I was pretty sick last week (um, ok. Two weeks ago, but I haven't really done much since), and a bunch of stuff piled up. So what do you do when you just forget to do something?
I tend to beat myself up over it. I do. I'm not sure exactly what leads to these extended periods of lethargy, or the complete dropping-of-the-ball on an important project, but it's a long-engrained habit to get angry.
It's a cop-out to say it's because of my parents, but I guess it kind of is - if you're like me, you know the drill. I have wonderful parents, both with their own set of extreme quirks, but my dad has never "just forgotten" about a project or duty. When tasks don't just disappear out of your brain as though they've never existed, it's kind of hard to understand that explanation when it is offered up by your kid.
"Your report card says you missed six homework assignments."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"How did that happen?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know? How can you not know?"
"I just... forgot, I guess."
"How could you just forget about something you had to do?"
"I don't know, I just did."
"Did you write the assignments down?"
"Yes."
"Then how did you forget about them?"
"I don't know."
I mean, really, it sounds like a cop-out. As a parent who doesn't 'just forget' things, I'm sure I'd read that as 'didn't want to do it, was lazy, and is trying to get out of trouble.' And then it's endlessly frustrating to both parties.
Whatever the reason, at this point when I lose my keys or I realize I completely forgot to do my two required blog posts this week, I freak out. I stomp around the house. I shout. When I'm looking for something, I tend to throw things aside with way more violence than necessary. I make pronounced judgements on the quality of my life and my own failures as a human being.
So this week, I'm not going to do that. I'm going to take a deep breath instead, and then do what I need to do to make it right. Forgot to do some blog posts? Write off a quick letter of apology. If they want to fire me, then I will find another job. It's ok.
I suspect that will be a much healthier way of looking at things.
How do you handle it when you drop the ball?
Monday, May 7, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Shameless Self Promotion
I got a job! My first non ELance, for reals independent freelance gig, with http://www.sparknotes.com/mindhut <-- That's the shameless self promotion part. I will be writing articles for them on various nerdy subjects. At last, a way to profit from my unhealthy obsession with all things fantasy and sci-fi. (I know it's cool to be a nerd now but... well... I make seasoned D&D players and LARPers uncomfortable now and again.)
I have my own contributor blog and everything! Username Jasper. I write about whatever I think is interesting and nerdy. This first week was really hard: I have at least three half written articles that I've been to timid to submit. I'm still kind of nervous about putting myself out there like that - why am I funny? Why should people listen to me ramble on about various and sundry topics? I don't mind people not accepting my topics, but I really didn't want my first proposal to be rejected. Puts a bad tone over things to come.
Luckily, while the Mindhut accepts submissions on whatever you like, the editors also provides some sample topics. When a movie trailer popped up early in the morning, I volunteered for it immediately and promised it within two hours, so I didn't chicken out. And they liked it. So, moral of the story: just try! Force yourself to try! Pick something you think you can do, and do it. You'll surprise yourself, most likely.
And in closing, a friend of mine once sent me this video to illustrate how I treat men. I've scaled it back, but it's why this is a great job for me. Warning: nerd stuff ahead. http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6534168/im-such-a-nerd-with-katrina-bowden
I have my own contributor blog and everything! Username Jasper. I write about whatever I think is interesting and nerdy. This first week was really hard: I have at least three half written articles that I've been to timid to submit. I'm still kind of nervous about putting myself out there like that - why am I funny? Why should people listen to me ramble on about various and sundry topics? I don't mind people not accepting my topics, but I really didn't want my first proposal to be rejected. Puts a bad tone over things to come.
Luckily, while the Mindhut accepts submissions on whatever you like, the editors also provides some sample topics. When a movie trailer popped up early in the morning, I volunteered for it immediately and promised it within two hours, so I didn't chicken out. And they liked it. So, moral of the story: just try! Force yourself to try! Pick something you think you can do, and do it. You'll surprise yourself, most likely.
And in closing, a friend of mine once sent me this video to illustrate how I treat men. I've scaled it back, but it's why this is a great job for me. Warning: nerd stuff ahead. http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6534168/im-such-a-nerd-with-katrina-bowden
Friday, April 27, 2012
Freelancers don't get sick days.
It's maybe the worst part about the whole concept of freelancing.
It's not doing taxes (I say confidently without having done taxes), or
juggling all the jobs or waking up early. It's that there are no sick
days.
On the one hand, I'm at home, right? So I can just stay in bed and work. True. But on the other hand, ohgodawfulsickness - all I really want to do is sleep. That must wait until work is done, however.
I guess I could take a sick day, but I might be out of a job or two. So instead it's sitting around typing about being sick on the internet and being glad that my Male Compatriot is almost better from his bout with the disease.
To add injury to injury, I have one very weak ankle and an athletic personality, so I sprained the ankle pretty badly.. again... yesterday, while I was desperately pretending I wasn't sick. Now I have to do a bunch of work at home AND go in to the last few days of my remaining part-time office job to see if they send me home. Must sort out my bike, I'm really not sure how that will go.
