There’s a lot of articles around about how to make your time more productive. But some days I really don’t want to be productive, and while I should get off my chair and go outside instead I find myself killing time online.

Here are a few of my favourite web addresses for wasting time. (Got your own favourites? Comment them!)

1. MyGame
http://www.mygame.com/
Create your own games and play them with just a photo and some free time

2. Fuzzwich
http://www.fuzzwich.com/minivid/minivid.php
Make hilarious cartoons with Fuzzwich’s video making machine. Complete with music, backgrounds and actors…

3. Strip Generator
http://stripgenerator.com/
Similar to Fuzzwich, strip generator gives you everything you need to make amusing cartoon strips of your very own. You can even “strip blog” which isn’t nearly as risque as it sounds.

4. Url-a-dex
http://www.urladex.com/
Fight for fame and glory by buying and selling shares of websites. Not sure if this is a ‘do something’ or ‘play something’, probably a little in between. The site uses Alexa rankings which everyone knows are somewhat arbitrary which makes it that much more realistic I suppose.

5. Duels
http://www.duels.com/
It’s like Magic the Gathering but online and very, very addictive. Approach with caution!

6. Desktop Tower Defence
http://www.handdrawngames.com/DesktopTD/game.asp
If you haven’t played DTD you may have been living under a rock. It’s so simple, yet so blindingly addictive. When you find yourself watching videos on YouTube to understand how to top score you know you’ve gone too far.

7. Kongregate
http://www.kongregate.com/
It’s the home of everything gamey, witht 1345 flash games and lots of community, kongregate is games 2.0

8. WeeWar
http://weewar.com
Designer cool meets pixel gaming. Weewar is a round based strategy game that is well wortth seeing.

9. Stackopolis
http://www.stackopolis.com/
A bizarre combination of pixel graphics, tetris and neatness won this little game a webby!

10. Mansion Impossible
http://3form.net/mansion_impossible/
Like property, but too cheap to actually buy any? … fear not with Mansion Impossible you can waste time and get rich … sorta.

11. Kottke’s List
Need More? Try Kottke’s list of addictive online games – http://www.kottke.org/06/12/addictive-little-online-games

12. Newgrounds
http://www.newgrounds.com/
The grand-daddy of Flash movies and games, newgrounds would take years to traverse properly, so there is no way you won’t find something interesting to watch (or play)

13. Trailers on Apple
http://apple.com/trailers
The only drawback to watching trailers is that when you go the cinema the ones before the movie aren’t nearly as exciting as they used to be. Still the great thing about watching trailers is they’re nice and short so you can get back to being productive again … unless of course you start watching another one.

14. Very Funny Ads
http://veryfunnyads.com/
Movies not your thing? How about rampant commercialism made good!

15. Metacafe
http://www.metacafe.com/
Tired of wading through the rubbish on YouTube? Metacafe filters so the quality is much higher meaning even more time wasted.

I have the memory of a fish, things go in one ear and straight out the other. So it’s comforting to me that my filing cabinet remembers all the things that I forget.

Here are 9 tips to get your filing cabinet kicking butt and taking names: Continue Reading

Image from iStockPhoto

The FSw Get Yourself Fired competition yielded many fantastic entries. In no particular order, here are the highlights:

Joao suggests:
Keep looking over your shoulder in a paranoid way, like you’re seeing things. When anyone asks if you want a cup of coffee, refuse politely saying coffee doesn’t mix well with amphetamines.

Taka suggests:
Show up to work hours late — when your boss asks why you’re late, reach into your pocket and pull out a forged note from his “mom” asking to please excuse you because you were spending quality time with her, then tell him that your mom is quite the woman and amazingly is still good in bed with 100% sincerity.

Kenny suggests:
As you are sitting at your desk, working diligently, suddenly stand up at attention, while saluting and scream: “Yes sir! Sh*t, ass, b*tch, sh*t, b*tch, damn!” then do 25 push-ups, then sit back down as if nothing happened. When someone approaches you about it, just say: “Oh that? When I was in Vietnam I acquired a case of turrets syndrome,” even though you’re only in your 20s.

