Freelancefolder

My Biggest Freelancing Challenge (and How I Didn’t Solve It)

Posted July 5, 2010 in Lifestyle

My biggest freelancing challenge is also the primary reason I began freelancing in the first place: my children.

I started dreaming about working from home when I first became a Mom almost 16 years ago. But, back then, I had no idea there were so many ways to earn an income without a regular job. Besides, as my family grew, we needed the medical coverage my job provided.

Fast forward many years later: I have three children and have become Internet-savvy. My head is swimming with the many possibilities for self-employment. With the guidance of experienced, entrepreneurial Moms, I set up shop as a freelance writer and online marketer.

I am giddy. I am living my dream, at last!

And then reality hits. An 18-month-old toddler needs constant attention and does not understand that Mommy needs to be at the computer for hours at a time so that we can buy groceries. To make it worse, he stops needing two naps a day. The house gets dirty again a couple of hours after I vacuum. Plus, older children, even a teenager, still need Mom after all.

A few weeks after my dream became a reality, I was almost crying in frustration. How was I going to get any work done if my family–particularly The Little One–was demanding my attention constantly?

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How to Take a Vacation–Even If You’re Too Busy Or Too Broke

Posted June 18, 2010 in Lifestyle, Productivity

Everyone, including freelancers, needs regular breaks. Vacations are important for our productivity. Taking frequent breaks keeps the mind “sharp” and protects us from the dreaded burnout. Health considerations also require us to make room for more physical activity and adequate rest.

But, freelancers typically use one of these excuses–or both–to work without interruptions, until either illness or a nervous breakdown forces us to stop:

“I’m too busy”

“I can’t afford it”

Even if your project schedule and personal life are both full, and even if your income is barely enough to cover your basic necessities, you can and should take a vacation.

With this post, I’d like to convince you that you CAN afford to take time off. In fact, you can’t afford not to.

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The Freelancer’s Bucket List

Posted June 15, 2010 in Inspiration, Lifestyle

In the 2007 film, The Bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star as two terminally ill men who escape from a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find the joy in life. Their list of things to do before they “kick the bucket” helps them approach their final days with a new lease on life, and they grow together as friends as well as individuals.

The message of the movie is a profound one. Life is short and you never know when you’re going to die, so why wait to do all the things you dream of doing until it’s too late? Translating this message into the realm of freelancing, the challenge becomes one of exploring all that the freelancing life has to offer and reaping the full benefits while in the midst of it, rather than looking back on this time with regrets.

In this post, I will share a few of my own personal freelancing bucket list items and encourage you to examine and begin pursuing your own.

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Freelancing During an Illness

Posted June 7, 2010 in Lifestyle, Productivity

The problem with freelancing is that we don’t have paid sick days! When we get sick, we risk missing deadlines, having unhappy clients or even losing income altogether.

As a number of us joked on Twitter, we freelance writers have to keep writing, even from our graves.

We’re only human… which means illness and death are inevitable.

What’s a freelancer to do?

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How to Plan for a Long Vacation from Your Freelancing Business

Posted June 3, 2010 in How-To, Lifestyle

My last post was about taking a spur-of-the moment vacation where working was still a necessity.

Most of the time, however, with a little proper planning you can actually take an extended break and enjoy a vacation without having to worry about the work back home.

For example, my wife and I will soon be taking a six-week European vacation as a second honeymoon. My goal on this trip is to enjoy my time off and to work as little as possible.

As you can imagine, taking this much time off from my freelancing business took a lot of planning, preparation and hard work.

In this post, I’ll share the steps I took to plan for my long vacation freelancing. You can use these steps to plan your own vacation.

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What to Do on the Slow Days

Posted May 28, 2010 in Inspiration, Lifestyle

Freelancing can get quite busy, and as they say, when it rains, it pours.

I’ve read a lot of articles about how to freelance effectively, and different approaches you can take to get things done for your clients in a timely manner… But, what about when things are dead, and you really cannot find much to do?

Well here are a few things I like to do to keep busy when things aren’t particularly busy during a day or two during the week… Or, if I’m unlucky, a whole week.

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The (Myth of?) the Lonely Freelancer

Posted May 26, 2010 in Freelance Stories, Lifestyle

Freelancers are lonely, or so says conventional wisdom.

Here at Freelance Folder, we’ve addressed the issue of loneliness several times.

Freelancing loneliness is a well-established fact–or is it?

Recently, I realized that I’m not very lonely and haven’t been for quite a while. That got me wondering about the issue of loneliness and freelancing.

Is it a myth that most freelancers battle loneliness, or is it a truth?

To find out I decided to pose the question “do you feel lonely” to my Twitter community.

In this post, I share those answers and invite you to share how you would have responded to my question.

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There’s More to Freelancing Than Working from Home

Posted May 24, 2010 in Freelance Stories, Lifestyle

There are two types of freelancers.

On one hand are those who have been forced into self-employment as service providers, because they’ve lost their jobs and are having a hard time finding another one.

On the other hand are those who would be freelancing no matter what: even if the job market were booming, and even if the Internet weren’t around to give so many opportunities to work from home. They would still be hawking their services, working in their pajamas, and being completely happy doing it.

The latter are what I call freelancers at heart. They have the freelancing mindset. For them, freelancing is more than about working from home.

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15 Tips to Keep Your Freelance Business Going While on Vacation

Posted May 10, 2010 in Lifestyle

Vacations represent all that’s good and bad about being a freelancer. On the one hand, you’re free to go away whenever you like, without asking the permission of a reluctant boss or desperately trying to squeeze a short break into the few days left of your allowance. On the other hand, you’re never completely free of your professional responsibilities, even when you’re on the other side of the world.

To avoid the risk of freelance burnout, it’s vital that you get away from it all on a regular basis. While some people advocate simply switching off your computer and ridding your mind of all work-related thoughts while you’re away, I vehemently disagree with this. As a freelancer, you need to maintain an air of professionalism at all times and suddenly disappearing for a fortnight is not the best way to gain the trust and respect of your clients.

Doing some work while you’re away is important, but you mustn’t lose sight of why you went on holiday in the first place: for a proper break (in case you’ve forgotten already). Follow the 15 tips below to keep your career ticking while on vacation, simultaneously maximizing your free time and making your trip a little bit more relaxing.

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