Good night. I'm going to collapse back into a puddle of self-pity. On the plus side, I am already in bed.
How do you handle being sick? Do you insist upon a day? Do you work through it? I'm fresh out of the music industry, where nothing short of hospitalization is an acceptable excuse for missing work, and then only if you can't sneak past the doctor. So I am in the habit of working through illness, but that may not be a good solution.
On the one hand, I'm at home, right? So I can just stay in bed and work. True. But on the other hand, ohgodawfulsickness - all I really want to do is sleep. That must wait until work is done, however.
I guess I could take a sick day, but I might be out of a job or two. So instead it's sitting around typing about being sick on the internet and being glad that my Male Compatriot is almost better from his bout with the disease.
To add injury to injury, I have one very weak ankle and an athletic personality, so I sprained the ankle pretty badly.. again... yesterday, while I was desperately pretending I wasn't sick. Now I have to do a bunch of work at home AND go in to the last few days of my remaining part-time office job to see if they send me home. Must sort out my bike, I'm really not sure how that will go.
Good night. I'm going to collapse back into a puddle of self-pity. On the plus side, I am already in bed.
How do you handle being sick? Do you insist upon a day? Do you work through it? I'm fresh out of the music industry, where nothing short of hospitalization is an acceptable excuse for missing work, and then only if you can't sneak past the doctor. So I am in the habit of working through illness, but that may not be a good solution.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Alarm Clocks and Coffee Addictions
Freelancing and coffee addictions go together like teens and sleeping in; a well known, well worn stereotype that is both humorous and sad.
My personal coffee addiction came about because of my hatred for alarm clocks. And my inability to purchase alarms that simulate the sun, or gently buzz me awake or softly caress my cheek with a gentle sonic massage involving gongs from Shangri-La. Oh, and my hourly job that requires me to work on east coast time (8 am in NYC = 5 am in Flag AZ).
Next best thing? Coffee maker on a timer that sits at the foot of the bed. It's not quite as gentle as fictional monk gongs, but there's a nice soft gurgle and the smell of warm, dark roasted addiction. And in case that doesn't wake you up, it beeps when it's done.
Of course, I might spend as much money, over time, on the coffee, because I've been bitten by the sustainability-ethical-buzzword bug, and get suckered into buying "organic shade grown locally-roasted ethically sourced coffee from wise gurus on mountaintops (probably in Shangri-La with the gongs)" on a regular basis. But, you know, live lightly on the planet and all that. Plus I hear coffee tastes better than a sonic massage. Priorities.
Back on topic, my room mate seems to have the best of it - he has an office job with a decent health package that lets him come in to work basically whenever he wants. He doesn't even have to use an alarm. Then again, his commute is kind of a pain. It's really pretty (though long) by bicycle, but he drives.
I hope to soon have the best of both worlds - no hourly jobs AND no commute. In the meantime, though, it's kind of nice waking up early when I don't have to go anywhere and can just sit and cuddle my cat while I work.
How do you wake up? Are you an alarm clock slave? A caffeine junkie? Do you combine the two like me?
My personal coffee addiction came about because of my hatred for alarm clocks. And my inability to purchase alarms that simulate the sun, or gently buzz me awake or softly caress my cheek with a gentle sonic massage involving gongs from Shangri-La. Oh, and my hourly job that requires me to work on east coast time (8 am in NYC = 5 am in Flag AZ).
Next best thing? Coffee maker on a timer that sits at the foot of the bed. It's not quite as gentle as fictional monk gongs, but there's a nice soft gurgle and the smell of warm, dark roasted addiction. And in case that doesn't wake you up, it beeps when it's done.
Of course, I might spend as much money, over time, on the coffee, because I've been bitten by the sustainability-ethical-buzzword bug, and get suckered into buying "organic shade grown locally-roasted ethically sourced coffee from wise gurus on mountaintops (probably in Shangri-La with the gongs)" on a regular basis. But, you know, live lightly on the planet and all that. Plus I hear coffee tastes better than a sonic massage. Priorities.
Back on topic, my room mate seems to have the best of it - he has an office job with a decent health package that lets him come in to work basically whenever he wants. He doesn't even have to use an alarm. Then again, his commute is kind of a pain. It's really pretty (though long) by bicycle, but he drives.
I hope to soon have the best of both worlds - no hourly jobs AND no commute. In the meantime, though, it's kind of nice waking up early when I don't have to go anywhere and can just sit and cuddle my cat while I work.
How do you wake up? Are you an alarm clock slave? A caffeine junkie? Do you combine the two like me?
Monday, April 23, 2012
Who Needs Sleep Part II: Biphasic Sleeping?
I am a night owl. But I'm also a morning person. In fact, pretty much the only times I'm tired are around 4 am and around 3 pm. The rest of the time it's go, go, go! So I did some research into polyphasic sleeping a while ago, and decided it was too risky. No, I didn't try it for myself. I decided that there wasn't enough evidence that it was safe, and the only research that's been done into sleep suggests that sleep deprivation is quite unhealthy. That's enough for me, sorry, I'm a coward like that.