Jason suggests:
Especially if you work in an IT company…the WiFiphobe…walk around with a tin foil hat screaming “the WiFi is coming! The WiFi is coming!” Extra points if you have an ET-esque voice and can say “ET connect home via BlueTooth…”
Continue Reading

We’ve already discussed how to tell if you are charging too little, but what if your prices have gone right the other way? For your amusement here are some signs you may be charging too MUCH!

Number 10:
To justify the price on your quotes, you’ve started writing extra words that usually mean the same thing…

eg. Creation of Concept, Concept Development, Concept Refinement, Tweaking to Concept, Amendments to Concept ….

Number 9:
You’re still living off a job you finished in 2005.

Number 8:
Even large clients ask to pay you in installments.

Number 7:
Clients ask if you are perhaps quoting in Singapore dollars even though you live in Ohio.

Continue Reading

Last Sunday we launched a little competition to see which of our readers could come up with the best ways to get fired. The two winners would receive two copies of Tim Ferris’ new book The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich – one for their comedic brilliance and the other at random. So, without further ado, here are our picks:

The funniest entry was by Amber Yount, with:
Grab a portable boombox and loudly play Eye of the Tiger as you walk around the building. When you get to the conference room were your boss is having one of his meetings, jump on the table and proceed to dance erotically. When the song ends, flip off your boss, jump off the table, and leave building immediately.

I really, really hope Amber actually did that!

And the random winner is Nicolai Lønne. Nicolai’s whole post is very long, so here’s a highlight:
You can start sending emails to everyone in the company every time you leave your desk. Example “If anybody needs I’m on the toilet” or “For the next two minutes I’ll be at the water cooler”
You can spice it up by sending out a second email when you return, giving people details about your trip to the toilet or the weird green stuff you fund in the water cooler.

There were many entries that are hysterical, and you can read the other highlights in my column this week.

Thanks Amber and Nicolai – we hope you enjoy the book!

There comes a time in every person’s life when you need to leave your job. Whether it’s to become a freelancer or just to find a better job, you find yourself presented with a choice: resign with dignity or be remembered for getting yourself fired in the most outrageous way possible.

4. The Switcheroo (From PhatPhree)
Repeatedly change your boss’ homepage to farmgirls.com, and then put a repair request into the IT department from his email. Continue Reading

Here at FreelanceSwitch, we love to talk about clients and on occasion some of their failings and characteristics, but let’s face it, most freelancers aren’t that perfect themselves. So today we’ve put together 13 Breeds of Freelancer, see if you recognize a bit of yourself in there…

Freelancer Breed #1

The Artiste Freelancer

Is This You?
You are a master of what you do, or at least you think so. Criticism from a client is often met with disbelief or anger and if a client asks for a small change you lament that the whole project is ‘ruined’.
Fulfilling your clients needs isn’t as nearly as important as making it ‘really cool’ and when you talk about your clients, somehow phrases like ‘stifling my creativity’, ‘pleb’, and ‘uneducated buffoon’ keep popping up.

The Highs:
If you’re fiery enough many clients will become too scared to critique you leading to very few revisions. Even if they do ask you for revisions you can always make up reasons why you don’t need to listen anyway. Your portfolio looks exactly the way you want it to.

The Lows:
Your adverse reactions to various client requests mean that often your clients don’t actually get the work they wanted. Plus thanks to your high maintenance you are beginning to develop a reputation – unfortunately it’s probably not the one you were after. If you push them far enough, your clients may refuse to pay you. And because you are unwilling to accept that you may be wrong on things you miss out on opportunities to improve your work.

All of this pales however compared to those horrible situations when after you have finally succumbed to your client’s wishes, the project actually turns out better than it would have if you were left to your own devices!

