I came across a market and editor that would be absolutely brilliant and perfect for me the other day. They want someone with my experience and my location to contribute regularly, so I just sat there for what seemed like an eternity, playing the should-I-shouldn’t-I game. I could have written to him introducing myself and saying that I’d be out of commission for the next couple of months and have work lined up for when I got back, but then I realized that it doesn’t really make much sense to go, hey, I’d love to write for you but not for another two months. So I’m counting on the fact that he’ll still need a writer when I return and I can always write to him then. It’s not as much a lost opportunity as it is a delayed one. Or so I hope.

This has made me wonder, however, if I’m going to get antsy about writing to editors and drumming up work. Every so often I find an opportunity that’s perfect for me and I’ve ended up getting quite a bit of work that way almost immediately. It seems a bit odd to me now to be sitting on my hands not marketing when there are things staring me right in the face. I’ve just ended up with two new clients in the last month who want me to do regular work for them once I’m back, so I’m quite confident that at least I’ll be able to get right into it on my return.

I’ve been hearing from lots of women– friends, fellow writers, and other pregnant ladies who’ve had kids before– about how they went about handling their maternity leave. It’s really helpful to know how so many women have done it in so many different ways that were suited to their lifestyles and personalities. From the woman who was actually bored after the first month and hence chose to return to work to the women who’ve taken a year or more off work, it’s been good to know that there are a lot of choices.

I’m a bit surprised, though, because I find that way too many women like to tell me what I can’t or won’t be able to do, rather than what I can, which I find quite disconcerting. It’s almost as if having a baby is a career death sentence in their eyes, which I totally don’t buy. I remind myself that thousands of women, including my own mother, returned to work and had babies who survived just fine without their constant presence. Which is why I’m always thrilled to hear stories of those who’ve made it work, like the novelist who finished her novel during her maternity leave (yes, it’s possible!) or a very close journalist friend of mine who would strap her son on her back and take him on every assignment with her, even to the villages and hospitals.

Realistically, I don’t see myself taking more than three months off not only because no matter how much I love the kid, I don’t see any reason to sacrifice my entire life in the process, but also because we do need my income and can’t possibly go a year without it. So my editors know the exact date of my return. I simply think of myself as a working mum who has to return to work after a three-month maternity leave. Could be earlier, but definitely not later.

I’m not sure yet what the blog will look like in the interim. But I’m happy to figure it out as I go along.

In the meantime, I’ve outlined three of the remaining stories and so it’s just a matter of spending a few hours on each one of them to write the final versions. I can’t believe how close I am to finishing.

What will I do with myself once I’m done?

(And while I was typing this, my source e-mailed to say that he’ll have the answers on my desk by tomorrow morning. Yay!)

Can I finish two more pieces today? I’m off to find out.

I heard back from the editor who had offered $150 for a profile saying she couldn’t “justify US $300 on a 650-word piece” on a topic I’ve written about before for which she needs no photographs. Some people just don’t get it. Sigh. I did, of course, politely turn down the assignment saying that is my rate, justified or not. At this point, though, I can’t take on any new assignments as it is, so that’s the end of that.

In the meantime, I’ve had some work published (I worked on both these stories months and months ago, so it’s good to have them out there at last).

First, this story “India’s Online Shopping Spree” for TIME appears in the December 12, 2011 issue. I’m not sure if it’s in all editions, but it is certainly in the US and Asia ones. (Unfortunately, you’ll have to buy a copy of the print magazine to read the full thing.)

And then, here’s some reporting I did for TIME”s GlobalSpin blog: As Obama Overrules the FDA on Plan B One-Step, Access to Emergency Contraception in Asia Grows

The plan today is to finish the writing of at least one piece and make some progress, no matter how small on each of the remaining five. If I can get that done, I’ll be pretty happy. There’s not a lot left to do now and of course, not very many days to do it in either, so I think I’m quite on track. If I manage to stay motivated over the next few days, I think I might end up finishing sooner than I’d anticipated.

I’m getting really excited about my maternity leave now. I’m finding it hard to focus on hard numbers when there’s a cute “I Love Mummy” outfit dangling in front of my face. They get you with the cuteness, they do.

My 30th birthday is also coming up. I never imagined I’d spend my 30th nine months pregnant, but there ya go. The bugger’s not due for another few weeks, though he or she is quite impatient to get out quickly, but how cool would it be if my first child arrived on my 30th birthday? Sam’s mum was born on her mother’s birthday and Sam was due on his mum’s birthday as well (though he didn’t keep to schedule), so it runs in the family, it seems. Ah, we’ll just have to wait and see. Impatient mother, impatient child.

