Deliberate Freelancer

I am really good at saying no. Today, I’m going to walk you through nine common scenarios freelance business owners experience and tell you how I say no to these questions and situations. Even if the language I use doesn’t resonate with you, I hope it will get you thinking, encourage you to say no more often and help you figure out how to say no in your own words. “No” is a complete sentence. You’ve heard that, right? But in business there usually needs to be a bit more finesse than that. And there are a lot of different ways to say no depending on the situation. Whenever you are considering anything—whenever you are trying to decide whether to do something, always keep in mind: You are a business owner. You are in charge of your business, your life and your career. YOU choose who you work with, just as much as they are choosing you. YOU choose what you are worth. YOU set the parameters. Everything can be negotiated. You are a business owner. Words to stop using: Just Unfortunately I’m sorry (except in rare cases, like when you actually make a mistake).   Don’t qualify your answer. Don’t apologize for how you run your business. And stop over-explaining things when you say no.   Scenario #1: You don’t want to do the project. My answer: Thanks for reaching out, but this project is not the right fit for me.   Scenario #2: You don’t have time. My answers (here’s where it might be OK to say “I’m sorry” if that makes you feel better): I’m sorry, I am fully booked for the next month. I’m sorry, I am fully booked for the three weeks. Is there any flexibility with the deadline?   Scenario #3: You are asked to sign an onerous contract (non-compete, insurance requirement, indemnity clause). My answers (first, try to negotiate): Can we strike the indemnity clause from the contract? Indemnity clauses put all legal risk on my solo business and I cannot sign contracts with them. or, offer to replace the clause: I cannot sign a contract with an indemnity clause. Indemnity clauses put all legal risk on my solo business. I will guarantee my work, though. Can we replace the indemnity clause with the following guarantee: The writer guarantees that the articles she writes will not contain material that is consciously libelous or defamatory, to the best of her ability.   If I’m asked to sign a non-compete, the answer is always no. That’s non-negotiable as a freelancer, so I’ll say: As a freelance business owner with multiple clients, I cannot sign a non-compete.   The end. They can take that or leave it. The same goes for insurance (for me, personally).   Scenario #4: The pay is too low. My answer: This is much lower than what I charge. I charge XX per XX. Is that within your budget?   If they say no, or if they can’t negotiate to an acceptable rate, I usually respond with something like: I’m unable to do the project at this rate. Thanks for thinking of me and I wish you luck.   Scenario #5: Vague requests or “can we get on the phone?” or “what are your rates?” My answer: Could you email me a bit more about what you’re looking for and what your budget is so I can determine if I might be a good fit?   Scenario #6. Can you lower your price? My answer: No. In an email, I might say: No, I can’t lower my price.   Scenario #7: The client asks for something beyond the scope of work. My answer: I’m happy to to do this work. However, the original proposal included XYZ and was based on a maximum of XXX words/pages/parameters, which is what I provided. I can do this extra work at an additional rate of $XXX/hour. I would estimate approximately 2-3 more hours would be needed.   Scenario #8: Can I pick your brain? My answer—I may not answer an email at all if I don’t know them. You don’t have to respond to people. It’s not the law. I will also point people to relevant podcast episodes instead—you can do that with a blog or other articles too. Or I say: I’d be happy to talk with you. My consulting fee is XX per hour. or I offer a 30-minute coaching call for XX dollars.   Scenario #9: Someone asks you to volunteer or speak at an event and you cannot. My answer: I’m sorry, I don’t have the capacity to add anything else to my plate right now. or I would love to, but I’m completely booked right now and can’t commit to any more volunteering opportunities. or What is the payment for speaking? (or What is the compensation?) or I don’t do unpaid speaking. Do you have a budget in mind?   Biz Bite: Save a script of how to say no.   The Bookshelf: “The Nothing Man” and ALL the books by Irish crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard   Resources: Subscribe to the Deliberate Freelancer newsletter. Episode #45 of Deliberate Freelancer: You Need to Set Boundaries Episode #102 of Deliberate Freelancer: Freelancer Survival Skills + a Pep Talk about Boundaries, with Sarah Townsend Episode #91 of Deliberate Freelancer: All Things Pricing: Project Rates, Day Rates, Retainers and More, with Jennifer Duann Fultz  