Picking Up Your Game:
Being an Artiste doesn’t usually mix well with the business of freelancing since most clients want the project to fulfil their needs not yours. When you put a lot of yourself into your work, it’s hard to separate criticism for the work and criticism of you. Unfortunately this is the day-to-day reality of freelancing and you need to grow a thick skin to protect your fragile ego. Try not to expect a first draft or concept to be greeted with congratulations and you won’t feel quite so devastated when you need to revise.

What often works is to think of client requests and revisions as constraints in an elaborate game that you are trying to conquer. Look at them in a positive light and do your best work within those constraints and your clients will be happier, your work will often wind up better and you’ll be a more successful freelancer.

Freelancer Breed #2

The Payin’-The- Bills Freelancer

Is This You?
Although there was a time when you loved what you do, recently it feels like nothing more than a way to support yourself. You don’t really feel any interest in improving your skills and ‘passionate’ or ‘committed’ aren’t adjectives your clients would use to describe you.

The Highs:
Continue Reading

This post has been translated into Spanish by Diana at Artegami.

Image from iStockPhoto

Another week, another useless but amusing top ten for you. This time we ask the question, do you spend more time with your desk than any human should? Here are ten signs you may need to take a break…

Number 10:
“Exercise” has come to mean rolling your neck and focusing your eyes on distant objects.

Number 9:
Strange discolorations have appeared where your arms rest on your chair and desk.

Number 8:
Friends no longer bother calling your mobile, they skype you.

Number 7:
You have RSI in BOTH arms.

Continue Reading

This article has been translated into Spanish by Diana at Artegami. Thanks Diana!

Finding that pricing sweet spot where you make a great income without scaring clients away is one of the most asked about issues here on FreelanceSwitch. Today for your amusement, here are ten signs you might have gone the other way are charging waaay too little…

Number 10:
Your client mistakes your daily rate for an hourly one.

Number 9:
You’ve won every job you’ve ever pitched for.

Number 8:
Even though you work 80 hour weeks your income level qualifies you for welfare payments.

Number 7:
New clients are always asking what “the catch” is.

Continue Reading

It’s Monday and to lighten your week up, here are the Top 10 reasons you should quit your job today and become a freelancer. Drum roll please ….

Number 10:
Because the only time you should be in a cubicle is when you’re in a restroom

Number 9:
You can kiss that annoying co-worker’s bad breath goodbye … Not literally

Number 8:
The only creative control you currently have is the spelling of your name

Number 7:
Your boss asks you why your toilet breaks last so long

Continue Reading

Stay on the cutting edge – Image from iStockPhoto

It is important to stay on top of your game as a freelancer if you want to stay valuable and in demand. This means continually improving and honing your skillset. When you work in a job where you are surrounded by others, or when studying your trade at university, you will feed off other people and naturally push yourself to compete.

However as a freelancer, often working alone, you can easily fall into a vacuum where your current level of expertise feels good enough. Give in to this and your service may lose value over time. Unless you have a burning internal urge you may find it helps to put yourself into situations that force you to stay on top.

As a freelancer it is your job to keep yourself improving. This is true no matter what field you are in, but perhaps most critically those fields where you deal with technology – programming, web design, flash animation and so on. But even if you are a writer or illustrator, just keeping up with current styles and new ideas is invaluable.

Here are some things you can do to help keep yourself on top of your game:

Continue Reading

Although finding leads to new clients is perhaps the most critical part of getting work, there is another crucial phase – winning them over. Sometimes this takes the form of a simple email conversation, sometimes it is a get-to-know-you over coffee. But for those really important clients and larger jobs, you often have to pitch. Recently American sales performance company Miller Heiman have shown there may be a gap between how we pitch and how our clients actually make their decisions. Though Heiman’s research was written for sales organizations, the results are just as pertinent for freelancers pitching their ideas and plans…

According to Miller Heiman co-founder Bob Miller, there are in fact five distinct decision making styles found amongst executives:

Continue Reading