Photo by weimeiweim.

Simplicity is a concept that we all desire, yet very few of us follow. Ironically, despite its definition, achieving simplicity can be extremely hard! We manage to get our stupid brains in the way. The two voices inside our head battle each other out until the selfish one wins. As a result, our job performance suffers and the quality of our lives diminish.

A simple life is vital if you want to maximize your creativity and productiveness. So how can we become simple when our lives our so complicated?

Step 1: Decide That You Want A Simple Life

You can’t expect to follow the forthcoming steps unless you, too, agree that a simple life is what you need. This decision can be harder than you might think. I struggle with it a great deal. On one hand, I love technology and make a living off of it. I’m constantly researching the newest gadgets and salivate when I watch the trailer for Resident Evil 5. On the other hand, I’m sickened by the fact that, by the time the “Indiana Jones” credits are rolling, I’m already checking my email from my phone. You know you do it too! How pathetic is that? Now, simplifying your life doesn’t mean that you ignore your responsibilities. It merely means that, by reducing the stress that fills up so much space in our heads, we can work on our projects with a much greater focus.

Continue Reading

Photo by Vu Bui.

Performance anxiety is a part of life. We all have it. It drives us to work harder and improve at what we do, but too much of it can also kill your creativity, drain your energy and severely impact productivity.

Freelancing comes with its fair share of anxiety provoking conditions. The solo aspect of it alone can be scary, not to mention the variability in income, and if you’re new at it, the inevitable learning curve when it comes to business skills.

A healthy level of performance anxiety that gets your heart pumping and sharpens your attentiveness can be an asset if you know how to make the most of it. But how do you regain control when anxiety starts to run the show? Continue Reading

Photo by FABIOLA MEDEIROS.

Although there are numerous bright aspects to freelancing, day in day out it’s not easy to keep focused and keep producing your best work for clients. Focus can easily be lost, direction shortsighted, and shortcuts taken. There are a few things you can do to relieve a major chunk of this pressure and stress and start leading a lot more simple freelancing life.

Take Away The Unnecessary

Keep asking yourself, does this “something” add anything to my life? If you have to think about an answer to the question for more than a few seconds, it doesn’t. Remove it from your life. Throw it away. Clear out the space visually and mentally.

There’s no use keeping around a piece of digital material (RSS feed, song, file, bookmark) if it’s not adding anything to your life or helping you in some way. Try to simplify things down and keep only the essentials, both in the material and the evolving digital world. Continue Reading