I made some progress on all my stories today, working half an hour each on most of them and two hours on the one that I finished writing. I’m feeling quite energized by this sudden burst of productivity and want to push through while it lasts.

So I’m off to slay another piece. Hopefully, this productive phase will get me through this last week.

My research for almost all of the stories is now complete and I’ve scheduled interviews for all of them, so all that’s left to do now over the course of the week is to conduct those interviews, transcribe them, and write the stories. I’m feeling a lot more confident about meeting these deadlines this week than I was last week.

That said, I’m sick with a really bad cold and I’m exhausted after all this productivity. Thankfully, just seven more days to go and then I have a long break ahead of me.

Somehow, I’m beginning to think that I may not miss work as much as I thought I would. I’m quite excited about this new phase in my life, and I can’t wait for the kiddo to make his or her appearance so that we can get started on that new journey together. I’ve decided to take that maternity leave that I was so hesitant to take. I haven’t decided how long it’s going to be yet, but I think at least two months are in order. I’m not at all worried that my editors will forget me, because for some weird reason I’m convinced they won’t.

Ladies, how have you handled maternity leaves as a freelancer? Has it been difficult to find your way back in after a few months off?

There were two low-paying blog posts that I’d agreed to do for a high-prestige publication but I got in touch with the editor today, wondering if that was something I could let go of without affecting her schedule. Turns out, she’s got more than enough on her plate and can easily do without my stuff so now I can walk away from that guilt-free. She wants me back once I return from maternity leave, so that’s a relief. And one of my favorite editors also said she has an inventory of several pieces I’ve written that will be published in the next few months, so there’s absolutely no rush to send in the next one. Which means, I’ll be doing that when I return as well. I just love my editors.

I managed to finish up one more piece today, so this now brings me down to 7 deadlines.

I’m trying to multitask and work on seven stories today. Other than the two that require interviews, I’ve still got research to finish on at least five more, so that’s going to be the next big thing for me to tackle.

I’m trying not to let it happen, but it seems like I’m looking at a working weekend.

I think the whole idea for me was to do this one big push before I go on leave and not work for a couple of months. I’m not sure why I needed to do this– to prove to myself that I’m still capable of difficult feats, perhaps– but it’s become a bit stressful, I have to admit. So now I’m just trying to get these pieces done and over with so that I can spend the rest of the month on non-deadline work or no work at all.

Remind me of this the next time I decide to take on a stupid challenge, will ya?

After procrastinating for several hours until 12 p.m., I started work on one of the easy projects. This is a health story that I’ve sort of done before, but several years ago, so while it does need to be re-reported and rewritten, it’s a topic I’m familiar and comfortable with. I decided it was a good idea to get the day started with something that’s quick and easy to get me in the groove before I move on to more challenging subjects.

I got completely pulled in to a story I’m writing for a construction magazine and ended up spending two hours on it, simply researching it and finding experts to interview for my story. It takes me ages to find the “right” sources sometimes, for stories like this, and of course, not all of them respond or are willing to be interviewed. Fingers crossed that I get at least six for my story. It’s one of those long 3,000-word ones.

Not the greatest start to my day.

I did manage to finish up one story and get started on two others, so I’m feeling pretty good about that. Now that I’ve managed to get one piece crossed off my list, I think the rest are going to go much more easily. I can’t wait to research the “changes in daddy’s brain” piece, but it’s the one with the latest deadline so it’s going to have to wait for now.

What project are you dying to work on these days?

On the agenda today are three major things: make good headway on this article I’m writing, start research for another story that’s due in about a week, and get to the edits of a story that’s going into print this week. These are the same edits I was working on on Wednesday, but the editor changed the direction a bit and wants one more interview. So I’m going to have to suck it up and do that today (I get paid extra) even though I’ve really got enough work on my plate. I hate it when edits come through on such short notice.

I’m working on very little sleep and quite a bit of strong black tea. I know I’ve listed three things from my to-do list, but I’ve a feeling the edits are the only thing that are going to get done today.

I think my plan of action in tackling these stories is going to be to do a bit of each every day. Just make some headstart on all of them. Some will move faster than others, but that way I can ensure that during the last five days, I’m pretty much done with research and interviewing and am just knocking out words quickly and efficiently. If I do them one at a time, I realize, I won’t have enough time to schedule and arrange interviews for each and every one of them.

Some of the stories are pretty simple, such as your basic health pieces. Another is about birth control, one is about the science behind a father’s brain and how he bonds with his newborn that I mentioned before. I’m writing three stories for two trade magazines on construction, a fun piece for Elle on people’s lists of things to do before they die, and one for a newspaper on tiger conservation. Phew. Quite a few different topics to tackle.

Just another day in the freelancing life.