Lord, it’s the tail end of the work day, and I haven’t gotten this up yet. Please forgive me. I took a misguided trip to the mall, and ended up stopping by Target and Pier 1 to stare at furniture and throw pillows. What you’re here for:
Coffee Break: The Toughest Parts of Writing
February 25, 2009 by 1 Comment
These past few days, I’ve been struggling with a rewrite ever since and, man oh man, has it been rough.
In honor of my impossible rewrite, I present to you the three toughest parts of that piece you’re writing:
Product Placement: My Dream Office*
February 24, 2009 by 8 Comments
[Desk: $149.99, Target; Hutch: $99.99, Target]
Since I began freelancing full-time about two years ago, I’ve had continual trouble achieving optimal work/life balance. First, there was too much life (if you count watching full-day marathons of America’s Next Top Model as “life”). Now, I just work all the time.
This past weekend, I was determined to stay strong, and not work.
So instead, I spent several hours putting together a Photoshop collage of my dream office, which I then wished I could start working in right away.
Then I somehow ended up at Target, where I saw a way cheap version of the $5,000 desk I had put in my collage. So I felt I had to share it with you.
After the jump, the rest of my dream office:
Link Love: February 20
February 20, 2009 by Leave a Comment
I just wrapped up a long-overdue test drive post for Modern Materialist, and boy do I feel wiped. (Nothing else knocks the stuffing out of me more than grappling with technical problems.) More I either a.) pass out, or b.) start watching My So-Called Life DVDs (I am so done with this week), here are the best of the best of the past week:
PSA: I’m On Alltop!
February 19, 2009 by 3 Comments
Despite all the times I’ve used Alltop for my own evil purposes (research), it never occurred to me that I could end up there myself.
But there I am! On the Freelance topic page! Does this make me officially awesome?
Because I think it’s a fabulous resource in general, I’ve installed a widget in the Freelancedom sidebar, where you can view the latest freelance-related headlines from other on-topic blogs.
Enjoy!
Freelancing Is For Lovers
February 18, 2009 by 4 Comments
As a freelancer, I’m pretty darn lucky. While my husband also freelances, doing web developer/design work in the evenings and on weekends, he still has a full-time job, which provides the two of us with both health insurance and some semblance of financial stability. It’s a luxury that I know many freelancers don’t have.
So my feelings were understandably mixed when, just the other week, Michael laid out his grand, master plan for leaving his job and starting up his own business with a fellow web developer. “We could probably have this set up within the next few months!” he said.
While I’ve been urging him to make such a move for what seems like eons (for the sake of his own sanity and happiness), my initial excitement was quickly tempered by sheer terror.
The items listed after the jump are concerns many of you have already had to take under consideration when planning your transition into full-time freelancer. Those of you who are freelancing as part of a pair may find my list especially applicable.
Are You Being Challenged By Your Career?
February 17, 2009 by 3 Comments
Why is it so darn tough to remain interested and engaged by a job after you’ve been there for four months?
I used to blame it on semester syndrome (we’ve been conditioned to expect that change after a semester’s length of time), but I’ve since become convinced that it actually has more to do with the ways in which a job stops challenging you after you’ve been doing it for an extended period of time…the ways in which the newness wears off.
Are new challenges necessary in order to achieve career satisfaction? If so, freelancing definitely fits the bill for the ideal career path.
After the jump, the ways in which freelancing constantly challenges me:
Link Love: February 13
February 13, 2009 by Leave a Comment
It’s been a heckuva week.
Last Friday, I turned down an interview with an academic book publisher in NJ, because I knew it couldn’t come close to making me as happy as freelancing did. Then I was contacted about another interview, at a magazine in NY that I actually loved, so I spent the bulk of the weekend in a slightly-Xanax-dulled frenzy, racing against time to complete a somewhat involved edit test, only to find out that the salary wasn’t enough to tempt me back into the city.
I also spent seven hours at an artist’s house on Monday, getting an Intimate Portrait done up, took my second salsa class, and saw my very first piece go up at lemondrop.
Yup. This week has been a doozy. Does anyone else feel as if things are becoming busier despire the recession?
Anyways, for your viewing pleasure:
The 4-Hour Workweek: Brilliant or Bonkers?
February 12, 2009 by 2 Comments
Reading Timothy Ferriss‘s The 4-Hour Workweek was like being on an emotional roller coaster.
I’d read a line like “Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty” and think Man! This guy knows where it’s at! Then I’d read about his empty and meaningless kickboxing win due to manipulated technicalities, or his distaste for reading, and want to throttle him.
Is he a genius? Or is he just plain ridiculous? Perhaps a bit of both. After the jump, I explore the aspects of his book that made me think.
Coffee Break: Selling Yourself
February 10, 2009 by 2 Comments
Between a last-second edit test, a quick trip to PA, and a full day holding poses for a portrait artist, I. am. wiped. So I hope you’ll forgive me for relying on an easy-as-pie Coffee Break post so early in the week.
This one was actually inspired by a conversation taking place over at the mediabistro bulletin boards, on how different pitching tactics have different success rates.
