My So-Called Freelance Life - Michelle Goodman [73]
HAVE A WEEKLY CATCH-UP DAY. Rather than trying to stay on top of all your admin work throughout the week, save the less-pressing stuff (invoicing, filing, low-priority emailing) for one day or afternoon each week. Web designer Colleen Lynn often uses Fridays as her “down day” to catch up on administrata and her own design projects. Besides having those “low-stress” caps on the week to look forward to, she stays focused on the deadlines at hand Mondays through Thursdays (meeting them sooner than if she’d flitted from design project to marketing letter to invoice spreadsheet and back again each day).
LET TECHNOLOGY LIBERATE YOU. I know I told you in Chapter 4 not to go nuts on the office accoutrements, but if a $250 gadget allows you to work faster or smarter, by all means, go for it. Case in point: The twenty-one-inch flat-screen computer monitor I bought in 2007 ($300) was one of the best business purchases I’ve ever made. It’s hard to believe now that I went so long without seeing the article I’m writing and my interview notes side by side. Ditto for the digital tape recorder I bought in 2006 ($80). Never again will I think up and promptly forget a so-called “brilliant idea” while walking my dog. And although I have yet to break down and get a CrackBerry, I know loads of freelancers who swear by theirs. Now that there’s no chance they’ll miss an important email from a steady or prospective client, many of these freelancers actually leave the house. Multiple times a day!
TRACK YOUR TIME OBSESSIVELY. Obviously you want to make as much money for as few hours worked as possible, and you want to estimate how long new projects will take as accurately as you can. A web-based time-tracking tool like MyHours.com (free, as I write this) can help, especially if you’re a chronic underestimator (one of my big shortcomings). Seeing that a $500 project has taken you 50 hours to complete can help you determine whether you need to work faster or raise your rates for a similar project next time. (Hint: You could probably stand to do both.)
KNOW WHEN TO SAY “WHEN.” We talked about saying no to projects that fall outside your area of expertise or have too many red flags earlier in the book. But what about saying no to something that sounds positively thrilling when you’re positively booked? Lord knows I’m a longtime sufferer of “biting off more than I can chew” syndrome. But here’s another mistake of mine you can learn from: A great gig won’t be great for your career if you can’t do it justice—or worse, if you royally screw it up—because you’re already drowning in deadlines. Remember, your name’s going on that half-coherent comic strip you drew or software code you wrote at 4:00 AM on zero sleep. If you can’t humanly swing it, tell the client how eager you are to work for them and let them know how soon you’ll be available for future projects.
Stupid Zen Tricks (Mind Games for Beginners)
“I’ve always resisted the idea that being able to freelance is somehow noble or requires more discipline or skill,” says writer Lynn Harris. “People who work in an office have the same video games on the computer.”
Still, those cube dwellers have the fear of being caught playing solitaire by their managers to keep them in line. But with the help of a few mind games, you too can force yourself to stay on track throughout the workday. Start your day off with a ritual—a brisk walk, a strong cappuccino, a Motown dance number. Shower and dress if that makes you feel more productive. Don’t if gussying up makes you feel like hitting the town instead of working. (My happy medium: changing from my “sleeping” pajamas to my “working” pajamas.) If you need a creative shot in the arm, switch up your routine: Adopt a new morning ritual. Move your computer to another room. Do an errand mid-morning if you don’t normally leave the house till 5:00. Get a theme song.
A few more things I’ve learned over the years about playing tricks on yourself:
LIMIT YOUR DAILY TO-DO LIST TO FIVE ITEMS.