#ideal career

[ginsbergsunflowers]

they just dont let you be a sea side shut in painter for a living like they used to

[productiveandfree]

Elevate Your Freelance Game with Powerful Productivity Secrets

Many freelancers compare their careers to rollercoasters. It is a career of feasts and famines, of thick and thins, and of good and bad times. There are many pros and cons of freelancing, but for many, owning your own business and making your own hours makes it an ideal career.

To succeed, freelancers must refine their workflows and adopt strategies that help them stay organized, productive, and ahead of the competition. With the right approach, freelancers have fulfilling, sustainable career paths — they thrive on their own terms.

Optimize Your Freelance Workflow with Proven Tools and Techniques

Freelancing offers unmatched freedom and creativity, whether you do it part-time or full-time. But remember, if you want to have more ups than downs, use your downtime to find more work and reinvest in your business.

Freelancing requires juggling multiple responsibilities, from sourcing new work to meeting tight deadlines. Needing to wear so many different hats makes organization a top priority. Adopting techniques that simplify administrative tasks and reduce distractions can create a workflow that keeps you focused and efficient.

Streamline Administrative Tasks

Administrative duties can take up valuable time. Tools like HoneyBook or Trello can centralize client communications, invoices, and deadlines, reducing the mental load. Set aside a specific weekly time to handle invoicing, emails, and other repetitive tasks. That way, your energy stays reserved for creative work.

Another practical tip is to use automation tools like Zapier or Calendly. These platforms can sync your calendar with client meetings, automate follow-up emails, and ensure deadlines don’t fall through the cracks.

Minimize Distractions

Distractions are productivity killers. Stick with routines and boundaries like designated work hours and a dedicated workspace to help maintain focus. And even though working in your pajamas might feel relaxing, it’s often better to hop in the shower and put on comfortable clothes. For an added layer of focus, break your work into 30-minute intervals with short breaks in between. This method enhances focus and also prevents burnout.

Set Clear Goals

A solid workflow requires clear, actionable goals. Use project management tools like Asana or Monday.com to break larger projects into smaller, manageable tasks. Categorize these tasks by priority and deadline to tackle them effectively without feeling overwhelmed.

Advanced Time Management for Freelancers

Time management is critical for freelancers balancing multiple clients and projects; it’s key to achieving an optimum work-life balance. While traditional methods work, advanced techniques can help you manage your schedule more efficiently.

Unconventional Time-Blocking

Time-blocking is a popular method, but you can take it a step further by incorporating themed days or task batching. Assign specific days of the week to focus on specific types of work—such as client outreach, creative tasks, or administrative work.

Alternatively, batch similar tasks together. For instance, set aside two hours to respond to emails and schedule meetings rather than scattering these tasks throughout your day. That minimizes mental switching and saves time.

Avoid Task Fatigue

Freelancers often experience task fatigue when juggling multiple deadlines. To combat this, try the Eisenhower Matrix, a method that categorizes tasks based on urgency and importance. Address critical, high-priority work first while delegating or scheduling less pressing tasks for later.

Prevent Scheduling Pitfalls

Build a buffer into your schedule to handle overlapping deadlines effectively. Avoid over-committing by setting realistic timelines and communicating them to your clients upfront. Finally, seek ways to add more time to your personal schedule; don’t hit the snooze button and limit time on social media.

Master Contract Management and Client Relationships

Solid contracts and client relationships are the foundation of freelance success. Streamlining these areas ensures your projects stay organized, professional, and on track.

Simplify Contract Management

Freelancers often need help managing multiple projects, payments, and expectations. Tools like HelloSign or Dubsado make creating, storing, and tracking this information easy. Use templates to save time and read all agreements carefully. They should clearly outline payment terms, deadlines, and deliverables.

Consider pairing contract tools with project tracking software to make your life even easier. For example, the Notion platform allows you to link contracts to specific projects, creating a one-stop hub for everything related to your work.

Strengthen Client Relationships

Maintaining positive client relationships is vital for retaining work and building a strong reputation. Set realistic expectations at the start of a project and provide regular updates on progress. A quick check-in email can go a long way in keeping clients informed and satisfied.

Prioritize this: Create a curated email list to stay connected with potential, current, and past clients. This tactic helps you maintain relationships and keep your services in mind for future projects. Ongoing, open communication keeps you and your clients aligned, preventing misunderstandings and fostering trust.

Leveraging Productivity Strategies = Better Freelancing Outcomes

Freelancers who adopt these productivity strategies often have more time, less stress, and happier clients. Whether automating repetitive tasks, fine-tuning your time management, or simplifying contract management, these methods can transform your workflow.

We know this is a lot, so start small — pick one or two techniques and implement them this week. You’ll notice enormous business success with just a little effort and consistency.