Today’s guest is Madalena Sanchez Zampaulo. Madalena lives in Southern California and owns a boutique translation agency called Accessible Translation Solutions, which she opened in 2010. She continues to do freelance translation work as well, specializing in medicine and life sciences. Madalena shares her knowledge and years of research to help freelance translators and interpreters improve their online presence—from their websites and LinkedIn profiles to SEO and copywriting. She does this through her blog, as well as courses, webinars and coaching and as co-host of the podcast Smart Habits for Translators. I asked Madalena to come on the podcast after I saw how she revamped her website earlier this year. I was impressed with all the services and products she offers other freelancers and how she organized them all into a Resource Library. Today, Madalena talks about blogging, creating courses and becoming a coach for other freelancers.   Madalena translates from Spanish and Portuguese to English. She explains the difference between a translator (written) and an interpreter (spoken). Madalena is a six-figure freelancer. She offers two ways to get there: Diversify your services and work with the right clients—those who see you as a partner and pay well. Madalena started marketing her services through a blog and then created an email list to send out new blog posts and other content. She commits to posting on her blog every other week—weekly seemed too cumbersome—but she also takes breaks and vacations when she needs to. Three areas that have helped her market her business are her email list, social media and word-of-mouth. In fact, the latter is probably the biggest driver for her business. Public speaking also drives a lot of people to her blog, email list and social media. Madalena breaks down the type of courses she has offered to freelance business owners and how that has evolved over the past few years. She now offers monthly office hour for her course students over Zoom, modeled after a professor’s “office hours.” She sets a block of time she’s always available and students can hop on Zoom to ask any questions. She also has a community for her course students in Slack. Before you start creating courses, consider what you can offer that fills a need in the space. What are the motivations people have for taking your course? What is the transformation your students want from your course? When creating your course think about how to relay complex information in a logical way.  When considering coaching, Madalena said: “I listened to what people were asking me for and decided ‘is this something I can offer well and offer successfully?’” With coaching, you don’t have to have all the answers or offer advice. Coaching often means offering people a new perspective and new ideas they didn’t think of. You are helping them figure out how to get unstuck or providing encouragement or reassurance. Before you offer coaching, consider what you can offer that fills a gap for people. There are coaches for every topic. What is it that you can provide that people really need and how can you meet them where they are? How can you be different from what’s already available? Delivery of coaching is important. Consider whether you want to coach—or your clients want coaching—that is face-to-face, via Zoom, or via phone, text or email. Giving people options can be helpful. If you’re going to become a coach, think it through. Take the pulse of the people who will actually pay for your services. Try it out. Once you commit to coaching someone, it may be long-term. You can’t just quit it immediately. People are expecting you to show up. Creating is exhausting. You can be more productive if you give yourself a break. Go for a walk. Do some chores and just let yourself think. That’s part of the creation process—giving yourself enough space to think something through.   Biz Bite: Do something today that your tomorrow self will thank you for.   Resources: Madalenazampaulo.com Accessible Translation Solutions  Madalena on Twitter Madalena on Instagram Smart Habits for Translators podcast MemberSpace for courses Loom for video messaging Vimeo for videos Contentstudio for social media management Subscribe to the Deliberate Freelancer newsletter.

This week is a short episode because I’m supposed to be on vacation. Tune in to hear how this part-working vacation, part unplugged real vacation is going so far.   Biz Bite: Schedule a Monthly Self-Care Reminder   The Bookshelf: “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir   Resources: Subscribe to the Deliberate Freelancer newsletter.