Biphasic sleep, on the other hand, is a time honored tradition in much of the world - siestas! A mid-afternoon nap. Mmm, yummy. The benefits of working from home. I usually don't get more than 5-6 hours of sleep at night, and I can really feel a difference in my overall performance. And I work from home most days, so I might as well, right? In theory, a 90 minute nap at 2 pm will improve time management and make me way more productive the rest of the day. In practice, it might just make me groggy and not want to do anything else for the rest of the day. We'll see what happens!
Have you undertaken a similar experiment? What were the results?
Biphasic sleep, on the other hand, is a time honored tradition in much of the world - siestas! A mid-afternoon nap. Mmm, yummy. The benefits of working from home. I usually don't get more than 5-6 hours of sleep at night, and I can really feel a difference in my overall performance. And I work from home most days, so I might as well, right? In theory, a 90 minute nap at 2 pm will improve time management and make me way more productive the rest of the day. In practice, it might just make me groggy and not want to do anything else for the rest of the day. We'll see what happens!
Have you undertaken a similar experiment? What were the results?
Friday, April 20, 2012
Synergistic Project Optimization, a.k.a. Gardening While Working
Confession: I didn't actually work on my computer after I got dirt all over my hands. But that's what notebooks are for, right?
If you freelance, how do you entertain yourself while working on projects? If you don't, what does your office look like?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Speed Reading for High Productivity
The Art of Manliness (yes, I follow a man-centered blog. Whatcha gunna do, it has some great skill based articles and cool insights on life!) had an excellent article on speed reading a while back (2009, to be imprecise... I'm honestly not even sure how I stumbled across this!). In it, they discuss Spreeder, a free website that will help improve your top reading speed.
It's fun to improve your score, too - in the morning, when I have some free time, I go to Wikipedia and either click "random article" (it can take a while to find an interesting one sometimes) or "recent events" and copy and paste an article into Spreeder. I'm learning a lot about random stuff, like the recently Independent State of Azawad.
So why do this? If you're a writer, programmer, or anyone else who's self employed, you'll be doing a lot of self driven research and skill acquisition. If you're working on a science fiction story and can plow through a paper on astrosociology in five minutes, that is incredibly useful. If you're editing a news piece and suddenly run across something you aren't sure about, having the ability to break out your Chicago Manual of Style and refresh yourself on the rule in a minute flat, that's useful, too.
Another place where speed reading comes in handy: investing. I'm no expert, so I won't talk a lot about this, but I will say that wise, hands-on investing depends a lot on knowing what's going on in the world. Speed read the news and the Wall Street Journal!
In closing, there are plenty of things to take slowly. I wouldn't speed read The Brothers Karamazov, for example. But for research, staying informed about the world, even your daily blogreads, speedy reading is a great way to increase your productivity and your range of skills.
P.S. Know when to use it, though. For example, I edit news stories. And it definitely makes people nervous when I am done in two minutes. While I know I can increase productivity by editing more articles in less time, my client's peace of mind is ultimately more important.
How fast do you read? Have you found that it's useful to be able to read fast? Are you going to try using Spreeder?
It's fun to improve your score, too - in the morning, when I have some free time, I go to Wikipedia and either click "random article" (it can take a while to find an interesting one sometimes) or "recent events" and copy and paste an article into Spreeder. I'm learning a lot about random stuff, like the recently Independent State of Azawad.
So why do this? If you're a writer, programmer, or anyone else who's self employed, you'll be doing a lot of self driven research and skill acquisition. If you're working on a science fiction story and can plow through a paper on astrosociology in five minutes, that is incredibly useful. If you're editing a news piece and suddenly run across something you aren't sure about, having the ability to break out your Chicago Manual of Style and refresh yourself on the rule in a minute flat, that's useful, too.
Another place where speed reading comes in handy: investing. I'm no expert, so I won't talk a lot about this, but I will say that wise, hands-on investing depends a lot on knowing what's going on in the world. Speed read the news and the Wall Street Journal!
In closing, there are plenty of things to take slowly. I wouldn't speed read The Brothers Karamazov, for example. But for research, staying informed about the world, even your daily blogreads, speedy reading is a great way to increase your productivity and your range of skills.
P.S. Know when to use it, though. For example, I edit news stories. And it definitely makes people nervous when I am done in two minutes. While I know I can increase productivity by editing more articles in less time, my client's peace of mind is ultimately more important.
How fast do you read? Have you found that it's useful to be able to read fast? Are you going to try using Spreeder?
Monday, April 16, 2012
Who Needs Sleep?
The past few weeks, I've just kind of stopped sleeping. Whenever I start something, I try and do it all.
I can learn this! I can study this! I can edit and write and yes, of course I can get up super early in the morning and why certainly, I'll do that, it'll be fun to figure it out. And while I'm at it, look how clean the house is getting, and look how much interest I'm regaining in hanging out with friends, and how back in shape I'm getting, and ...
