few days. Would the same be true if you have a track record of late submissions and poor quality work?

Practicing good productivity proves to your clients that your are committed to maximizing the money they pay you. If they see that’s true, then they will be more forgiving during the rare times when you can’t deliver while dealing with an emergency. Requesting for an extension becomes a necessity, instead of a convenient excuse.

Always Being Prepared

We can’t be totally prepared for everything life throws our way. But we can always leave our options open. Instead of procrastinating, why not finish that project right now? We take so many things for granted, such as the availability of our equipment and the Internet. What if these are suddenly unavailable, and that deadline is tomorrow morning?

I’ve always tried to finish whatever I can as soon as possible. I’m not saying that we should keep ourselves busy all of the time, but take full advantage of what we have right now. It’s possible to work on that project on your laptop if you’re waiting for another client that’s running late. The point is that if there’s an opportunity to lighten our workload, we should take advantage of it immediately, so that if and when we face an emergency, there will be less to deal with.

Eliminating Unnecessary Stress

Which brings me to my last point. Have you had to deal with an emergency, while worrying about unfinished projects? Such stress is magnified when you realize that you could have finished something beforehand; you end up running through should’ve, could’ve scenarios in your head. Why create more stress for yourself by putting off those projects when you can accomplish them now?

By practicing good productivity, which establishes an understanding relationship with clients, taking advantage of opportunities to finish work, and being proactive in reducing the stress of unfinished work, you’ll be able to concentrate better on that urgent emergency. You’ll be better prepared for emergencies when you can focus on them without having to think of other things.

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