Gone are the days when you could graduate from college, find a respectable employer, and remain at the same company until you received that 50-year anniversary gold watch, a generous retirement package, and a nice pension. And even if the old-school work model was still available, I suspect many of us wouldn’t even be interested anymore.

Most freelancers and independent contractors I know love the freedom of self-employment and enjoy the variety that the traditional workplace could never provide them. And while full-time company jobs used to represent security, a glance at recent headlines quickly underscores the fact that there’s no …read more

Since I left the corporate world, I’ve been having a bit of a time dilemma. When I was working in an office, I had distractions, sure. But those were all within the realm of work. Trying to stay productive here at home is a little different.

So my planner and I had a come-to-Jesus meeting on Friday, during which I was reminded of everything that made me successful at managing my time when I was immersed in the whirlwind of producing magazines. Being a good employee, I responded with an outline of how I plan to use it now in my …read more

You’ve worked hard all week to meet deadlines, market yourself to new potential clients, maintain your books, and get a jumpstart on next week’s tasks. As tempting as it is to keep working in hopes of staving off an economic downturn in your own life, it’s important to schedule a little fun time.

That’s one reason why we are featuring this weekly column. Maintaining your sense of humor and sanity are important too!
These days, the notion of having fun during your off time probably doesn’t include spending money. Even going to lunch with friends can turn into a $10 event, and …read more

Do you ever have stage fright when you sit down to write?
Shelley talked about this in her post yesterday, and I bet there isn’t a reader out there who hasn’t experienced that same agonizing blink of the cursor, the glaring white document, and the sound of the clock ticking closer to that deadline.
But I think writer’s stage fright is a little different than writer’s block. Writer’s block is more of a logjam in the brain where you have collected all the information you need to start writing, but somehow you just can’t seem to make it out of the gate. …read more

Have you ever written a story, blog post, or any other piece of writing, and even after spending hours crafting your prose, you keep combing through your words over and over and over again?
How do you know when enough is enough? How do you know when your best efforts are okay? How do you know when you can give yourself a pat on the back, tell yourself “Good job,” and move on to the next thing?

The other day, I wrote a post asking people to consider whether they had editor’s brain or writer’s brain. Boy did I ever touch a …read more