I strongly believe in taking breaks throughout the day. There used to be a time when I didn’t do this and soon enough I was burning out mentally and my wrists and arms were in pain. Since striking a balance between work and breaks my efficiency has skyrocketed. Not to mention the fact that my body feels better than ever as well.
Even though it may sound silly, you can cause great bodily harm if you do not take breaks throughout the day. When I was working hour after hour without a break my wrists, fingers, and elbows began to ache way more than usual. In fact, it got so bad at one point that I had to take a day off to regroup. As a freelance writer you need your hands and arms to be in good working condition at all times. After all, if you cannot type you are going to have a hard time becoming a success in this field.
Of course, breaks are good for your mind as well. There are times when I have to get away from my desk because my mind is racing with thoughts. If you are feeling bogged down and anxiety is closing in on you, the best thing you can do is take a break. Even though you may feel like you are wasting time, when you finally get back to work you will feel like a new man.
There is no denying that you need to work as much as you can during the day. I try to work eight hour days. Sometimes I work more, sometimes I work less, but this is what I strive for. To stay balanced I take several breaks including a longer one for lunch.
As you can see, it is very important to take enough breaks during the day to keep your body and mind fresh. Are you striking a good balance? Or do you need to make a change in this area of your career?
I am the type of freelance writer who always likes to be on top of things. I do my best to stay ahead of the game at all times, no matter what it takes. If I get behind on my work it begins to take its toll on me, and soon enough I will find myself working long hours to catch up. Do you ever find yourself falling behind? How does this make you feel?
There are many ways to get behind on your work, and all of them should be avoided. Here are three of the most common mistakes that can eventually put you behind the eight ball:
1. Taking off too much time. If you are constantly taking days off and skipping out early you are going to find yourself falling behind soon enough. This doesn’t mean that you have to work seven days a week, but you definitely need to be careful about how much time you are spending away from your desk. If I am going to take a day off I do my best to plan for it.
2. Do you spend a lot of time everyday checking email and browsing the internet? This is one of the easiest ways to get behind. The internet is one of the biggest time wasters on the face of the earth. There is nothing wrong with browsing online and checking your email during breaks throughout the day. But you do not want to let this take over your career. If you do, you will find that you are not working as efficiently as you could be.Â
3. If you take on more than you can handle you are going to fall behind in one area or the next. There are only 24 hours in a day, and it is safe to say that you do not want to work all of them. For this reason you need to be careful that you do not bite off more than you can chew. It is nice to have a lot of work on your table, but only if you can handle all of it.
These are three common ways to fall behind on your work. Are you confident that you can avoid these blunders?
Chris, I really want to work with a client but they will not negotiate any of the terms, including payment. What should I do? This is a question I am asked over and over again. As you probably know, this is something that every freelance writer has to deal with from time to time.
There are two things you can do in this situation:
1. Bite the bullet and accept the terms that are offered to you. This may not be the ideal situation, but you need to ask yourself whether or not you can live with what the client is putting on the table. Sometimes it is worth your time to settle and take on the client. But sometimes you will be better off walking away. Only you know what position you are in, and what is most important to you when accepting a new client. Remember, money is not the only term that may put you at odds.
2. Walk away. Even though it is not always easy, walking away from a project is something that you will have to do at some point in time. Last week I turned down two jobs because the company would not agree to my rate. Both jobs were intriguing, but in the end they simply didn’t work out.
If you are going to turn down a job and walk away, keep this in mind: you never want to burn any bridges. I have turned down jobs just to have the client come back the next week and meet my demands. Do you think this would have happened if I were rude and inconsiderate during the first round of communications? Definitely not.
Not every client will give you everything you want. There are times when you need to negotiate, settle, and even turn down projects.
