Stay tuned for new posts about freelancing as an artist–the lifestyle and labor alike. I’ve owned this site since 2003 and while my own personal freelance landscape may have changed (yes, I am still a full-time freelancer), there is plenty to write about. More updates coming!

–Joe Wallace
Owner
Freelance-Zone.com

When I was in grade school, we had this small (but disturbingly thick) hardcover grammar book. It was a horrible mustard yellow hue. Even to this day, I still picture this book when I think about grammar. I didn’t like it then and, to be honest, I don’t like it now. But I can recognize that despite my primary method of communication being through visuals, I need to be able to express myself clearly with words as well. I’m attempting to take a cue from the illustrious Cat and do more work on my writing. As a first step, I finally pulled The New Well-Tempered Sentence (A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed) off of my bookshelf. It’s been there for a while, but I’ve cruelly ignored it until now.

Karen Elizabeth Gordon does an excellent job of laying out the basics of punctuation in this thin, but highly informative book. Starting with the exclamation point and working her way through semicolons, hyphens, italics, and ellipses, the book balances writing rules with bizarrely entertaining examples. (While discussing independent clauses linked by commas, she throws out sentences like “The suspect removed his grimy white gloves, but another pair lurked beneath.” To illustrate a subject having two actions attributed to it, she uses this example: “She always carries bandages with her, but will give them only to bleeding people to whom she has been formally introduced.”)

I doubt that even my most hardcore grammar geek friends have ever laughed out loud while reading about writing properly. (I did while reading this one, and I got some strange looks from people in my vicinity.) It’s a bit difficult to review a book that is both short and full of writing rules, but if you’re looking to brush up on your punctuation and actually enjoy doing it, definitely pick up a copy of The New Well-Tempered Sentence.

Erin Harris | Visual Communication Designer
erinmharris.com | BoDo Author | Erin Reviews

Now now, hear me out. This isn’t goodbye.

For almost seven years Freelance Advisor has been run as a sort-of non-profit arm of Crunch. The team that writes the stuff for Freelance Advisor are the same people writing stuff for Crunch (aside from a few freelance contributors), but Freelance Advisor has always existed as an independent publication, and covered its own costs with advertising. As Crunch has grown into something quite substantial we’ve had less and less time to look after Freelance Advisor, and we’ve now reached a point where it’s become obvious we can do things much better by focussing all our attention on just one publication. So, over the next few weeks we’ll be upping sticks and moving everything over to the Crunch blog.

All of the great articles that support thousands of freelancers every day will remain, and we’ll still be hanging around on Twitter and sending our bi-monthly newsletters – there’ll just be a different logo at the top.

Of course, it’s a bit sad putting our big orange community site to bed after thousands of posts, millions of visitors and a few great parties - but we’re looking at it as a new beginning. A chance to double-down on helping freelancers and contractors, and to combine two of the best websites and communities for the self-employed into one mega-useful resource.

So a huge thanks to everyone who has helped make Freelance Advisor the amazing place it is today – every contributor, comment-leaver (even the rude ones), visitor, advertiser, partner and Twitter follower. Our job of supporting the UK’s exploding self-employed community is only just beginning, so join us over here and help us build something even better!

Photo by Erich Ferdinand

The post Freelance Advisor is dead; long live Freelance Advisor appeared first on Freelance Advisor.

However, without the right planning and organization, freelancing can turn into voluntary slavery.

The first couple of days will be surreal – not having to wake up insanely early, no one to report to but yourself and choosing what work to do with your time. Then with time, you will start missing normal communication and the fixed schedule that comes with employment.

The only way to avoid ending up feeling like this is setting your own personal rules and sticking to them.

Human beings desire structure and without it, confusion arises.

We, at Edugeeksclub.com, work a lot with freelance writers and here are their recommendations of how not to become a prisoner of your own freelance independence.

Discipline

Being disciplined and responsible is crucial to being a good freelance. There is no boss or human resource to track down your every movement and ensure you are doing your work, there is no punch in or punch out time and this can lead to a lot of laxity.

You need to come up with a guideline on how you will spend your days for maximum productivity, unlike being employed; every victory will be yours as well as every failure.