Next thing you know, I'm so deep into crazy land that I'm pondering how much the poppy seeds from my bagel look like bugs when I move my plate back and forth really fast.
That's the thing, though, everyone's work suffers when there's not enough sleep. This is not a secret, everyone knows it. Why is it so hard to sleep?
Well, for the same reason it's so hard to choose between social obligations and work obligations. Going to have to try reigning it in if I'm going to get anything done!
But then, that's self employment. You work harder for yourself than anyone else is allowed to ask you to work.
How do you find balance? Have there been some tough decisions that you've had to make in order to make everything work?
I can learn this! I can study this! I can edit and write and yes, of course I can get up super early in the morning and why certainly, I'll do that, it'll be fun to figure it out. And while I'm at it, look how clean the house is getting, and look how much interest I'm regaining in hanging out with friends, and how back in shape I'm getting, and ...
Next thing you know, I'm so deep into crazy land that I'm pondering how much the poppy seeds from my bagel look like bugs when I move my plate back and forth really fast.
That's the thing, though, everyone's work suffers when there's not enough sleep. This is not a secret, everyone knows it. Why is it so hard to sleep?
Well, for the same reason it's so hard to choose between social obligations and work obligations. Going to have to try reigning it in if I'm going to get anything done!
But then, that's self employment. You work harder for yourself than anyone else is allowed to ask you to work.
How do you find balance? Have there been some tough decisions that you've had to make in order to make everything work?
Friday, April 13, 2012
Freelancing: Why I don't have a dedicated workspace.
Look up "freelancing tips" on Google. Go on. What's one of the first tips you see? Everyone says to make a plan, and to set up a dedicated work space that is just like an office, only it's in your home. Don't work from the couch, don't work from the kitchen, and DEFINITELY don't work from the bed! All hell might just break loose, and besides, you'll never get anything done, will you?
But I think that one of the biggest benefits of working from home is that you can do whatever the heck you want with your office. If you're a person that needs a dedicated space to get you in the zone, go for it. Decorate it all pretty and make it yours. I tried establishing a room, and it just ended up really messy.
Instead, I usually work in the same spot in the morning. I get up at 5, so it's early and quiet and I'm not moving too fast. I sit in the same corner of the same couch in the living room, because it's next to a window, under a vent (it's cold at 5 am when you live at 7000 feet!) and next to a lamp and a bookshelf. I put my coffee on the shelf and cuddle my cat. This arrangement has the bonus of making me stay clean, since I'm hanging out in a shared area.
But for the rest of the day, I say, anything goes. You've got energy? Put on some music and dance around while you think about that important contract. Hungry? Make a sandwich. Sprawl out on the couch and put your feet up - whatever makes you the most comfortable for being productive.
I don't want a dedicated work space. I want the freedom to work wherever I dang well feel like it. Sometimes I work on the porch. Sometimes the couch. Often while standing in the kitchen - that's another rule I break, I do chores while I'm working. Occasionally I'll work in bed - I'm writing this blog post from my bed. Sometimes I work from a coffee shop. (Not that often because I'm saving money) Whatever makes me happy, I'll do it.
That's what makes freelancing so exciting and scary - there aren't really that many rules. Go explore! Figure out what works best for you. It's a lot of fun.
But I think that one of the biggest benefits of working from home is that you can do whatever the heck you want with your office. If you're a person that needs a dedicated space to get you in the zone, go for it. Decorate it all pretty and make it yours. I tried establishing a room, and it just ended up really messy.
Instead, I usually work in the same spot in the morning. I get up at 5, so it's early and quiet and I'm not moving too fast. I sit in the same corner of the same couch in the living room, because it's next to a window, under a vent (it's cold at 5 am when you live at 7000 feet!) and next to a lamp and a bookshelf. I put my coffee on the shelf and cuddle my cat. This arrangement has the bonus of making me stay clean, since I'm hanging out in a shared area.
But for the rest of the day, I say, anything goes. You've got energy? Put on some music and dance around while you think about that important contract. Hungry? Make a sandwich. Sprawl out on the couch and put your feet up - whatever makes you the most comfortable for being productive.
I don't want a dedicated work space. I want the freedom to work wherever I dang well feel like it. Sometimes I work on the porch. Sometimes the couch. Often while standing in the kitchen - that's another rule I break, I do chores while I'm working. Occasionally I'll work in bed - I'm writing this blog post from my bed. Sometimes I work from a coffee shop. (Not that often because I'm saving money) Whatever makes me happy, I'll do it.
That's what makes freelancing so exciting and scary - there aren't really that many rules. Go explore! Figure out what works best for you. It's a lot of fun.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Thoughts on Going for It
This weekend, I submitted my first ghostwritten novella. 50 pages, 30 days. The premise was very vague, with just a brief description of 3 characters, the setting of "a strange world," and the basic idea of "good fights evil," so I had to do most of the story and all of the world building myself.