On today’s show I go over 33 ways you can find new clients. This is a replay of episode #43, which came out January 23, 2020, before we knew what was in store for us. A couple of my recommendations refer to in-person conferences and in-person networking, which is not happening for most us right now during the pandemic. However, just imagine that I’m saying “virtual conference” every time because I’ve found virtual conferences these page 18 months to be great for networking, providing presentations to a wide audience, and education. So, consider what you can do with virtual conferences to gain new clients. But before you embark on a project to find new clients, do a little prep work. First, consider what type of work you truly want more of. What do you love to do? What work pays well? Focus on that. Next, raise your rates. Then, be crystal clear on what you want to say to those potential clients. Focus on how you can help them and what they want. Now, you’re ready to find new clients. Here are my tips (scroll down to the Resources section for a printable pdf of this list): Ask current clients for new work. Ask current or past clients for referrals. Go to industry conferences. Maximize your LinkedIn profile and add keywords. Send a ridiculous number of letters of introduction (LOIs). Follow up on past LOIs or with people you’ve met in real life. Add a new service. Apply to speak at conferences as an expert in your field. Reach out to your contacts who are at new jobs. Write a guest blog post in your industry. Ramp up your social media game. Go old school and mail out postcards to a select group. Join organizations and make sure to fill out your profile in the online directory. Apply to win awards in your field. Be active in Facebook groups and/or Twitter chats. Create a private Twitter list of potential clients. Launch or revive your blog. Create an email list. Create a newsletter. Create a freebie. Set up keyword searches on Twitter. Ask for testimonials from happy clients. Ask for LinkedIn recommendations. Try Facebook Live or Instagram Stories. Be a guest on a podcast. Revamp your website. Update your online portfolio. Consider partnerships. Answer job ads. Go to local events. Connect with a co-working space. Tell everyone you meet what you do. Fire a client. Biz Bite: Stop reading and listening to things that make you angry. The Bookshelf: “Daisy Jones & the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid Resources: 33 Ways to Find More Clients printable pdf Episode #23 of Deliberate Freelancer: Five Questions to Evaluate and Diversify Your Services Episode #18 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Set Higher Rates Episode 22 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Create a Better Work-Life Balance, with Laura Poole Episode #6 of Deliberate Freelancer: Make the Most of Conferences Episode #24 of Deliberate Freelancer: Networking Tips, Especially as an Introvert Episode #20 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Use LinkedIn Better to Find Clients, with Phaedra Brotherton

Today’s guest is Suzy Bills from Utah. Suzy  is an editor and author and a faculty member in the editing and publishing program at Brigham Young University (BYU). She was previously a lead editor for the Joseph Smith Papers, and she’s owned a writing and editing business for more than a decade. Suzy’s book, “The Freelance Editor’s Handbook” is being published this fall by the University of California Press. She is also starting to offer business consulting and coaching for freelancers. Suzy began freelancing on the side in 2006 while working as an editor full-time. She became a full-time freelancer in 2011. She started at BYU as an adjunct professor and was offered a full-time position in 2017. She continues to maintain her writing and editing business. Perfectionism is a personality characteristic that causes people to strive to be flawless. That causes them to set really high standards and be quite critical in how they evaluate their performance. It often leads people to think they shouldn’t make any mistakes. Perfectionism can be destructive, but it can also have positive qualities. Suzy saw perfectionism in herself and worked to turn it into a positive attribute. Perfectionism can lead to obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, eating disorders and more. There are two types of perfectionism: adaptive/constructive and maladaptive/destructive. With adaptive perfectionism, people set high standards and are motivated to reach them in encouraging and exciting ways. This can lead to happiness, a sense of meaning and satisfaction with life. With maladaptive perfectionism, people set high standards but aren’t optimistic they can achieve them. It leads to self-criticism, stress and low self-esteem, which often leads to burnout. And too much stress on yourself can actually lead to lower performance on a project or task. Overcoming perfectionism is mostly about changing our thinking. We can be working on the exact same project but look at our goals and success in different ways. Perfectionism causes some people to not even start their freelance business. It causes freelance business owners to not reach out to new clients, to not start new services, to discount projects and give refunds over small mistakes. Humans, including copy editors, aren’t perfect. Industry standards say 90% accuracy in editing is achievable and acceptable. Copy editors are not always going to be 100% accurate. (This is also a good reason to hire a proofreader later on.) How can we recognize and manage perfectionism? Practice being self-aware and catching