You can try the following personal discipline routines that have helped other freelancers with their work:

Use your mornings wisely

Studies have shown that productivity for most people is usually at peak performance in the morning hours, and you know what they say about the early bird. You should schedule most of your work in the morning hours for maximum output.

In order to avoid distractions, create a strict rule of no social media before noon.

Use a daily plan

The point of freelance is not to free you from the routine and structure that comes with a professional working environment. You still need it very much if you want to achieve your goals.

Therefore, you need to create a daily plan, without planning, you will not be able to get things done. You can create a work journal or calendar where you outline your daily tasks. Using a plan is also a great way to evaluate your output.

At the end of the day, check if you complete all your tasks and if you did not, then you had better have some good reasons.

Don't forget Entertainment

If you work online, there is a great temptation to open a few browser tabs and check what is happening on social media or the latest funny videos on YouTube.

The main problem with doing this is that it slows down your work. You will take longer completing tasks that you would have managed in a couple of minutes.

This means that you will end up working all day and probably all night, you will be tired and frustrated.

Your personal entertainment should be right up there in your schedule, once you complete your work; you can set aside evenings strictly for entertainment.

Health

Health should be one of your greatest concerns whether you work at a job or freelancing. One of the biggest challenges that employees face is finding the time to eat proper healthy meals.

There is always the morning rush not to get late to the office meaning they will probably start of the day with a cup of coffee and a piece of toast.

The one-hour lunch break with piles of paperwork leading to a quick fast food meal delivered to the office and getting home late in the evening too tired to cook and settling for takeout.

As a freelance, you have the opportunity to take care of your health and this will have a positive impact on your productivity.

So instead of making sandwiches all day, you should consider the following:

Full meals in your diet

You can incorporate full meals into your daily plans. You can even use your entertainment evenings to switch over to the food channel and learn some new recipes.

Work out

You can gain a lot of unhealthy weight as a freelance. Working at home all day, moving from the desk to the couch to the bed can lead to an unhealthy body. You should start a workout regimen or even get a gym membership. You will get a chance to get out of the house and maintain a fit body.

Take care of your eyes

Digital eyestrain is a real thing and working from a computer all day can be dangerous. If you spend a lot of time on your computer, your eye may start feeling irritated, tired, and dry and sometimes it may lead to a headache.

You should give your eyes a break from looking directly at the screen every twenty minutes, blink frequently, use proper lighting, and proper monitor position and keep the monitor bright.

You can also consider getting computer glasses with special prescriptions to use while working on the computer.

Communication

Let's face it; working alone can be depressing at times. Human interaction is essential for human existence.

You should consider working in an environment where there are other people working around you.

Try going to a quiet café every occasionally and use the Wi-Fi to do your work. You can also work with friends and family.

Remember to give yourself some days off to communicate with people, visit friends and family and keep your social life alive.

Create a working space

Your personal space will quickly vanish if you do not have a special area where you do your work. You might end up turning your entire apartment into an office with very little or no distinction between living space and working space.

You need to create a working space where your mind can focus on the tasks you need to complete.

You can create a specific corner or separate room into your apartment where work is done. Get a desk, a chair, a computer and a reading lamp.

To further create that professional business atmosphere, avoid going into the working area in your pajamas.

Personal time

If you have noticed so far, the key to successful freelancing is creating a distinct difference between work life and personal life even when it happens under the safe roof.

Things can get a little murky when there are no boundaries and this will through you off balance completely. You should plan your free time, your off days and remember your financial responsibility.

You don't want to be stuck in the house not being able to afford to eat out with your friends because you wasted all your work time on Facebook.

Author bio
Antonio is a New Jersey­ based hopeless optimist who enjoys basking in the world's brightest colors. He loves biking to distant places and occasionally he gets lost. When not doing that he's blogging and teaches ESL.

Something big is coming for freelancers—International Freelancers Day! If you haven’t heard about it yet, this is a free, two-day online conference exclusively for solo professionals. And the line up of speakers and sessions are impressive. But be sure to block off your calendar because this event will be held live so you’ll need to show up on time for the sessions you want to attend.

This video was embedded using the YouTuber plugin by Roy Tanck. Adobe Flash Player is required to view the video.

