After taking a couple of weeks off over the holidays for some digital detox and skiing in the Colorado mountains, I've been back at work since around January 4. I'm finally getting around to assessing how last year went, and looking ahead to what I'd like to accomplish in 2022. Big-picture … [Read more...] about Wrapping up 2021 and looking ahead
Freelancing
How to take a vacation
As opposed to last summer, many of us may be thinking about taking an actual vacation this summer, meaning that we have to think about how to manage that while still managing our businesses. I love working, but I also love vacation, so I've honed a strategy that works for me. The key points … [Read more...] about How to take a vacation
Maybe you need to start meditating?
Although I've done yoga for my whole adult life, I'm not a very Zen person. In fact, kind of the opposite. I have friends who are really into meditation, and I've tried it a number of times, with very limited success and a lot of frustration. Basically after about eight seconds of focusing on my … [Read more...] about Maybe you need to start meditating?
Retainer agreements: Good idea? Bad idea?
Thanks to reader Jennifer O. for suggesting this topic: retainer agreements and whether they are a good idea for freelancers, or not. Let's take a look:First of all, what is a retainer agreement? Retainer agreements allow clients to purchase a fixed amount of your work (which could be hours, words, … [Read more...] about Retainer agreements: Good idea? Bad idea?
Choose your hard
Lately I've been thinking a lot about the concept of choosing your hard, and I think it can be really useful to us as freelancers.Too often, we know what we need to do, but we struggle to force ourselves to do it, partially because we frame this as a choice between an easy thing and a hard thing. … [Read more...] about Choose your hard