yourself when you’re in a perfectionism spiral. Are you using your perfectionism in a healthy way? Perfectionism might manifest as being cruel to yourself. At that point, put your thoughts on trial. Stop being the prosecutor and be the objective judge or jury. Find and evaluate the evidence that shows what you are thinking is not accurate (for example, success on a last project, this client rehired you). You may also identify an area of weakness. That’s OK. If that happens, create a plan about improving that weakness. Ask yourself: Where was the breakdown that led to that mistake? It is a process issue, overwork, lack of sleep or lack of skills? To encourage a positive mindset, create a mantra that works for you and repeat it multiple times every day. It might feel silly at first, but you will start to internalize it and believe it. Accountability partners can also help reassure you when you’re being too hard on yourself. It’s also important and helpful for people to talk about their mistakes and weaknesses to normalize that we are not perfect. Write down your thoughts, especially because people tend to ruminate on the bad thoughts and situation. Writing can help get it out of your mind and allow you to move past it. Keep a record of positive feedback, whether in an email folder, a smartphone “boost bank” folder or in a praise jar. If you do discover you made a mistake, you are likely to react physically. So, change that physical reaction. Take deep breaths, move your body to relax it. Walk around. Go for a longer walk. Next, take responsibility for a mistake with a client. That actually increases respect for you. Then, create an action plan to prevent that type of mistake in the future.   Biz Bite: Set Aside Professional Development Time Every Week   Resources: Suzy’s book, “The Freelance Editor’s Handbook” http://writingandeditingbysuzy.com Suzy Bills on LinkedIn ACES–the Society for Editing Episode #70 of Deliberate Freelancer: Techniques to Deal with Anxiety from My New Therapist Episode #71 of Deliberate Freelancer: 3 Failures and the Lessons They Taught Me  

For the past several years, I’ve chosen a word (or words) of the year in January, a theme to keep me focused on a particular goal or area. In 2021, my word was simplicity. I think I needed that after 2020. Plus, in January 2021, things were still looking a bit bleak. COVID numbers were high, I hate winter, a bunch of traitors tried to destroy our U.S. Capitol and harm lawmakers. Whew.   “Simplicity” was quite different from my planned 2020 words of “Explore + Act” (that changed once the pandemic hit) and my 2019 word, “leap.”   But in 2021, I vowed I was going to lean in to simplicity. Well, now it’s August and I’m fighting with myself over that word. I feel like different sides of my personality are battling with each other. Simplicity is lovely and relaxing. But simplicity is also status quo and holding off on big ideas.   I want to explore—and act—on the big ideas I have for this podcast, not sit back and contemplate. But then there’s the other side of me that likes living a calm, simple life.   Several of my podcast guests have talked about setting big goals and not sticking with the status quo. While I get excited about that in theory, what I don’t say to them is: That sounds like a lot of work. And I don’t know if I want to work more. I don’t know that I want to set that big goal and have to put in all the extra hours to achieve it. I like working less than 30 hours a week and not on the weekends.   Is that my fear talking? Am I just lazy? Am I just scared of leaving my comfort zone?   Is it OK to just stay the same with my business? Is it OK to just be comfortable?   Of course it is. But how can I embrace simplicity when I want to explore—and act—on those big ideas?    After almost eight years of freelancing, I’m thinking about scaling up more than at any other time. For me, this involves two sides of my business: MelEdits and Deliberate Freelancer.   Let’s talk about scaling up. It’s a buzzy, jargony, marketing phrase. And I think when we hear it as freelance business owners, we often think that means becoming an agency, or at least hiring a few subcontractors and doing more strategy work, rather than the doing the actual implementation.   But scaling up does not have to mean becoming an agency. And being successful in your freelance business does not mean the next logical step is becoming an agency. You can remain a company of one forever. Hiring virtual assistants and subcontractors as needed can be great, but you don’t even have to do that if you don’t want to. I, for one, want to keep doing the writing and editing.   So, are there other ways to grow your business? What about this idea of passive income? Selling books, courses, templates and other products. (Of course none of this is really passive because you have to create it and then continue to market it.)   I am now thinking of Deliberate Freelancer not just as a podcast, but as a business—as the freelance knowledge and community side of my business.   What if Deliberate Freelancer could build and foster a community—a community of you all, freelance business owners? And what if it could then offer you services to help you grow your freelance business?   Listen to this podcast episode for all the ideas swirling around in my head and stay tuned for how Deliberate Freelancer will be expanding. This free podcast will remain, but there will be new opportunities and offers for you soon.   Have new ideas for Deliberate Freelancer and where it should go? Please let me know! Email me at melanie@meledits.com or tweet me or DM me on Twitter @MelEdits.   