Here are the topics for each day:

Friday, September 24

• How Facebook Can Supercharge Your Freelance Business
• Create a killer network to build and boost your business
• SEO Copywriting Made Simple for Freelance Writers
• How to Determine if There’s a Viable Market for Your Freelance Services!
• Facebook Marketing Success Secrets for Solo Professionals
• Workday Nirvana: How to remain inspired and productive when you work alone
• Getting Corporate Clients
• How to Build Your Brand As a Freelancer
• How to Attract Freelance CLIENTS with Your Blog (Not Other Freelancers)
• What Kind of Entrepreneur Are You? Knowing the Rules of the Game You’re Playing to Win
• How to Trigger The Big 5 Subsconscious Buy-Buttons Without Feeling Like A Slick Idiot
• So You Want to Write a Book — An Introduction to Writing, Publishing and Promoting

Saturday, September 25

• Real-Time Marketing & PR: How to Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now
• 7 Productivity Secrets To Make Your Best BETTER!
• How To Build Your Business By Creating Your Own Smarter, Faster, Cheaper Web TV Show
• 5 Proven “Low-Tech” Ways to Land Profitable Clients
• 5 Tips for Increasing Your Competitive Advantage Over Other Copywriters
• Become an Expert at Optimizing Web Content for Social Media
• Transitioning from Freelancer to Creative Business Owner
• 12 Strategies for a “Well-Fed” Freelancing Career!
• Negotiating Your Way to Success
• How to Write and Design Winning Landing Pages

Be sure to visit the website to find out more information and also to register so you can reserve your spot! Go freelancers

#1. Increase Your Rates

It’s obvious, isn’t it?  Increase your rates and you’ll make more money.  We know this and yet we freelancers are notoriously timid about raising our rates.  We’re afraid any increase will drive away existing clients and turn off prospective ones. While these are valid concerns, if you put too much stock into them, you’re not going to last long as a freelancer.  A freelance career is not sustainable unless you’re being paid what your time is truly worth.

To assess the true value of your time, do your research.  Find out what the going rate is for work like yours as performed by freelancers of a comparable skill level.  If your rates are lower than your peers, you can feel confident that there’s room for an increase without your business drying up.  Talk honestly and confidently to existing clients about an impending rate increase, explaining the reasons behind the increase and remembering to discreetly remind them of any value you’ve added to their business.  With new clients, there’s no need to explain anything – but you might want to spend more time soliciting clients with deeper pockets.    

#2. Keep Meticulous Time Records

Since becoming a freelancer, I’ll bet the old adage “time equals money” has never seemed more packed with vitality and truth.  As a freelancer, every minute counts.  That’s why you need to closely monitor how you’re spending your time: your habits might be causing you to leak money.  Whether or not you bill by the hour or per-project, get into the habit of writing down everything you do in a day, making particular note of how much time you spend on individual assignments.  (You can use apps such as Chrometa or iTimeSheet to make it easier.) Keeping a close eye on your time will help you to avoid undercharging per-hour clients, ordetermine a more accurate rate for per-project clients. Just think: if you forget to bill 15 minutes of work everyday, if your hourly rate is $40, you’re losing $50 per week, or $200 a month!

#3. Think Passive Income

When you sell your service, whether it be writing an article or designing a website, you only get paid for that work once.  But if you sell a product, you can get paid for that product again and again without having to put in more work or time.  Why not supplement your freelance income by creating and selling a product that relates to your talents and would appeal to your target clients?  Consider writing an e-Book or a workbook, creating a Premium WordPress theme or an instruction video,or selling stock photography.  Although you’ll likely need to invest many hours upfront, the payoff can be huge later on.

#4. Teach Your Skills

Even if you still feel wet behind the ears in your freelance career, there are people out there who are greener than you.  And they want to learn the skills that you have.  Considering offer your services as a teacher or consultant. Start talking up this aspect of your business with friends and family, and at networking events or social functions. Approach a local community college with ideas for a class, or you can even offer a special online class through your own website.

#5. Develop a Strong Marketing Plan

When freelancers hear the word “marketing”, many of us either sigh or wince. Do we have to?  Of course we do.  A freelance business is like any other: without a regular marketing push, it’s likely to stall and flounder.  While the feast and famine periods of freelancing are inevitable, if you are not on top of your marketing, your famine periods will be much longer than necessary, costing you ample dough.  Take a few hours to develop a marketing plan to be carried out over the next 12 months. Your plan should include your income goals, strategies you intend to implement for achieving those goals (e.g., direct mail, cold-calling, email prospecting, etc.), and a timeline for executing those strategies.You’ll be surprised at the difference a little marketing can make to your bottom line.

About the author:

This guest post is by Michael Law. Mike has extensive experience as a freelance journalist and online marketer, and has worked with leading Sydney immigration and compensation lawyers. If you’d like to get in touch, you can send Mike an email.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• explaining freelance rate change
• who has more money shak
• ways to make money as a freelancer
• michael law freelance journalist
• making more money freelance
• make more money freelancing
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• how to get more money when your 16

About the author:
Steve Slaunwhite coaches freelancers in how to get all the ideal clients and great-paying projects they want. To book your FREE 30-minute coaching session, email steve at steve@steveslaunwhite.com.

 

It’s often been said that if you go the extra mile for your clients, you’ll be rewarded with more repeat business and referrals.

That’s true.

But you don’t necessarily have to haul your butt an extra mile every time. Often, just an extra yard, or even just a few inches, will do!

Here’s what I mean:

You see, I was in Austin, Texas earlier this year leading a series of business-to-business copywriting workshops. It was a fantastic experience. But what made it great, besides the wonderful group of professionals who attended, was the hotel. The staff there did a terrific job of making my stay comfortable and enjoyable.

Now here’s the thing. Most of the services they provided were similar to what you would expect at most good hotels. The room was clean. The staff was friendly and helpful. The food was tasty. (No awful “banquet food” here!)

But they did do one special thing — one seemingly insignificant, but actually very significant thing — that ensures that I’ll stay at that hotel again and recommend it to others.

They bought me a jar of peanut butter.

You see, I’m a bit of a peanut butter nut. (No pun intended.) I have toast and peanut butter for breakfast almost every morning. So when I went down to the hotel restaurant my first morning in Austin, guess what I ordered?

“Toast with peanut butter, please.”

The waitress serving me looked genuinely concerned. “Ah, sorry sir. We don’t stock peanut butter. But we do have several varieties of jam!”

I was disappointed but tried not to show it. “Ah, strawberry,” I said.

Then, the next morning, I got a different waiter. So I took a chance and asked for peanut butter again. No luck.

Then, on the third morning, I went down for breakfast and was greeted by my original waitress. “I’ll have coffee and whole wheat toast with, ah . . . strawberry jam, please,” I ordered politely.

She had a slight sheepish grin on her face. “Would you like to have peanut butter instead?” Her smile broadening.

“Ah, yes. That would be great. Thanks!” I said, as if the offer had made my day. And in a way, it had.

I found out later on that the hotel restaurant had purchased a jar of peanut butter just for me.

Keep in mind that I never made a fuss. It wasn’t like I was irate because, damn it, there’s no peanut butter. I was fine with the jam. But the restaurant staff obviously noticed that the peanut butter — which probably cost them less than five dollars — would make me a much happier customer. And it did.

The lesson here is obvious. You don’t necessarily have to go way above and beyond the call of duty to win over clients — and thereby get more repeat business and referrals. Sometimes all it takes is a little extra or a minor accommodation; an extra yard.

One of my past coaching clients, a freelance corporate trainer, once helped a client develop a skills development survey for his employees. She spent about an hour with him on the phone, walking him through the process and brainstorming questions to ask. And she didn’t charge him a cent for the extra time. “To this day,” she says, “my client still mentions the help I gave him and thanks me for it.”

My guess is, he probably gives her more repeat business and referrals, too.

And by the way, this strategy works just as well with prospects. Remember, prospects, even if they never do business with you, can still potentially refer work your way.

So how do you put this “extra yard” strategy to work in your freelance business? Here are a few ideas:

• A new prospect contacts you about a project you don’t handle. Send him two or three names of professionals you know who do handle that type of work.

• You just wrote a press release for a client. Offer a few tips on how to follow-up with an important editor of a key publication.

• A prospect calls wanting a new website designed. Before you even get the order, provide some free advice on plug-ins he can use to integrate his site with social media.

• It’s the holiday season. Send your best client a stack of Starbucks gift cards to distribute to all his employees. (I do this with my best client and every time I visit his offices, at least one person thanks me for them.)

• Every so often, for a regular client, do a small project for free. Don’t say so in advance. Simply write on the invoice: “Fee waived. This one’s on me. Thanks for the business.”

These are little things you can do that don’t cost you much in terms of time or money. But they can have a huge impact on the experience the client or prospect has in dealing with you.

And the more clients and prospects there are out there who have a positive experience with your freelance services, the more business is likely to come your way.

So when you see an opportunity to “buy a jar of peanut butter,” do it!

Action Ideas:

• Review your list of current clients. Are there some little things you could be doing to create a better experience with your services?

• Create a “vendor list”. That way, you can quickly recommend other professionals and companies to your prospects and clients. This is one of the easiest ways to “buy the peanut butter”.

• Take a closer look at how you deal with prospects. Are they having a positive experience interacting with you, even if they don’t end up hiring your services?

A website of any kind is quite necessary for selling your services but it does not have to be that elaborate or expensive. In fact, a straightforward WordPress site is more than adequate when it comes to being an online page to promote your website. This is because you can create a single page on WordPress and also attach a blog. It is especially a good idea to start a blog to accompany your promotional page. It helps you meet customers, show off your talents and also inform your readers of your prices, services and the latest in the freelance writing world. In fact, a blog offers you the opportunity to show off how you can promote yourself. If you do it well others will want you to promote them too.

You might be thinking that you need more than a WordPress page to promote your site but you actually don’t. It’s not the type of site you have but what’s on it. The most important thing is going to be the copy on the sales page that you create to promote the services that you provide.

Remember that the real purpose of your blogging site is to act as a way of generating leads. You want to create blog content that is designed to force visitors to come to that page for a quote. This means you need to create content on the page somewhere theta has a very clear call to action that tells them to e-mail you and ask for a quote. Even better yet, install a plug-in from the C-Panel on your web host that will allow you to collect email addresses so you can build a list of prospects.

Another great thing to include is testimonials from satisfied customers. This gives you some credibility as well. You can also go “whole hog” and make yourself a little video using free software like CamStudio and embedding on your WordPress site.

Once this blog is up you have to remind people it exists to generate traffic for it. You should add a signature file to all of your outgoing e-mail messages, even your personal mail.

You can also write keyword rich articles that are associated with your business and submit them to the leading article directories like EzineArticles, GoArticles, Search Warp and Article Dashboard. These can also serve as sample articles you can show potential customers.

If you have some cash available, try using PPC advertising with Google AdWords or Yahoo Search Marketing. Using the former will undoubtedly put your advert for your blog in front of far more potential customers.

The main thing that you have to remember is that achieving success as a service provider to a large extent depends upon your ability to set yourself apart from everyone else in your market so be unique with your content.

Should you give up on this whole freelance thing?

Just quit this foolishness? And go back to being gainfully and properly employed?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

I’m guessing if you’re asking this question it’s because things aren’t going like you planned.

Maybe it’s about money. Or lack thereof. Or drudge work. The constant ‘uncertainty’ of it all. Maybe it seems you simply traded one irritating boss for seven irritating clients.

“When is this carefree, self-directed lifestyle supposed to kick in?”

It could be that this life just isn’t for you. It’s not right for most people.

You may, in fact, be perfectly normal, without any of the character flaws and mis-matched synapses that you need in this business.

Or, it could be that you’re just doing things wrong.

With me, when freelancing turns sour, like through most of 2011 and much of this summer, it’s because I have been shamefully unproductive, or cowardly, or wildly undisciplined. Or just not paying attention. I’ve learned it’s not the business model. It’s me.

But what should you do?

Should you figure out this freelance thing?  Or get a proper job already?

There is probably a way to decide this with spreadsheets and P&Ls.

But here’s a better way. It reveals the right answer every time.

Do this.

Check out the job boards

Reach out to your old colleagues, ask around about opportunities. Work LinkedIn. Polish your resume. Send out some letters to creative directors or editors or coordinators.

Apply for a few positions. Go on an interview or two.

Does all this make you feel better?  Do you feel a flood of relief? A new sense of direction? As if you can now sleep at night for once? Do you feel like you again?

Or do you feel worse? Does something sink inside? Does it scare the hell out of you?

Do you suddenly start thinking of ways you can tinker with freelancing some more?

I’ve seen this work both ways.

But it seems to turn up the right answer every time.

Me and my renegade friends are still here.

And Thom, Cille, Nancy, and Allison are back in respectable jobs, and happily loving it.

As part of my ongoing effort to start writing more out and about on the internet, last week I published a guest editorial on WPCandy about the State of WordPress Themes and ThemeForest. There’s been a lot happening on ThemeForest over the years and we’ve come such a long way since 2008 when we first took the site online. Today, ThemeForest is the largest WordPress themes library in the world, which is both astonishing and testament to the amazing talents of our authors.

In the post I have gone into a bit of detail about the size of the WordPress theme market, where ThemeForest fits in, and a bit about our reviewing process. If that sounds like your cup of tea, head over and have a read!

You even don’t need your own website to create an online portfolio. A number of free or nominally priced prefabbed portfolio sites make creating your own digital portfolio a cinch. Here are a few I’ve found. If anyone knows of any others, feel free to add them in the comments.

For writers and media professionals: mediabistro, ebyline, contently, pressfolios

For designers, illustrators, photographers and other visual artists: behance, carbonmade, cargocollective, etsy

For those who need a landing page to tie together all their online projects: about.me

I’d also be curious to hear what kind of freelance job leads people are getting from these prefabbed portfolio sites. I’ve had my portfolio on mediabistro for the past couple of years and it’s paid for itself many times over. Yes, some inquiries from potential clients and editors don’t pan out (usually because their budget is too small for my taste). And yes, I may not get a nibble from an interested editor for months. But this month alone, my portfolio page yielded a four-figure assignment for a women’s magazine I’d never written for and another contact at a high-profile newsstand magazine that I hope to write for in the coming months.

How about you? What portfolio sites do you use and what kind of leads are you getting from them?

Zen is simply now — the practice of complete awareness of the present.

While Zen has immensely beneficial applications in a multitude of personal situations, it can be extremely helpful in the work environment.

We all have the potential to experience Zen at the workplace, and the wonderful benefits it promises.

It’s just a matter of recognizing what Zen is and applying a few of its principles.

Have you ever been so involved in what you are doing at work that you fall into a hyper-focused state, and before you know it, you look up from your work to see the time has zoomed by?

Some people call it “being in the zone.” Others call it flow. Either way, it’s when we are completely engaged in what we’re doing — staying Zen while working.

Here are five ways to apply the principles of Zen at work:

1. Organize Your Desk and Work Area

Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.”
— Barbara Hemphill

Although some people claim to work better in a cluttered area, most find it distracting, since they have to continually push things aside to find what they need. If you are finding that there is no room on your desk, take a few minutes to clean your work area before sitting.

Spending just a few moments getting organized can help eliminate mental stress, since a messy work area definitely contributes to it.

2. Learn to Take Control of Demands

Life is not what it’s supposed to be. It’s what it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference.”
— Virginia Satir

When the demands of our work make us feel pressured, our brain begins to think that we are unable to cope with them. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed is simply not having control over our everyday demands.

Your brain gives off a fight-or-flight response when you start feeling as if you cannot cope. The more you stress, the more your brain misinterprets the feeling and tries to fight it.

The good news is we can change this by first figuring out the signal thoughts that put us into “can’t cope” mode. These signal thoughts may include things like:

• Feeling as though we have to do everything immediately
• Having too much on our plate
• Believing we aren’t able to get everything done

To change your brain into believing you can cope, you have to change your mental attitude. For instance, instead of panicking over the 35 phone calls you have return, tell yourself this:

I will return these calls. There is no need to activate my body’s emergency system.

To do this, you have to ask yourself a couple things: First, does it really have to be done this second? Secondly, what will happen if you put it off?

3. Don’t Let Distractions Take Over

By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.”
— Christopher Columbus

Staying Zen while working will not just happen all on its own. You have to focus mentally to get into this state, and eliminate all distractions that will keep you from finishing the job.

Since we all know that busy work can allow distractions to overtake these more mundane tasks, schedule a specific time for doing these types of activities. Keep your distraction plate clear while at work and save the busy tasks for another time.

