I credit much of my freelance writing success to being a morning person. If not for the ability to wake each morning at 4:00, I wouldn’t have been able to find quiet blocks of time to work undisturbed. I woke early almost every day for five years – until my son was in first grade and I had the house to myself full time to work on projects. It looks good in theory, doesn’t it? “Wow, that Deb’s so disciplined she wakes every day at 4 and works for three or four hours straight through while it’s quiet.” The truth [Read more…]

The holiday season is a busy time for freelancers. Not only because of a heavy work load, but also because of the all of the holiday preparations. Balancing work and home truly becomes a challenge. I don’t know what your life is like in November and December, but in addition to working full time I also  bake, shop, shuffle The Boy around to parties and events, attend my own parties and events, bake, shop and clean.  The holidays used to be overwhelming, but over the years I’ve figured out how to make them a little less stressful by reminding myself [Read more…]

Note: This post is a blatant rip off. I’ve been spending a little time at Men with Pens, reading about James Chartrand’s vacation. It prompted me to write a bit about my own time off. This summer, for the first time since I was 15 years old, I took the summer off. Sure, I blogged for FWJ a bit and worked on some personal projects, but I didn’t take on any client work at all. I wasn’t planning a vacation. I simply wanted to downsize for the summer. So I spent my mornings working on my projects and the afternoons [Read more…]

I was a freelance stereotype today:  I did not get out of my pajamas.  Niiiice.

We freelancers cherish our flexibility. We enjoy sleeping as late as we want, packing up and going to the shore at a moment’s notice and working wherever our laptop takes us.  This doesn’t always work in our favor, however. With flexibility comes a whole other assortment of issues, including people who don’t respect our time or job and the loss of ability to stay focused. Though it sounds like an oxymoron, freelancers might consider having business hours. While this might make us a little less flexible, it has it’s benefits. People respect your time more: For some reason people don’t [Read more…]

by Deborah Ng So last week the Ng family received some bad news. Don’t worry, we’re all happy and healthy and will hopefully stay that way, but the news was unexpected and may result in the loss of an income. Then yesterday we received some more bad news. Another financial setback. Something that needs to get done is going to cost a lot more than we thought. Upon learning my news yesterdayI firstwent into my room and had a good cry. I recommed a good cleansing cry to everyone now and then, especially if no one is home because then [Read more…]

by Deb Ng This isn’t a plug for the day job, I promise. Yesterday afternoon I listened to an inspiring interview on BlogTalkRadio. My friend Dave Navarro of Rock Your Day fame was a guest on the WAHumor show, and threw out some practical ideas for balancing work and life and getting the most from both. I especially liked the tips regarding doing what you want without feeling guilty about it. Perhaps you can relate… I like to enjoy my evenings. Whether I’m watching television or a movie with Mr. Ng or crocheting or reading, that’s my time to relax [Read more…]