So, how can you scale up, or create a new arm of your business, or make more money—but doing that by doing what you love? What big, bold idea gets you excited?   Creating an agency isn’t for everyone. Taking on more work isn’t always the right call. Think creatively and do what ignites a fire in your belly.   Biz Bite: Don’t Do Everything Right Now   The Bookshelf: “Falling” by T.J. Newman   Resources:   Subscribe to the Deliberate Freelancer newsletter.   Episode #105 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Procrastination Struggle and Potential Solutions   Episode #95 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Dream Bigger and Transform Your Freelance Business, with Cathy Wilkes   Episode #98 of Deliberate Freelancer: Six-Figure Freelancing: The Benefits of Selling Strategy and Outcomes, with Austin Church    

Today’s guest is Sarah Greesonbach from Richmond, Virginia. Sarah is a B2B content marketing writer and has been freelancing since 2013. She operates the B2B Content Studio, a freelance consultancy that helps agencies and Fortune 500 technology companies in the HR, retail/e-com and higher education space develop B2B content marketing assets such as white papers, thought leadership articles, case studies and more. Sarah is also the founder of B2B Writing Institute, which is developing a workforce of highly trained and certified B2B writers to meet the B2B marketing content needs of the future. Sarah talks about two kinds of doubt: creative doubt and doubt as a freelance business owner. She worked to overcome the doubt for years, but then she realized that being a freelancer means you are going to experience doubt from time to time as clients and projects and income fluctuate. Sarah talks about how we sometimes say “yes” to work even though we should have stopped because our calendar in that month was full. “When I look at my calendar and see that it’s not physically possible to do what I’ve said I’ll do, that just creates this stress and anxiety that doesn’t go away very easily.” Doubt can pop up during those times when you’re too busy, which also can make you start to feel burnt out. Sarah asks herself a couple of questions in those moments to help get her back on track: How is my cash flow? Fear often pops up as a cash-flow problem, so Sarah tries to keep at least 1–3 months of income in the bank, which causes less stress and for her to say “no” more often. Sometimes she’ll start to look at employee job postings and daydream about being an employee again. That’s when she asks herself: What am I really missing right now? She considers what she likes in a healthy work life. For her, it’s often purpose, security and community. So, she asks what she’s missing and how can she fix it. Sarah talks about how to fire clients, including clients where she liked the people but was bored with the work. She listens to her gut when she doesn’t want to do a project anymore. She tells those clients that she is shifting her business. In one case, she wrote a long letter explaining the situation but then she did not send the letter. You don’t have to share all the details and make it dramatic. It’s just business. In freelancers who are struggling, she sometimes sees that they have a scarcity mindset—thinking there’s not enough work. But, she sees an overwhelming need for freelance writers in her work. Sarah has set some parameters around her schedule recently that have transformed her business. Because her work requires a lot of phone interviews, her day was getting taken up by all these 30-minute calls with only short breaks in between—not enough time to do focused work. She began to reserve only a couple of days a week for phone calls—right now she is not doing phone calls on Mondays or Fridays.  Getting control of social media “check ins” was also important. Now, she doesn’t get on Slack or social media until 2 p.m. on work days. She thought she had been keeping in touch and staying “on top of things,” but she hasn’t missed out on anything by waiting until after 2 p.m. Biz Bite: Comment Back (you never know who will respond!) Resources: Sarah’s B2B Writing Institute Sarah’s podcast: B2B Craftworks Sarah on LinkedIn Sarah on Twitter Freedom app (to block certain websites and social media) Boomerang app in Gmail (to schedule when emails are delivered to her) Book “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” by Greg McKeown

Today’s guest is Anita Kwan, from Columbus, Ohio. Anita is the owner of a video production company called Reel Hoot. Her mission is to hold a safe and inclusive space in video production while having fun. She helps women, people of color and LGBTQ+ businesses thrive with video strategy and marketing content.   Connection is important to Anita. She co-runs an online community called PB&Qs, which stands for Professional, Business and Queers. This community hosts monthly events for women, trans and non-binary professionals looking to network and grow professionally. Look for a link   Anita started Reel Hoot Productions about five years ago after getting laid off. When her business took off quickly, she stopped looking for a full-time job.   Because she is focused on live video, Anita’s business took a big hit when the pandemic arrived in the U.S. in spring 2020. However, while the pandemic took away her ability to film, she quickly pivoted to provide services to client. She could still use her editing skills, and she embraced her creativity, using stock images or whatever assets a client had, such as photos or short videos on their phone.    Now, in summer 2021, she’s been able to meet in-person with more people and also embraces shooting outdoors as needed.   