Writing Under Stress

The good thing about being a self-employed writer is that I get to set my own hours and if I have to adjust my schedule, I can do so without having to turn in forms, beg for forgiveness from a supervisor or worry about it "counting against me."
The bad thing about being a self-employed writer is that I get to set my own hours, and if I have an emergency and cannot work, I don't get paid.
This double edged sword is something anyone who is self employed has to deal with. When they told my mother she was going into a nursing home on Tuesday, I didn't have time to get my work done before I had to go be with her. And while I should know by now that all the stress usually ends up in my back, I didn't plan on my back going out yesterday either.
Realizing I was going to be late with a deadline, I wrote my editor a note of apology and asked for a deadline extension.
Luckily for me, I had a very understanding new-to-me-editor. "Emergencies happen when they happen, that's why they call them emergencies," she said to me and she told me her drop dead date for my work.
The moral here is to always try to work ahead to avoid such things, but when you can't, notify your editor as soon as possible to ask for an extension.
I think most editors will understand true emergencies and try to work with you.
The next lesson learned here is to getting back to work is not only important for our budget, it's good for my sanity.
For me, work distracts me from other things happening in my life and the busier I am the better.