I put out the proposal mostly as practice - I didn't really expect the win the contract, but I figured I could learn something from the "client declined contract: view reason" aspect. Plus, it'd be fun if I did win, wouldn't it! Good experience and all.
As soon as I won, I started panicking. What should I do now? I've participated in NaNoWriMo for the last couple of years and I've never even gotten to the 50 page mark. Why do I think I can do this? I've never written a complete fantasy novella before! I'm not qualified for this; I should just call the whole thing off, apologize, and go hide under a blanket for the next few days with a bowl of soup.
Instead, I asked myself: what's the worst case scenario?
I fail miserably. I don't complete. Or I complete the novella and they hate it. I'll make no money if I don't complete, and a pretty small amount if I do. I might get some bad feedback on my profile. That might make it harder to find jobs for a while. Then again, most of my jobs so far have been in editing, reformatting and copywriting areas, not creative writing areas, so that probably won't actually affect much, will it?
Ok. What's the best case scenario?
I succeed brilliantly. So brilliantly that I'm disappointed that I don't get to take credit for it. My first ever fantasy novella makes my employers fabulously rich and famous. Then again, I don't think they're quite as inspiring as a well-connected teen (Eragon) or a single mother (Harry Potter), so the novella would have to succeed on my brilliant prose alone. Let's be honest, that's not very likely for a first work.
So the most probable scenario is that I make a little money, build my resume, learn about writing on a deadline, and have some fun with it.
Phew. Panic over. Down to business. Erm. I don't have any clue where to start. The blank Word document is staring me in the face. I play around with formatting for a while and surf the internet, calculate how many pages I have to write in a day if I don't want to write on the weekends (3), and go back to staring at the blank page.
But I don't want to close that Word Document. If I do, I know I probably won't open it again. If I choose inertia, then it'll be that much harder to choose action. And I know basically what the story is about - good defeats evil. What else do I know about stories?
Five minutes later, I have:
Exposition:
1.
2.
Rising Action:
1.
2.
3.
Climax:
1. Battle between protagonist and evil person.
Falling Action:
1.
2.
Conclusion:
1. Hero is returned home, victorious.
The next time I got stuck, I started writing down everything I could think of about my main character, who was described as "a 16-year old girl." And so on. I just kept moving in the direction of writing a story, and eventually, the story was written.
The moral of the story: just because you aren't completely qualified, doesn't mean you shouldn't go for it. Do what you are qualified to do, and you'll figure out the rest.
The corollary: A day later, I also won a contract to write a short action-adventure story (I REALLY didn't expect to win both, it was a little overwhelming!). But then it changed to a mystery. I have read a couple of mysteries, but not many. Fewer than 10. That was too far outside of my experience, and I ended up declining. Know your limits.
I put out the proposal mostly as practice - I didn't really expect the win the contract, but I figured I could learn something from the "client declined contract: view reason" aspect. Plus, it'd be fun if I did win, wouldn't it! Good experience and all.
As soon as I won, I started panicking. What should I do now? I've participated in NaNoWriMo for the last couple of years and I've never even gotten to the 50 page mark. Why do I think I can do this? I've never written a complete fantasy novella before! I'm not qualified for this; I should just call the whole thing off, apologize, and go hide under a blanket for the next few days with a bowl of soup.
Instead, I asked myself: what's the worst case scenario?
I fail miserably. I don't complete. Or I complete the novella and they hate it. I'll make no money if I don't complete, and a pretty small amount if I do. I might get some bad feedback on my profile. That might make it harder to find jobs for a while. Then again, most of my jobs so far have been in editing, reformatting and copywriting areas, not creative writing areas, so that probably won't actually affect much, will it?
Ok. What's the best case scenario?
I succeed brilliantly. So brilliantly that I'm disappointed that I don't get to take credit for it. My first ever fantasy novella makes my employers fabulously rich and famous. Then again, I don't think they're quite as inspiring as a well-connected teen (Eragon) or a single mother (Harry Potter), so the novella would have to succeed on my brilliant prose alone. Let's be honest, that's not very likely for a first work.
So the most probable scenario is that I make a little money, build my resume, learn about writing on a deadline, and have some fun with it.
Phew. Panic over. Down to business. Erm. I don't have any clue where to start. The blank Word document is staring me in the face. I play around with formatting for a while and surf the internet, calculate how many pages I have to write in a day if I don't want to write on the weekends (3), and go back to staring at the blank page.
But I don't want to close that Word Document. If I do, I know I probably won't open it again. If I choose inertia, then it'll be that much harder to choose action. And I know basically what the story is about - good defeats evil. What else do I know about stories?
Five minutes later, I have:
Exposition:
1.
2.
Rising Action:
1.
2.
3.
Climax:
1. Battle between protagonist and evil person.
Falling Action:
1.
2.
Conclusion:
1. Hero is returned home, victorious.
The next time I got stuck, I started writing down everything I could think of about my main character, who was described as "a 16-year old girl." And so on. I just kept moving in the direction of writing a story, and eventually, the story was written.