Videos are some of the best ways to reach your audience because they are an automatic attention grabber. It’s a great way to take your audience on your journey and build a connection.   Anita encouraged us to ask ourselves: When is video right for my business and why? Who is my audience? You need to be able to answer those questions before you decide to create a video.   Anita says, “I can create a great video for you, but if you don’t have a plan, if you don’t know who your message is going to reach, if you don’t know who your audience is, then it’s just going to be a video with no eyes on it.”   Anita talks us through the array of platforms—Instagram, Facebook Live, YouTube, etc.—and how to choose between them.   Choosing social media video options depends on who you want to reach and on your personality. Some people love doing live video while others prefer to record it first.   Consider how you can repurpose your videos. You can “chop up” a longer video into shorter bits to share on time-limited platforms such as Instagram Reels or Tik-Tok. Anita explains the difference between Instagram photo posts, Stories and Reels and how each works best. Stories is often more the day-to-day sharing and a way to build consistent content. Stories only lasts 24 hours, so don’t worry about the production too much.   Anita believes we should be authentic online and in videos. The “professionalism” demeanor some freelancers think they have to uphold at all times does not mean they can’t talk about their personal lives or how they are feeling about their business or life. For example, businesses and people who were only posting about business during the pandemic came across as “non-human.” They were not connecting to people and recognizing how difficult life was for most people.   The type of video will depend on your goals and your messaging. Anita walked us through a couple of types: branding videos to introduce your business; behind-the scenes videos to show your personality and/or process to build trust and credibility; educational or how-to videos to share your expertise.   A common misconception about video is that it’s easy to create a video, but Anita says a lot of videos are too long, don’t have a direct storyline, are boring, or have poor lighting. A well-produced video follows a three-step process: pre-production (planning), production (filming) and post-production (editing).   The good news is that video is more affordable than ever. And production quality isn’t the top priority for your audience, as we learned during the pandemic when everyone had to make their own videos at home.   If you’re uncomfortable with being on video, Anita says we need to be easier on ourselves. It’s OK to fumble your words, to not look perfect. Get comfortable with being authentic and vulnerable. We are often our own worst critics.   Anita also talks about audio and lighting options and best practices.   To brainstorm on what videos to create, watch a lot of other videos. See what you like about them and draw inspiration from those.   Biz Bite: Find a community to get involved in.   Resources: Anita’s business, Reel Hoot Productions: www.reelhootproductions.com   Anita and Reel Hoot on Instagram   Anita’s community: Professionals, Business, & Queers (PB&Qs)   PB&Qs on Instagram   Dollar Shave Club’s 2012 hilarious and low-budget branding video   How Dollar Shave Club used video to grow to a $1 billion exit (2020 article)  

On today’s episode I am talking through my embarrassing business secret: procrastination. It’s my biggest struggle in my business and the thing I hate the most about my business self. I feel like it makes me look lazy or unreliable.  I’m a big fan of time tracking, and time tracking has showed me that I don’t get a lot done on most Fridays unless I have a meeting scheduled or a deadline. But, because I have every intention of doing some work on Fridays and then it doesn’t happen, I end up doing it on Sunday. And I hate that feeling of the work hanging over my head on Sunday. Here are some reasons why we procrastinate: Fear of failure I don’t think this is behind my procrastination most of the time. But is it behind yours? We put off things we don’t know how to start or we don’t feel good enough to work on. When you are afraid of failure, you are often overgeneralizing things about yourself or being too hard on yourself. But remember: Your client would not have hired you if you didn’t have some skills. It can be helpful to give yourself a pep talk: Remind yourself of projects you’ve done similarly that you have succeeded in. In episode 102 of Deliberate Freelancer, guest Sarah Townsend recommended, as her Biz Bite, keeping a Boost Bank, which is when you take a screenshot of all the compliments, good reviews and positive testimonials you have received and then put them all in one photo folder on your phone to look at now on again. Not interested in the task Are you procrastinating simply because you don’t want to do that task? We have all probably experienced this at some point. When this is an issue, I like the idea of “eat the frog,” which means doing the thing you don’t want to do. Just do it first thing at the start of your work day and get it over with. Or, batch several “eat the frog” tasks and do them all at once. It feels so great when you get those annoying things off your to-do list and can quit thinking about them. ADHD or depression Procrastination can also be a sign of having ADHD or depression. This is when it might be time to see a doctor or therapist. None of these are reasons for my procrastination