Katie Brenneman

Katie is a passionate writer specializing in time management, marketing, and education-related content. When she isn't writing, you can find her with her nose buried in a book or hiking with her dog, Charlie. To connect with Katie, you can follow her on Twitter.

Share in the comments below: Questions go here

[puppiesareperfect]

It’s possible I’m biased as someone who’s working towards an education degree, but I genuinely think Doof’s redemption arc would’ve hit better post-series if they stuck with him being a science teacher. For one I genuinely enjoyed Doof101, it was nice to get a different setting for once. And Perry being his weird little teacher’s assistant who makes sure he doesn’t blow up the place was fun. But also like, one of Doofenshmirtz’s big character traits is being a dad. He is literally good with kids, albeit in a dorky sort of way. But a dorky personality is pretty much expected for science teachers. I could definitely see him getting a reputation as the teacher that’s “a little out there but really fun to have. also gives advice about things like college if you ask—he has some bit about going to evil school but other than that solid advice”

[egophiliac]

do you have youtube channel?

technically yes, but I just use it to host unlisted videos for embedding, so there's nothing, like, public on it. :') sorry! I basically don't post anywhere except here and occasionally on pixiv (in case it's not obvious, I suck at social media).

[luthientinuvielss]

I think fandom tends to strongly misinterpret Nancy Wheeler's character as a whole, but right now we'll focus on the fact that drive for being a journalist is not because she wants to climb that job ladder to the top by any means necessary, but because she genuinely wants to use the medium as a means to help people tell their stories and be a voice for people who aren't being listened to/taken seriously.

Her first taste of investigative journalism was in season 2 when she was seeking justice for Barb, trying to find solid evidence to use so she could take down the lab for covering up the death of her best friend.

In season 3, she was the only person at the Hawkins Post that took Mrs. Driscoll's complaints seriously and followed up with what was happening even after she had been humiliated, laughed at, negged by her boyfriend, and fired from her job at the newspaper. Getting to the truth, helping Mrs. Driscoll, and protecting the town was more important to her than being popular at a job.

Again, in season 4 she was the only person who truly listened to Wayne Munson and believed that there had to be another explanation for what was happening. Every other reporter in town was more interested in selling the Devil Worshipper turned Murderer! headline, but Nancy treated Wayne with care and respect - because she knows that the truth is often something more complicated to be uncovered, and that the people involved are more important than simply an easy sell headline.

In closing, being a reporter may be Nancy's career path of choice, but she chose this path and sticks to it because of how deeply and personally she cares for being a voice for people who don't have a voice anymore or are otherwise not taken seriously - as she has been in their same position before with the death of her best friend. She cares about people.

[saetiate]

those who like someone with competency vs those who like someone with incompetency. like to the point where it cound be considered a kink/fetish. very intriguing

[thepersonalwords]

It is one thing doing what you love for a living. It is another thing doing what you love with love

Rasheed Ogunlaru, Soul Trader: Putting the Heart Back into Your Business

[cottage-cheesy]

episode concepts for a season where Buffy becomes a paramedic instead of a school counselor to solve her career crisis

- Buffy befriends a coworker, thus giving her a human relationship with someone who doesn’t know she’s the slayer. Buffy keeps having to leave from her overnight shift to kill vampires and making up excuses

- Buffy experiences Sexism in the Workplace, culminating in a male coworker grabbing her and Buffy accidentally using her slayer strength to break his nose or hand or something. this complaint gets brought to her (male) boss, who gets attacked by vampires and from then on does know that Buffy is the slayer. he continues to be sexist to Buffy but he’s also kind of scared of her now

- a mysterious creature targets and kills people that Buffy’s paramedic team finds. solving the mystery involves both supernatural and medical/forensic information that Buffy must obtain and put together. Buffy’s boss doesn’t accept the supernatural explanation and Giles doesn’t accept the mundane explanation

- Buffy invites the new friend over to meet the scoobies. she feels jealous of Buffy and Willow’s much longer friendship and how they’ve shared things she can never understand. Buffy and Willow keep sneaking off to deal with something supernatural, compounding this feeling and leaving new friend with the rest of the Scoobies. They have lots of dramatic irony convos about who Buffy is. New friend chastises Spike for smoking because “cigarettes will kill you,” to which Spike responds that he’s dead anyway.

