It was not just the writing itself that kept me on track but the taste it gave me of the freelance life, with its peculiar mix of freedom and uncertainty. Freelancing means getting up late? Goofing off? Writing when the spirit moves you? That’s one vision of it—and a sure prescription for failure. Early on, I became hyper-vigilant about my time and how I used it. I realized soon that interviews, hours in the library, and other research took as much time as the writing itself, and that time-sucks and distractions loomed everywhere.
Source: wiktionary