The moral of the story: just because you aren't completely qualified, doesn't mean you shouldn't go for it. Do what you are qualified to do, and you'll figure out the rest.
The corollary: A day later, I also won a contract to write a short action-adventure story (I REALLY didn't expect to win both, it was a little overwhelming!). But then it changed to a mystery. I have read a couple of mysteries, but not many. Fewer than 10. That was too far outside of my experience, and I ended up declining. Know your limits.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Always Remember to Do Your Research
Do your research before you offer a service. Simple, right? But sometimes it's easy to overlook. For example: I learned about tracking changes in Word over a year ago.
(In Microsoft Word 2007, you just go up to the "review" tab and click "track changes." Easy.)
I had fun with it - it's almost as satisfying as a red pen! Plus, the tracked changes helped me land my first ongoing job. The client hadn't seen it before, and really liked the feature.
As you can imagine, I felt quite good about my Word prowess after that. And I started offering a guarantee of tracked changes with each product. In fact, I offered two copies - a clean copy and a tracked copy. Guaranteed!
Some of you are probably shaking your heads already. But for those that don't know - you always have the option to view a clean draft. It's quite simple. Just go up to the "track changes" section like before, and where it says "final showing markup," click it and select "final." Like magic, the changes will disappear, until you change it back. You don't need a clean copy and a tracked copy.
If I had taken the time to experiment with the feature and learn this very simple fact, I suspect I would have gotten a few more jobs. Nothing contradicts the image of a competent editor like not knowing the basics of Word. It's pretty cringe worthy, imagining a company reading my proposal incredulously and dismissing it out of hand.
The corollary to this: if you're not totally sure about something, don't offer it. I might have also gotten more jobs if I hadn't proudly declared my ignorance. Most of them didn't even ask for tracked changes!
Since then, I've been exploring the different options much more closely; any time you think you know about a program, do some research. It will make a much better impression in the long run!
(In Microsoft Word 2007, you just go up to the "review" tab and click "track changes." Easy.)
I had fun with it - it's almost as satisfying as a red pen! Plus, the tracked changes helped me land my first ongoing job. The client hadn't seen it before, and really liked the feature.
As you can imagine, I felt quite good about my Word prowess after that. And I started offering a guarantee of tracked changes with each product. In fact, I offered two copies - a clean copy and a tracked copy. Guaranteed!
Some of you are probably shaking your heads already. But for those that don't know - you always have the option to view a clean draft. It's quite simple. Just go up to the "track changes" section like before, and where it says "final showing markup," click it and select "final." Like magic, the changes will disappear, until you change it back. You don't need a clean copy and a tracked copy.
If I had taken the time to experiment with the feature and learn this very simple fact, I suspect I would have gotten a few more jobs. Nothing contradicts the image of a competent editor like not knowing the basics of Word. It's pretty cringe worthy, imagining a company reading my proposal incredulously and dismissing it out of hand.
The corollary to this: if you're not totally sure about something, don't offer it. I might have also gotten more jobs if I hadn't proudly declared my ignorance. Most of them didn't even ask for tracked changes!
Since then, I've been exploring the different options much more closely; any time you think you know about a program, do some research. It will make a much better impression in the long run!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
How To: Get Started as a Freelance Writer (or Programmer or Marketing Person)
One of the hardest things about freelancing is finding clients, right? I mean... what do you even look for? Just... work?
If you know exactly what you want to do with your career, then this post probably won't help much. You're probably already prepared with a list of places you want to work and what you want to do for them.
But if you're like me, you're armed with nothing more than a hobby, some good AP exam and SAT scores, and the hope that you're somehow going to make enough money to eat this year.
So what's a good solution here? Freelancing sites! They match up clients and freelancers for a cut of the profits. It's a fantastic way to gets started. I can't vouch for many sites, so be wary of scams. I can however, vouch for the website that got me started:
ELance
It's a fantastic resource for beginning freelancers. They give you a profile, a spot to upload portfolio, and a bunch of other stuff. You get a certain number of credits, which you use to bid on jobs posted by clients. It will help you get a feel for what kinds of work are out there, and what you want to do in particular. Check it out!
If you know exactly what you want to do with your career, then this post probably won't help much. You're probably already prepared with a list of places you want to work and what you want to do for them.
But if you're like me, you're armed with nothing more than a hobby, some good AP exam and SAT scores, and the hope that you're somehow going to make enough money to eat this year.
So what's a good solution here? Freelancing sites! They match up clients and freelancers for a cut of the profits. It's a fantastic way to gets started. I can't vouch for many sites, so be wary of scams. I can however, vouch for the website that got me started:
ELance
It's a fantastic resource for beginning freelancers. They give you a profile, a spot to upload portfolio, and a bunch of other stuff. You get a certain number of credits, which you use to bid on jobs posted by clients. It will help you get a feel for what kinds of work are out there, and what you want to do in particular. Check it out!