- a bottle episode with some kind of spirit in the back of the ambulance, Buffy alone sees a passed out person sit up and talk to her

- new friend, after seeing person after person come in totally drained of blood with two marks in their neck, independently comes to the conclusion that vampires are afoot and tries to rope Buffy in. Buffy tries to gaslight her out of this, and when the friend finds out that Buffy knew about the vampires the whole time this causes a friend breakup

- the friend breakup is resolved when they get a call from a kid who voluntarily turned himself, then started to regret it and called 911. New friend and Buffy have to use their combined medical and vampire knowledge to try and stop him from turning in the back of the ambulance, reuniting them on their goal of helping people. when they fail to save him, Buffy must stake him through the heart while he’s on the gurney, and new friend has more sympathy for Buffy’s burden of being the slayer and why she might have wanted to keep her out of it. comedy stinger that the boy was turned by Harmony who wanted a new BF after Spike dumped her

- a Buffy Misery episode where a demon is torturing her by causing people she helps as a paramedic to die every time. Buffy doubts if she’s good at this at all and should just go back to slaying and bring a waitress. Xander is convinced of a demon, him and Anya find it and Buffy gets a happy ending knowing that she truly is good at saving people

[blu-art]

Do *you* have a story you're trying to get off the ground? Whether it's to be self published or sent as a pitch, I can help as your editor 🌟 (amongst other services that I offer).

Anyway! Open for Freelance work~

[batsplat]

Misano 2007

[deoidesign]

Hello! I just discovered your blog and I immediately became captivated by your webcomic, but I'm unsure where to read all of it. I know it's on Webtoons, but I can see it hasn't been updated for a while, and you still post about it.

Are your physical novels just prints of the webcomic? Are they a continuation? Is the story complete? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!

Glad you found me and are enjoying my comic!

It's only on webtoons, and the story is not complete yet! We're 2/3 of the way through right now. It's currently on hiatus, and it's scheduled to come back in about 2 months!

I'll explain why it's been so long if you're curious, but also for my followers who might also be wondering about it under the cut. Sorry, it's pretty much just me complaining haha

I took a month off I took 2 months to get the books printed I took a month to prepare my next comic and I took 2 months to write the rest of the series (I knew the character arcs I wanted, but not the time periods or mysteries!!!) I've been working on actual episodes since then

I had to take some time off because of some pretty extreme burnout due to the sheer amount of work it was to draw over 800 pages and write 6 complete stories in a year and a half... I was getting sick almost weekly due to the overwork, it was really really bad honestly. I was having to work 60+ hours every week just to keep up...

The nature of the comic itself is also difficult... Each of the arcs is a complete, self contained story which can be read (ideally) without context, and my arcs need to be about 10-13 episodes each... And since I have an exact number of episodes to work with, it's even harder.

It takes a ton of planning and a ton of refinement, and working week to week with no breaks I was forced to put out second or even first drafts, so I just wasn't happy with the work I was doing... And to do that for the rest of the series? I wouldn't be proud of the work I did.

Plus... To be entirely honest, webtoon has treated me quite badly IN MY OPINION... They deprioritized me before I launched (I had to beg for more promotion, I'm not exaggerating), they outright denied me the opportunity to even ask for a raise, I don't make any money on fast pass and they pay me less than my partner makes working at trader joes. My first editor left me completely hanging, my second editor (who I loved) was fired... And they told me I wouldn't get a third season before my first season even finished. So it was just repeatedly completely demoralizing.

I'm sorry it has taken so long, it'll have been 10 months by the time I come back. But I realized... I won't get promotion either way. I won't get more episodes either way. I won't get more money either way. So to finish everything, to make it feel good, to make it something I'm proud of, I chose to take longer to make it better.

I am fully aware I will lose a significant amount of my readership for this and it might genuinely affect my career moving forward. But it's what I had to do! So I'm sticking to my guns on it, and I'm confident long term it'll be worth it. It never could have been this good if I didn't take this much time.

[problematicsashawaybright]

Guess who now has a savings account AND actual money in their savings account instead of the same singular checking account I've had since high school. It's like I'm an actual adult with financial responsibility or something.......

[amediocregamer]

@retic-pithon @vix-affix @enemylv1 @liv-log @k1m4r4 @irusanw4 and all else mutual, may thou choose wisely. for me. choose wisely for me. on this thing that has no relevance to you. for me.

[katabay]

testing out some brushes I think I want to use for when I actually start posting bad governance in narrative order, which took a slight detour because I had to do some math with character ages and events and oh I hate doing math so much

so! do you ever realize you're definitely going to get dumped but you're stuck waiting it out because you're not really in a position to do anything about it except sit there and deal with it

ofc you can always just. ditch the party.

this is playing off of the historical dynamic between sulla, pompey, and crassus because sulla sure loved playing favorites, and it was never crassus. however a man doesn't need to be a favorite to make use of him, etc etc and favoritism doesn't last forever, but I'll get into that later

Sulla: The Last Republican, Arthur Keaveney

Rome, Blood & Power, Gareth C Sampson

Plutarch, Pompey