What’s your attitude like? It’s a good idea to think about the answer, because your attitude is one of the keys to your success as a freelancer.

Take this example, for instance. If you were in the hiring seat, would you want to work with a freelancer who answered you like this?

“I guess I could work on this project. It’s a a tough job, but I might be able to work something out. The worst that can happen is that we have to take another look at it after I try. Does that sound okay?”

I wouldn’t. That person sounds uncertain, unsure and under-skilled.

What about this freelancer? Say you’re just talking shop over coffee. What would your impression be?

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If you’re a freelancer, you face the risk of burnout. How you handle it can make or break your career. Here’s how I recharged my freelancing batteries.

Late in the long, hot, and slow summer of 2006, I was ready to give up on my freelance graphic design career. I’d hit a wall in terms of bringing in new business, and my longtime clients weren’t calling the way they used to.

I’d just finished 14 months of construction courses at the local community college. Which may lead you to wonder what a gal like me was doing in a program like that. The answer was quite simple: I bought a 48-year-old house in November 2004, and I needed to learn how to fix it up.

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Photo by shimelle.

Freelancers in every field face a constant challenge to achieve and maintain a high level of productivity and quality in their work. One of the ways that you can improve your results is by development of systems or routines for various aspects of your work. Most likely you do some of the same things day-after-day and week-after-week. Having a proven system for getting these things done can bring several positive benefits. In this post we’ll look at why you would want to develop you own systems and some areas of freelancing life that lend themselves to systematization.

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Undeniably, one of the most difficult things about working at home is keeping people from perpetually distracting you during the workday, simply because you’re right there and they have nothing better to do. Or want you to take the trash out right then and there (hey, it has happened to me!).

To get anything done, you’ve really got to guard the home office and its status as a distraction-free zone. You’ve got to guard it so fiercely, you might even call it guarding the sanctity of the office. Here are five methods I use for keeping distractions at bay.

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Whether you’re a part-time graphic designer or full-time web content writer, a freewheeling blog consultant or an outside-the-box marketing genius, you jumped into freelancing for one simple reason – and it wasn’t simply “the money.” There’s no doubt money was a motivator, but what you were really after was freedom. Freedom from a day job, freedom from financial stress, freedom to work wherever and whenever you want to … but are you really on the path to enjoy that freedom, or are you just fooling yourself?

Freelancing Should Be A Springboard, Not a Treadmill

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A few months ago, I wrote a brief post about the benefits of personal outsourcing. I explained how outsourcing some of your personal tasks — specifically those that you’re not fond of AND those that someone else can do more cost effectively — can help free up some of your time and enable you to become a more profitable and focused freelancer.

Many of you commented on how helpful the ideas were. You even asked for more suggestions on other tasks that could conceivably be outsourced. So I was asked to write a second post with a more exhaustive list of potentially “outsourceable” tasks.

Glad to do that. But first, I want to clarify a misconception I often hear when the topic of personal outsourcing comes up: the claim that paying someone else to take care of your personal responsibilities is a sign of laziness.

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Folding a regular Internet broadcast into my media empire—which, at the moment, consists of a laptop and two pens which actually work—has increased my visibility as a freelancer. Everything that comes with being a freelance writer is there: the flexibility, the endless reach to bump up against another human soul through art, the second-glass-of-wine buzz of speaking with admired guests. And you know who else came over to play? Rejection and self-consciousness. Hello, old friends.

The show that was rushed into production (after one of the entrants in the Kentucky Derby was euthanized right on the track) was fielding its first guest. Even after such an auspicious beginning, I was terrified, for this was Talking To People, which is horrifying on any level and even worse while still finding my footing as a radio hostess. It would be like recording my very worst cocktail party small talk, then broadcasting it over the World Wide Web.

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Photo by Jurvetson.

Please note: if you like this article, stay tuned: Kristen Fischer will be interviewing Ed tomorrow! — Skellie

I remember it like it was yesterday.

We were new parents and our newborn baby boy had a severe case of reflux. He was constantly crying and was waking up 6 to 8 times every night.

My wife had very little time for herself. She was exhausted. I was working long hours but did everything I could to help in the evenings and on weekends.

Around that time, my wife called one of her good friends to vent her frustrations.

She told her about how tired she was—and how she didn’t even have time to clean the house. She was on the verge of tears.

Then my wife’s friend said something I’ll never forget: “Why don’t you just hire a house cleaner? You’ll have one less thing to worry about.”

It was such a simple idea. But (I hate to admit this) we’d never thought of it! Continue Reading