Whenever someone tells us that the secret to a productive day for freelancers is getting ready in the morning, there’s always a school of thought that disagrees. What’s interesting is that no one ever comes up and says that working in your pyjamas is productive.

As a freelance writer who has done both, I can tell you that getting ready for work is much more productive than working in PJs.

There’s no denying that working in your PJs is fun. The element of glee involved is just too good to pass up. However, an occasional day spent working in your pyjamas is a far cry from doing it every day.

The secret to having a productive work day is getting dressed.

Look at yourself right now. Forget stepping into an office. Are you dressed to step out and meet a client for an informal meeting?

While working from home gives us the freedom to be our selves, dress comfortably and work anywhere we want, it does not give us the liberty to become sloppy, unhygienic and unproductive by working in our pjs.

If you’re not getting dressed for work (which includes taking a morning shower by the way) then you are bringing your bed to work instead of your brain.

You are sabotaging your own productivity.

Routines are there for a reason. The simple act of waking up, taking a shower and pulling on clothes that had some thought go into their selection, prepares you for a work a day without the pressure of running late or looking good.

When you sit down to work, you’re already in work mode and your day is already halfway through to being productive.

Bottom Line: its fun to work in your PJs but it’s more productive to get dressed.

Are you sabotaging your own productivity?

Back in April when I took time off, I was shocked at how easy it was to come back and pick up where I left off. I’d taken the unconventional route and closed shop for the 10 days I was away. Projects were completed; clients were notified. I came back, told my clients I was back and before I knew it I was freelancing again.

When I took my yearly 6 week break in October, I was confident I’ll be able to do the same. I’ll go home, soak in the sun and sand, hang out with friends, spend time with family etc. What I didn’t count on was getting lazy. I stopped thinking about work. A few family medical emergencies and my own flu and later bronchitis squashed any plans I had of working a few hours a week.

Then I made the biggest mistake. I came back and didn’t start working immediately. A week’s recuperating turned into three. Before I knew it, I decided to take it easy till the delivery and then go work part time after the baby came.

I contacted no clients, I didn’t search for work and I barely networked. Before long my unplanned sabbatical became an unwelcome sabbatical. And yet I couldn’t get myself to start work!

I landed an editing job out of the blue a few weeks ago which I didn’t turn down because it was insanely simple and I was actually interested in the work. As I worked, writing started to come alive again. My old drafts called at me and this neglected blog mocked me till finally, I started writing.

I’m writing again, getting back into freelancing again. If nothing else, this sabbatical has given me the time to think through my plans for the future. How will I handle a baby and work? Do I even want to work or become a full time mom?

The editing job gave me my answer. I’m a writer and will be a mother Insha’Allah. The two can co-exist. In order to make the co-existence harmonious, I’ll now be freelancing part time.

The decision to work part time made me realize that I no longer need to take projects that don’t hold my interest. I can pick and choose my work so that the time away from my child doesn’t feel like a time suck. I can pursue my own freelancing plans that kept being pushed back in favor of client work.

Best of all, I can have it all.

Image Credit: nsaplayer

One of the most fascinating aspects of freelancing is the potential to earn in different currencies. I get a thrill every time I seal a deal that would mean earning in a different currency. It’s probably one of my crazier thrills but seriously, how cool is it?!

Thanks to PayPal, the fact that I have home base in two countries and siblings in others who can help me set up whatever’s needed, I’ve had an easier time working it out. Also the fact that I live in a tax free country makes the execution all the more hassle free!

So how many currencies am I earning in anyway? The answer to that would be four. Two of those are handled by PayPal. (Don’t you just love their feature which helps you maintain money in different currencies?), third currency is of the country of my residence and fourth one is of my home country.

There are aspects such as monthly withdrawals and international money transfers which need planning or else I’ll end up paying more in service charges than can be justified.

As a freelance writer, how many currencies have you earned in and how do you handle payments by international clients?

Photo Credit: Rene Ehrhardt

There’s really no excuse for disappearing off like this. There is however, a reason. [Hint: Look at the picture.]

I hope you’ve figured it out by now. The hand made card isn’t the most accurate but if you look closely… I take my words back. Everybody guessed right

Ever since I found out – and I found out relatively early , I’ve been waking up everyday praying I wouldn’t be sick and working as much as I can, wrapping up work for clients, not taking on anymore work than my current levels of sleep and energy permit.

I still haven’t figured out the etiquette for this. As a freelancer, who do I need to tell? Do I even need to tell my clients? The ones I’m letting go of or the one’s I’ll continue working with or both? Also, if I take on new clients, will they need to be told?

You can tell its my first time can’t you? If you’ve got advice, I’m all ears!

The Base will be quiet a little while longer till I work out the details and get back to a posting schedule. Till then I’ll  be aiming at once a week updates.

Don’t worry, the blog’s theme will not change. It’s still going to be about blogging, freelancing, social networking and whatever falls in between.

Oh and if you’d like to see this place updated more than once a week then I’m open to guest posts. Anyone up for it?

Things have been crazy in Samar-ville as of late. If I start writing about that, this post will turn into a rant. And I’m trying really really hard to not become an angry ranter.

Every freelancer at one time or another faces situations that are not ideal. Wait, who am I kidding. We face not-so-ideal situations every single day. The following scenarios/situations left me wondering how I would have dealt with them.

I also wondered if it would be easy to do what was so obviously the self respecting solution to them. I’ll let you guys decide.

1. A client stresses upon a deadline in every email but fails to send the required information on time to start/complete the project yet still demands that the work be submitted on the set deadline.
2. If you did a one off gig for someone, and they failed to pay you by the first of next month and still haven’t paid after 20 days. 2 gentle reminders later they’re treating you like you’re being cumbersome.
3. You’re in talks with a potential client. Everything has been sorted out; The number of hours, work involved, future possibilities, rates etc. The client asks you to confirm on the terms set so that they could sent you an NDA,  only to disappear on you after you send the confirmation.

What would you do if you were faced with the above situations? How would you deal with them?

Image credit: Partie Traumatic