Friday, March 30, 2012
How to Make To-Do Lists You'll Actually Use
I'm an "artsy" person. You know the type. Daydreamy, whimsical, kind of really really awful at doing all of the things that I need to do to get organized. Has a sneaking suspicion that grades aren't really a good measure of success. Tendency toward the counterculture, with hipster sympathies.
But when I got my first two jobs, I realized that my old standby of "I forgot" really wouldn't cut it anymore. Somehow, the knowledge that I could be fired did a lot more than all the frowning of college professors - in school, you just make it up by acing all the tests. When that's not an option, suddenly the familiar "uh oh... I was supposed to what?" becomes "uh oh... can I make rent now?"
But how to keep track of to-do lists? They're boring and just one more thing to remember! Well, you might only have so much willpower during the day. If you waste it on your task list, that's probably counter-productive.
So you have to be sneaky and trick yourself - make your list fun and attractive.
Try everything. Preferably for a week or more, unless you are really convinced that you hate a particular system. I used Wunderlist (whimsical yet traditional), an Excel spreadsheet (very official looking), notebooks (portable, and I like writing in notebooks, but easy to forget/lose), a planner (reminds me too much of school) and even a whiteboard (satisfying to cross stuff off, not portable) to learn my personal style.
Ultimately, I found that I need a couple of things from a list. It needs to be pretty, and it needs to be funny. So I set up a private Tumblr blog called "To Do: Figure out Life."
I customized it to be very self-indulgently colorful and whimsical, and gave myself permission to be funny in my entries; it's combination task list and journal for all of the little details that probably wouldn't make it into a real journal entry. (See below for an example)
What's your personal style? Don't know? Take a look at the blogs and comics and news and podcasts that you consume regularly. Which ones are your favorites, the ones that excite you the most and make you happy when they update? Why do you like those ones? Do they have an informative, solid, dependable tone? An artistic and/or inspiring tone? Lots of quotes and pictures? Do you like narratives?
The blogs I like to read are usually light-hearted, with a sense of humor tending toward the sardonic.
So a to-do list might look like this:
Like anything, you have to give yourself permission to fail, or you'll get discouraged. I started making the lists before going to bed. If I forgot, that was ok. Now, since I have a job that starts at 5:30 am, I tend to make them in the morning. Whenever works best for you. I don't cross everything off, either. It's ok if you forget sometimes - as long as your lists are interesting to you, you won't forget every time.
Basically, you can either try and force yourself to use a list you don't like, or work with yourself and trick yourself into doing what you're supposed to do and enjoy it. So take the time to figure out how to keep yourself interested - it'll help a lot in the future.
But when I got my first two jobs, I realized that my old standby of "I forgot" really wouldn't cut it anymore. Somehow, the knowledge that I could be fired did a lot more than all the frowning of college professors - in school, you just make it up by acing all the tests. When that's not an option, suddenly the familiar "uh oh... I was supposed to what?" becomes "uh oh... can I make rent now?"
But how to keep track of to-do lists? They're boring and just one more thing to remember! Well, you might only have so much willpower during the day. If you waste it on your task list, that's probably counter-productive.
So you have to be sneaky and trick yourself - make your list fun and attractive.
Try everything. Preferably for a week or more, unless you are really convinced that you hate a particular system. I used Wunderlist (whimsical yet traditional), an Excel spreadsheet (very official looking), notebooks (portable, and I like writing in notebooks, but easy to forget/lose), a planner (reminds me too much of school) and even a whiteboard (satisfying to cross stuff off, not portable) to learn my personal style.
Ultimately, I found that I need a couple of things from a list. It needs to be pretty, and it needs to be funny. So I set up a private Tumblr blog called "To Do: Figure out Life."
I customized it to be very self-indulgently colorful and whimsical, and gave myself permission to be funny in my entries; it's combination task list and journal for all of the little details that probably wouldn't make it into a real journal entry. (See below for an example)
What's your personal style? Don't know? Take a look at the blogs and comics and news and podcasts that you consume regularly. Which ones are your favorites, the ones that excite you the most and make you happy when they update? Why do you like those ones? Do they have an informative, solid, dependable tone? An artistic and/or inspiring tone? Lots of quotes and pictures? Do you like narratives?
The blogs I like to read are usually light-hearted, with a sense of humor tending toward the sardonic.
So a to-do list might look like this:
- Wake up at 5:10. Ugh.
-Stupid daylight savings. - Work 5:30-7:30
-Check - Work on social media job
-Check - Cry a little. Kidding (mostly).
Do yogaTake a shower- Conversely, sleep.
Breakfast: Stir fry.- Instead of doing any of that: worked, took a 2 hour nap, woke up with a headache. Awwww yay-ah.
- Work 10-12
-Go to Rendevous or Macey’s for work. You really need a change of scenery and something yummy to help you work. Maybe even Biff’s, I bet they don’t close before 1...?
-Check. Mmmmmm, hipster pastries. - Work on your novel
- Go to the bank
-Check. Also, check deposited. Booyah.
Like anything, you have to give yourself permission to fail, or you'll get discouraged. I started making the lists before going to bed. If I forgot, that was ok. Now, since I have a job that starts at 5:30 am, I tend to make them in the morning. Whenever works best for you. I don't cross everything off, either. It's ok if you forget sometimes - as long as your lists are interesting to you, you won't forget every time.
Basically, you can either try and force yourself to use a list you don't like, or work with yourself and trick yourself into doing what you're supposed to do and enjoy it. So take the time to figure out how to keep yourself interested - it'll help a lot in the future.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Keep Your Home and Work Life Separate
Protip: when you clock out of work, really clock out of work and leave the area. Don't do the online equivalent to standing around the break room shouting about your shower, and how you're just now starting to get halfway decent at time management skills. Does this even really need to be said? Yep.
Learn from my mistake. I'm just glad I was off the clock.
Learn from my mistake. I'm just glad I was off the clock.
Monday, March 26, 2012
How I Started Freelancing, Or: This Economy Sucks!
I was unemployed for almost a year. During that time, I got really depressed, dropped out of school, and starting lounging around the house in my pajamas, getting more and more morose, and keeping a roof over my head by the grace of my very tolerant boyfriend and room mate, as well as money my parents had very generously given me after I had to admit that my lofty plans and goals were falling through, and I wasn't going to be able to keep up my end of the "graduate college and get a job" deal on the agreed time schedule.
I suspect that for my boyfriend and room mate, at least, my pathetic-ness was much helped by my pathetic cat. No one quite had the heart to throw both of us out, even after I ran out of gifted money.
I had a couple of crappy jobs during this time - as a bartender for a very shady strip club that never put me on the payroll and paid me by personal checks (also electrocuted me repeatedly and fired me for complaining), as a manufacturer of river rafting gear (yes, that job should probably be done by a robot), and as a receptionist (still have that job for a little longer actually), but nothing that made minimum wage and/or provided living hours.
I also became an expert at camping Craigslist and going to interviews with 8 million more qualified, older other people. It was the first time I considered taking my nose ring out, after my facial jewelry barred me from a job that I KNEW I was going to hate, KNEW was too far away and too early in the morning and I KNEW would slowly crush my soul every day. I just wanted to have a job - it was coming down to having my soul or having my self respect, and I was losing hope of attaining either.
Then, one day, justifiably concerned by my third straight day hanging out in bed, my boyfriend said to me, "Why don't you try freelancing? You did pretty well in the English AP exams, right?"
"...Yeah... but... so?"
"So someone might need an editor, or even a writer."
"I don't think so."
"You haven't even tried."
"Don't wanna try."
"Well, you can't sit around eating ice cream forever."
"Watch me. Besides, I clean house sometimes."
"Just try it, ok?"
"...Fine, whatever."
1 week and an ELance account later...
"I have 6 jobs!"
"How are you keeping track of all of those jobs? You can't even keep track of your keys."
"I'm an adult now. Also I have a spreadsheet."
(So I actually wrote this post before this comic. But I love it.)
And now: a blog. About being really ill suited for... pretty much any kind of job, finding my niche and making it work anyway. Hopefully someone will come across this in the depths of depression and it'll help.
Or else it'll just be funny. I think it's funny. Happy reading!
I suspect that for my boyfriend and room mate, at least, my pathetic-ness was much helped by my pathetic cat. No one quite had the heart to throw both of us out, even after I ran out of gifted money.
I had a couple of crappy jobs during this time - as a bartender for a very shady strip club that never put me on the payroll and paid me by personal checks (also electrocuted me repeatedly and fired me for complaining), as a manufacturer of river rafting gear (yes, that job should probably be done by a robot), and as a receptionist (still have that job for a little longer actually), but nothing that made minimum wage and/or provided living hours.
I also became an expert at camping Craigslist and going to interviews with 8 million more qualified, older other people. It was the first time I considered taking my nose ring out, after my facial jewelry barred me from a job that I KNEW I was going to hate, KNEW was too far away and too early in the morning and I KNEW would slowly crush my soul every day. I just wanted to have a job - it was coming down to having my soul or having my self respect, and I was losing hope of attaining either.
Then, one day, justifiably concerned by my third straight day hanging out in bed, my boyfriend said to me, "Why don't you try freelancing? You did pretty well in the English AP exams, right?"
"...Yeah... but... so?"
"So someone might need an editor, or even a writer."
"I don't think so."
"You haven't even tried."
"Don't wanna try."
"Well, you can't sit around eating ice cream forever."
"Watch me. Besides, I clean house sometimes."
"Just try it, ok?"
"...Fine, whatever."
1 week and an ELance account later...
"I have 6 jobs!"
"How are you keeping track of all of those jobs? You can't even keep track of your keys."
"I'm an adult now. Also I have a spreadsheet."
(So I actually wrote this post before this comic. But I love it.)
And now: a blog. About being really ill suited for... pretty much any kind of job, finding my niche and making it work anyway. Hopefully someone will come across this in the depths of depression and it'll help.
Or else it'll just be funny. I think it's funny. Happy reading!
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