This blog post is about slowing down when life dictates the need for it – and understanding that “it’s ok” to slow down, chill out and opt for a steadier pace.
So yes – the sky’s the limit. I understand that. But no one ever said you have to go skyROCKETING all at once! So, I’ve consciously decided to set a few rules. With a few weeks of practice implementing these rules, I can honestly say it’s been doing me (and my family) some good.
Rule Number 1
Family First.
Yep. It’s sad that I even have to PUT this down as a rule, but very quickly and equally as easily; freelance work can devour your days (and nights). Not that the fam isn’t your first priority – that will never change. But I can’t tell you how easy it is to put other things off so that you can ‘get just one more project out of the way’ or get a ‘few emails sent out’. These past several weeks, I’ve vowed to put work second – and boy has it changed things. For the better.
Rule Number 2
Weekends are Weekends for Freelancers Too.
Whoever decided that people working for themselves must work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all the freaking time? As I was slowly and steadily climbing up that ladder on Elance, I was waaaayyy to quick to accept projects with ridiculous deadlines and insane amounts of communications required by the client – at all times of day and night. The thing is, in almost each case, there was no regard to my time. My time is valuable. And aside from an occasional urgent assignment that must be done immediately, I have decided to (semi) strictly adhere to the rule of weekends being down time for me. I say semi-strictly because old habits die-hard and even though this rule has been in place for a few weeks now, I still find myself working on Saturdays and Sundays. But things have changed.
Rule Number 3
Establish Clear Parameters.
Right about when I was having this epiphany that “Hey! Freelance is supposed to be fun, liberating and somewhat, well for lack of a better word, free – I started getting ridiculous requests from some existing clients. Clients that were feeling very free to help themselves to anything and everything under the sun that they could get away with, in terms of additional work done on their projects. I had to draw the line. So from now on, whenever I begin a project with a client, new or established, I always outline exactly what services will be rendered in exchange for what exact price. Not only that – I have also started outlining exactly what they’ll be charged for possible additional work. Basically, leaving no stone unturned. In this business – there is NO room for gray areas. It’s all black and white.
Rule Number 4
Charge What You Are Worth.
I undersold my worth one time – and one time only. Since then, I’ve been tempted time and again to lower my price(s) to accommodate a project I really, really wanted, or to gain some additional experience in a fairly new field. But the bottom line is this: I am good at what I do. And no amount of bargaining on the part of a client (existing or potential) is going to change the value I can provide to their business/organization/task. So, to lowball on any project, no matter what the reason is and how badly I feel it can be justified, I simply don’t do it. In fact, I’m actively looking at areas where I can charge what I’m really worth. As it is, freelancing shaves off a bit from the regular old ‘brick and mortar’ business rates I would have otherwise charged.
So there you have it folks. Yet another set of rules. Well, they’re for me but you can feel free to use them if they make sense to you.
In the interim, anytime the work starts bogging you down, try to remember that there is something to the word ‘Free’ in ‘Freelancing’.
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