Except for those few writers fortunate enough to be employed directly by a company, most of us are freelancers, casting about to make a living and hoping to land on a project that goes over well enough to keep a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and maybe even a bit of security for the future.

That’s why most young writers never worry about things like whether they’ll qualify for Medicare Part D when they retire, or if their Roth IRA is properly funded. But believe me, eventually these things will matter as you enter your 40s and your health isn’t as stable as it was 15 years ago.

Plan well.

It’s always tempting to get distracted from writing. For example, to combat the coming switch from analog to digital, my wife and I took advantage of a pricing special and made the switch t DirecTV. The package we bought includes a 100-hour DVR with the ability to either watch or record up to three programs at once. And while we don’t have an HDTV with a plasma mount, the clarity of the new digital signal is sweet indeed.

Jumping from about 70 channels to over 200 means there’s almost always something to watch on at any given moment. And that’s dangerous for a writer. It takes willpower to stay committed to writing. Eventually, if you approach it as a professional, even writing can feel like work. That’s because it is work. Staying focused on the task at hand is the only way to keep producing hard copy.