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It’s been a rough day, you guys (not to mention a rough week). I’m allergic to our new kitten, who was sick last week and ended up passing her virus along to one of the other cats. So I’ve spent a good portion of today moving furniture and tackling Mercutio and wrestling with him so as to get two different meds down his throat. This while partially comatose due to the Benadryl I’ve been taking (with some Xanax thrown in for good measure at the especially trying times). Plus I managed to squeeze in a doctor’s appointment (for me), a post office run, and seven new posts over at MM. Now I’m making my way through a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra because, really, I need me some comfort food.
I think I need a vacation.
It being Thursday and all, I would normally post a book review.
Last night, however, I found out that my main source of income may be folding, so I figured this was the perfect time to touch upon the ways in which you can keep the unexpected vagariesand pitfalls of freelancing from plunging you into financial ruin. The main thing to remember? Don’t put all your eggs in one basket:
Last week, I posted about an upcoming meetup I was attending, for NY bloggers. Well, the day has come and, though I’m waffling about going due to some dread virus I seem to be coming down with (though I suspect I’m just allergic to the new kitten, I thought I’d address an issue that often comes up at networking events: social anxiety.
Is it awful of me to suggest that a good cup of coffee is a necessity when it comes to surviving the work day? I mean, I don’t want you to end up like my friend Dana, who likes to argue that his 5+ cups of coffee per day count toward his daily water intake.
Still, nothing picks me up like that one cup of bavarian chocolate coffee I have every day in the late morning. Pick up a coffee pot on the cheap ($29.99) and, when you feel yourself slowing down, indulge in a cuppa.
Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you’re all indulging in bbqs and taking final trips down the shore and generally NOT WORKING. Because you deserve this holiday! Me? In addition to my at-home work, I travel into NY three days a week for five-hour shifts proofing at a newspaper, and today is no different. When my boss offered to give me today off, I told him I would be fine with coming in. Why?
- I’m an idiot.
- When you’re a freelancer, there’s no such thing as a paid vacation day.
Many of us leave our full-time jobs and become our own bosses in order to give ourselves the flexibility to sleep in, take more time off, and not work overtime. Yet when we go into business for ourselves, we often end up working longer hours than ever before, because there’s no one around to tell us: “Go home!” After the jump, the 5 benefits you shouldn’t forget to provide for yourself:
Anyone in the NY/NJ area and into this whole blogging thing? You should join the NY Bloggers Meetup Group! We’re having a meetup next week.
At the moment, my friend Christina is struggling with doing up her grad school apps, and preparing for the GREs. The biggest problem? Motivation.
I think we can all understand that (or am I the only one with a penchant for procrastination?).
The thing she’s doing that I find absolutely brilliant is that she’s using FutureMe as a self-motivating tool, sending herself messages that list what she hopes she’s accomplished by then.
I use Ta-da List to list what I need to get done, but it doesn’t periodically nudge me, which is probably something I’d benefit from. If you need a nudge, check out the links after the jump, and then let us now how you keep yourself motivated, whether you reward yourself with a cup of coffee (or six) or celebrate your accomplishments with a night on the town.
I read a ton of books in my personal journey toward freelancedom, but I have to admit, the one that provided the impetus to my actually leaving my 9-to-5 was Michelle Goodman’s The Anti 9 to 5 Guide. In fact, my copy is so dog-eared that I couldn’t stop at just listing my five favorites:
Over the past few months, I’ve struggled to find new freelance projects to supplement my regular proofreading and blogging income. Only recently was I able to admit to myself the reason for this partially self-imposed period of limbo: I wasn’t sure what I was looking for.
Obviously, it’s impossible to put together an effective marketing campaign when you’re not quite sure what you’re marketing, or who you’re marketing to. After the jump, the three most basic questions you need to ask yourself before launching your own campaign:
Or at least they cost more than my old laptop…the one I picked up at a computer show a few years ago for a couple hundred bucks. I recently got rid of that thing, and just borrow my husband’s from time to time, but I still have a thing for sleek and functional laptop bags.
The one above is $285. After the jump. another gorgeous bag I can’t afford, and don’t even need: