This week was shaping up to be a pretty tame one, workwise. I had seven articles to submit and five content pages to complete. I sent in the previous set already and just had four pages left from the second set to write. And then in comes a whole deluge of writing jobs, with six articles due on Wednesday, five content pages due on Thursday, and another four for Friday, and a 2,000-word magazine article I’m supposed to send in by Monday, the same day I have to go to a government office to get more details about a feature they want written.

I’d complain about the workload, except I’m really just happy even getting any number of writing assignments. Plus, I said yes to all of them anyway, so I can’t blame anyone else.

The strange thing is, even if I get exhausted with all the writing, I can’t seem to be able to say no to projects. Most likely it comes from a fear of not having anything to do and therefore not earning any money. Maybe one of these days, I’ll say no to any job for a whole month so I can spend my time and energy working on all the projects I’ve pushed to the back burner.

People. When you say “Ezinearticles,” you don’t pronounce “Ezine” to rhyme with “wine.” E-zine comes from “electronic magazine,” and therefore e-zine should rhyme with–guess what?–magazine.

Again: E-zine as in e-magazine. E-zeeeeen. I cannot stress this enough.

I just had to let this out, because this is a total pet peeve of mine.

One of the misconceptions about freelancers is that our time belongs to no one but our clients. Since we’re not following any particular work hours, that must mean we’re available any time of the day, and the client is therefore free to intrude on your time anytime they need you to do something, is what seems to be what they’re thinking. A friend of mine, Doreen, was hired to be an editor and writer for a self-improvement website.  She ended up quitting after one month because she was unable to cope with the website owner’s demands, not least of them requiring her to be online in both Yahoo! Messenger and Skype all day, and haranguing her when she doesn’t reply to e-mails instantly.

Another freelancer, Elaine, served as a graphic designer and website manager for an environmental group. She was told that she didn’t have to follow any particular working schedule, which suited her just fine. In retrospect, she shares that it might have been a good idea to pin down a certain number of hours and the time as well, because the clients then called her every time she didn’t reply to e-mails quickly, expected her to keep working even at 10 p.m., and sometimes even told her to work Sundays. “That wasn’t what I signed up for. I was a contractor, not their employee,” she said.

It’s not unheard of for freelancers to be at the beck and call of their clients all throughout the day, but that doesn’t mean that this should be the case. If you’re new to freelancing, you might be scared to lose the clients you have and think that setting guidelines about work hours will antagonize them. But it’s a good idea to do this, or you risk spoiling them and making them think that they can run to you every time they need you. Let them know how much time you spend on their projects each day, if you have to, and you can also turn in a progress report detailing your work for the day. Keep a firm hold over your schedule. If you work six hours a day and never during weekends, make sure that you work in a way that ensures timely completion of the project. Hopefully, that will keep clients from breathing down your neck. You became a freelancer to have control over your schedule after all, not to spend 24 hours working.

What do you do to discourage your clients from forcing you to do what feels like a 24-hour work day?

I stumbled on this pretty funny article from Articles Factory (I was looking up article factories and came upon the site). “Top 25 Reasons to Work for Yourself Online” gives readers a lighter look at the benefits of freelancing, though the last item is certainly true.

One of the most important things freelancers should remember–as should any employee–is to BE PROFESSIONAL. Complete your work properly and before or on the deadline, always be accountable for your mistakes, keep everyone in the loop–you get the gist. However, not all freelancers keep professionalism in mind, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I have been less than professional during my first few months as a freelancer. One of the habits that some freelancers are prone to is to simply disappear without a word of warning to his or her clients.

Yep, believe it or not, it does happen, though for various reasons. It could be that the freelancer was displeased with the terms of the contract and didn’t know how to rework the agreement for a more favorable setup in his or her favor, and opted out without consulting the client. The freelancer could also have the impression that since he or she isn’t holding down the job on a full-time basis that it’s something that could be easily shrugged off. Worst of all, the freelancer might just think that the client is the most horrible person on Earth to be avoided at any cost; the experience of working with such a client may be so unpleasant that the freelancer just wants out, never having to deal with the client ever again and reputation be damned.

It’s probably a lot like the fantasy of telling you’re boss that have HAD it and that you never want to see his face again; it’s satisfying, but ultimately leaves a poor impression of you. Some people already think that freelancers are flaky, and putting on a disappearing act will ruin things for everyone else. It will only make people think twice about hiring freelancers again, and at the same time, you’ll be seen as unprofessional and unreliable.

Before taking on a job, you have to figure out whether you are capable of performing the duties and if you can submit the project on time. If you have too much on your plate, then you shouldn’t take on any extra work. If it’s the client itself that’s the problem, however, you might want to take the honest approach and let them know exactly how you work and what your schedule is. If things don’t improve, however, you can write to them to let them know that you’re unable to complete the job and direct them to another freelancer who can finish their project (don’t forget to give the freelancer ample warning about the client!). Another option? Suck it up and just get through the work. At least you can be grateful for the fact that you don’t have to deal with them face to face on a daily basis. Just complete the job as quickly and flawlessly as possible to minimize the amount of time you have to spend with them.

Just remember that it’s always best to end things on a positive note. You may need to work for that client again in the future (like when you’re really desperate or a better person is in charge of the project) and you will also need them to give you glowing recommendations should other clients ask you for references.

See? I’m not the only one my age who is rejecting the corporate world. This article features twentysomethings who left high-paying jobs to pursue their own interests and start their own businesses. High-paying as in an insane $500,000 a year.

I’m not really counting myself among them, though, mainly because I did not leave a high-paying job to strike out on my own, but one that made me feel like a useless pawn for three years. Now if the article talked about twentysomethings who rejected cubicle life in lieu of working in cafés, restaurants, and at home, then I should be on that list!

Anyway, it’s interesting to see how these people place more importance on their interests than their high-paying jobs, and not just because doing what they love will make them more money in the long run, but because they find it more inspiring and meaningful. When I was working, I often wondered if I’d have stayed at my old job if I got a massive raise: “Would being paid 30,000 a month make me happier and push me to wake up every day for this job?” I realized the answer is a resounding NO–not only will that P30,000 never happen, much less P20,000, but no amount of money would have diminished the annoyance of being a mere cog and feeling demoralized practically every day.

If you’ve been writing résumés for a living, you probably know the right things to write to attract potential employers. Be careful about splattering too many keywords and clichés though. Some people think certain phrases are the ones employers really want to see in résumés, but for the most part, these phrases get applicants rejected.

Careerbuilder has a list of 13 of the most overused phrases used in résumés. Looks like I seriously need to update mine pretty soon.

A few days ago, Michelle Goodman wrote about the reasons why grad school isn’t a total necessity, and it got me thinking. On and off for the past six years (yes, years), I’ve been entertaining the thought of going to grad school and taking either Web publishing, magazine journalism, or even going further with my History studies. Part of the reason why I want to go to grad school is a serious interest in those subjects; another reason is a desire to live abroad even for a year, because the schools I’m eyeing are located in the UK.

Her post enumerates the reasons why any freelance writer isn’t actually required to have a graduate degree, and that one good reason to actually pursue further studies is to improve your knowledge about the topic you’re most interested in writing about. Which makes perfect sense, because it’s important for you to learn as much as possible about a field in which you plan to specialize.

So that post pretty much bopped me on the head and diminished my desire to go to graduate school. Instead, I’ve chosen to look into taking the Editorial and Proofreading course at the London School of Publishing in the future. That is certainly more in step with my plans.

I have to admit, I’ve always hated meetings, even when I was working full-time. Oh, I understood that they were important, it’s just that I found frequent and long, rambling meetings extremely…unproductive. You certainly won’t get a lot done if you’re stuck in a meeting for over an hour.

Of course, when I started freelancing, I had fewer meetings to go to. Of course, I had to meet all-new potential clients and go to follow-up meetings for any projects, but on the whole, I’ve managed to avoid them. One of the worst meeting experiences I’ve had as a freelancer involved a very…meticulous person who wanted a website done according to his specifications, no matter how ugly the end product turned out. He would call two to three meetings a week, and each meeting lasted four to five hours. It was not an economical use of anyone’s time, especially since he spent a lot of time talking about how we were all young and inexperienced, while he is older, more mature, and therefore has much more to offer than we do.

It wasn’t just the meetings that took up too much time. There was also the commute, which took two hours back and forth. So that’s nearly half a day wasted just for one meeting.

I didn’t want to go through that sort of thing ever again, but luckily, my other clients weren’t like that at all, and brief meetings in person, just to formally introduce ourselves to one another and really talk about the project, were all that took place. Otherwise, we left each other alone and communicated mostly through Y!M and e-mail. And you’d be pleased to know that it’s a setup that works very well.

Clearly, in my experience at least, being able to work with clients doesn’t mean having to spend hours with them in meetings. It’s all just a matter of being able to communicate expectations and instructions well.

Related stories:

• Every Other Meeting is Unproductive
• Spend less time in meetings

Freelancing offers plenty of rewards: more time to spend with loved ones, or on a hobby, or just to develop one’s skills, freedom to choose clients and projects, possibly even more money, if you play your cards right. There are hazards to becoming a freelancer as well, and one of these is–believe it or not–weight gain.

Yep, along with the good comes the bad, and an unbridled access to the kitchen and refrigerator can greatly spur on all the munching you can’t do regularly in an office. There’s also the fact that you may find yourself living a more sedentary lifestyle than when you were going to work. Sitting in front of a computer also presents an irresistible opportunity to munch on some snacks! I’m not the only one who’s noticed this negative effect of life as a freelancer. I know quite a few people who’ve also encountered the same thing, gaining five, ten pounds within a year of freelancing. If you’re one of these people, then you no doubt feel that you have every right to just lie around in your pajamas and do the work when you need to, and spend your free time munching or watching TV. After all, you’ve been working hard in an office these past few years, and it’s about time you enjoyed being at home, right?

Er, that’s all well and good, but you shouldn’t get too comfortable in your pajamas, or you’ll eventually discover that your weight has started to balloon. And no, you can’t use the excuse that you no longer have time to exercise. That probably worked when you spent countless hours in the office, but now that you’re working at home, it sounds a wee bit unbelievable, unless you are completely swamped with freelance work all the time.

The important thing for you to do is to really make the time to exercise, and to learn how to manage your time better. You won’t be able to fit in a workout session when you wake up at two in the afternoon, then madly rush through all your work for the day and try to get everything done by the time evening rolls around. It’s always a good idea to start your workday early then take off for a couple of hours to get some exercise. When you take a break, you can also use the time to lift some weights or have a quick jog around your neighborhood.

As for the snacking, it’s best for you to ease up on it. Oh, don’t cut it out entirely. After all, snacking can help you think sometimes (I remember how I used to have snacks surrounding me when I had to review for an exam or finish a paper. They certainly helped keep me awake!). You should probably go for some more healthful options, though. Try snacking on cereal bars, fruits, or baked chips.

So don’t get complacent about your size and your appearance even though you’re just working at home. Getting and staying healthy is always best, and looking great is just a bonus. Imagine how you’ll feel when your former coworkers and supervisor see you and tell you how amazing and refreshed you look