right now. I think I just have a lack of motivation. I should listen to my own podcast! Back in episode #31, I talked about how to work when you’re feeling blah. This could be a big neon sign that I need to start taking my afternoon walks again and/or meditate in the morning. I may also need to see my acupuncturist. One thing I did recently is take a hard look at my schedule and how and when I work. I tried to really think outside the box about what I could be doing differently that would be better for me. Two good things I’m already doing: I take advantage of morning peak productivity time and I don’t schedule meetings or anything else on Mondays. But, I had a little debate with myself about whether I should just accept working on Sundays and stop treating it as a Sunday or refuse to work Sundays. I am also debating whether to work half-days on Fridays. The problem with Fridays is two-fold: I’m lying to myself that I can do things on Friday when I know full-well that by Friday afternoon I’m brain dead and I get very little done. The other problem is that I sit at my desk Friday afternoon and fritter the time away when I should just back away from my desk. But what if I really worked on switching my mindset? I could declare to myself that I will not work Friday afternoons and I will not work on the weekends. This just needs to be a new mindset shift. And a lot of mindset is how you talk to yourself. What is your self-talk? Right now, I’ve been telling myself that I do work Fridays and worse, “well, I always have Sunday to catch up.” I hate that feeling, it’s not helpful, and I need to stop. I also think that a two-day break might be just the thing I need to refresh me and help me not procrastinate during the week. (That person who invented weekends might be on to something!) Maybe working on Sunday is bumming me out, which leads to me procrastinating from lack of motivation during the week—which then causes me to have to work on Sundays! A perpetual cycle. Mind blown. Before this revelation, I asked some freelancer friends on social media what I should do about procrastination, and I got a lot of good ideas to try out. Here are a few: Rethink your entire schedule and set new office hours that fit you better. Block your time and batch tasks—do like-minded tasks at the same time. Or, even create solid days of a certain task, like Tuesday is reserved for writing and never meetings. Try Caveday.org, an online accountability Zoom call with strangers. Create strict boundaries that you know will keep you on task, like going to a coffee shop. (I always focus better when I put on my noise-canceling headphones—even with no music!) Meditation. Accountability partners. Biz Bite: Put Times with Your To-Do List The Bookshelf: “Malibu Rising” by Taylor Jenkins Reid Resources: Subscribe to the Deliberate Freelancer newsletter. Episode #102 of Deliberate Freelancer: Freelancer Survival Skills + a Pep Talk about Boundaries, with Sarah Townsend (talking about a Boost Bank as the Biz Bite) Episode #31 of Deliberate Freelancer: How to Get Motivated to Work When You’re Feeling Blah Episode #103 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Time Tracking and Client Analysis for Q2 Episode #52 of Deliberate Freelancer: Embracing Self-Care without Guilt, with Acupuncturist Rachel Brumberger

Today’s episode is all about books and reading! I talk book podcasts and tell you about a great book list app. I also recommend the seven best fiction books and one best nonfiction book I’ve read so far in 2021.   My new favorite book podcasts, which I also support on Patreon to get the extra podcast content, are:   Sarah's Bookshelves Live   From the Front Porch podcast (from a bookstore called The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia)   The Currently Reading Podcast (Love their Indie Press list Patreon partnership with Fabled Bookshop & Cafe in Waco, Texas)   I’m also a huge fan of the Book of the Month Club.   The app I use to track my books: Reading List   The best books I’ve read so far in 2021: The Dry by Jane Harper The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James Sea Wife by Amity Gage Writers and Lovers by Lily King When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab What Comes After by Joanne Tompkins   Nonfiction: The Premonition by Michael Lewis   A disappointing book of 2021: Survive the Night by Riley Sager   Worst book I’ve read so far in 2021: The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks   My most anticipated books for the second half of 2021: Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby Falling by T.J. Newman False Witness by Karin Slaughter   A few more books that are getting great reviews this year:   Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston The Guncle by Steven Rowley Seven Days in June by Tia Williams   If you love the following authors, here are new books coming out this fall:   Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Oh William! By Elizabeth Strout Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone (Outlander series) by Diana Gabaldon Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult     Biz Bite: Reattach to Work Each Morning   Learn more by clicking on habit #19 here: https://www.developgoodhabits.com/productivity-hacks/   Related study: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0149206319829823   More resources:   Subscribe to the Deliberate Freelancer newsletter.   Episode #51 of Deliberate Freelancer: Reading and Book Recommendations during Coronavirus   Episode #87 of Deliberate Freelancer: My Most Anticipated 2021 Books (and Fave 2020 Books)