Better yet, schedule your Zen time instead and stick to it.

4. Slow Down

Progress, of the best kind, is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once, and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step.”
— Samuel Smiles

By slowing down and doing less, you can get more done. In fact, according to Dr. Stephen McKenzie, cognitive psychologist, most of us waste our workday by answering emails, sending status updates or tweets, and even eating our lunch mindlessly while in front of a screen.

He goes on to say that in order to be mindful you have to focus on one thing at a time instead of trying to multitask.

5. Question Why You Do Things

Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions Why am I doing it? What the results might be? and Will I be successful? Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead.”
— Chanakya

When you’re stressed at work, it’s more difficult to focus. It can lead to reacting to situations, instead of thinking them through and logically coming to a decision.

Instead, how about challenging your beliefs so you can understand other viewpoints? For instance, why not start your day off being rational instead of letting your emotions dictate your actions?

—

Aside from the great feeling you will get by being Zen, your overall work day will be more pleasant as well. You’ll notice that you’ll start to get tasks done and more frequently, rather than losing focus.

Being Zen can be completely rewarding and satisfying. It’s important you realize this, appreciate it and practice it daily.

(Photo by Foundry / CC BY)

With increasing pressure from alternative energy sources, it is not surprising that this movement resulted in the creation of several portable solar devices. Harnessing the sun’s energy is not only friendlier to the environment than other energy sources, on a sunny day, is limitless and easy to find. Solar energy devices for attachment of portable are available to charge mobile phones, laptops and other small electronic devices. There are also outdoor solar lamps and ovens that are ideal for campers who want a less flammable source of light and food.

Solar panel technology has come a long way since the days of huge solar panels in the gardens or on top of the houses. The science behind solar panels was conveniently reduced to a much more manageable and modified to suit different situations and environments size. Small portable solar chargers are affordable and can charge not only phones, but also MP3 players and blue-tooth headset. For a person on the road, traveling around the world or someone staying in a warm climate, with little or no electricity, a solar fan is practically a necessity to keep you comfortable. Find an outlet available is not only difficult, it can sometimes be impossible, and solar chargers eliminate the need to stick to where power lines run.

One of the greatest resources for laptops is their portability. Unfortunately, the lifetime of the battery usually is not long enough to meet the needs of its users. In an effort to fill a need, there are several types of loads compact solar panels designed both responsible and operate a laptop when the outlets are not available. Some of these portable and even flexible panels can be connected to other units to increase the harness solar energy and therefore the energy they produce.

Despite its size, the solar panels that are used to harness the sun and provide power to a home is only able to use one-sixth of the potential energy. One of the latest advances in solar panel technology is tiles, which are specifically designed to absorb sunlight, near its full potential. These tiles were created by an American company and use solar energy thanks to its dark color and film solar cells in which it is thin enough to be mounted in the form of tiles. New advances in materials for solar technology increases the efficiency of solar panels up to 20%. The number of owners who want to produce their own energy through the use of solar energy is increasing every year and the industry is working hard to meet their needs.

The design of portable solar panels is changing every day.

I have been busy building my company, working with my clients, and writing and blogging in other places. I remain a passionate advocate for aspiring entrepreneurs and career changers, but as my career coaching practice grew, I realized it would be impossible to limit myself to only corporate escapees. My calling is really about helping ALL people find more fulfilling work.

In fact, over the last few years, I have seen a real need out there for help in finding fulfilling work — too many people in this country are unemployed, underemployed, or unhappily employed. I am trying to do my part to address that problem.

I love my job because I get to work with so many bright and motivated people from different walks of life. I teach some clients the skills to ace their job interviews and succeed in their dream jobs. I work with others in launching new businesses. I even get to teach future career coaches at my alma mater, New York University.

So if you’re interested in career advice or career coaching, or just want to know what I’m up to these days, please visit my Skillful Communications website or Tell Me About Yourself blog.

You can also find me writing about New York for About.com.

If you just stumbled upon this blog and are looking for advice on escaping from Corporate America, please read through the blog archives to see if you can find some useful answers. You can also get in touch with me any time via email at ps @ escapefromcorporate.com.

I hope to soon find time to blog here again more regularly. But in the meantime, now you know where to find me.