Freelance lifestyle
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- ukit
Do you have an office? Work out of your home? Describe your day to day life as a freelancer.
- whendog0
surfing
- Brainiac0
Mobile, soon to be working out of a decked out van.
- doesnotexist0
have an office, work ~9-8.
ritual of 2 cups of coffee + marcus aurelius (or whatever I'm reading at the time), then I get into it until 8/9. Break for lunch with another cup of coffee.
- MrT0
Work from home overlooking over the garden... so does the missus.
- braaad0
Work from home, wife works from home in her own office. Start & end times vary, but 10am-6pm is the average. I'll work evenings as workload requires, or if I'm really into a certain project.
The absence of staff meetings, CD check-ins and other long-winded/meaningless internal meetings gives me an extra 2 hours of real work time a day ;-)
- ptouch7180
I have a home office and rent a desk space in an office building. I'm a morning person so usually work from 7-4.
p.s. What are people using for invoices? I've been using billings its ok
- very Roman times of you.doesnotexist
- MS Dynamics... but it's for PC.zarkonite
- sofakingbanned0
yyyyyyyyyyyyyaaaaaawn I just woke up from my noon freelance lifestyle nap.
- doesnotexist0
^ for billings, I use stickies and InDesign. create a PDF and email that shit, yo!
- Billings3 has been pretty tuff so far, i like the google maps integration, track down those no-paying bitchesptouch718
- haha, and what do you do once you find their long./lat.?doesnotexist
- Shakes fist at screen?ukit
- loljanne76
- fyoucher10
I wake up at 7pm.
Work out in the basement until 8:30am.
Take a shower and am at work by 9am.
I wear whatever feels most comfortable.
I check my client emails in the morning in my home office.Home office is a 2nd master bedroom with dual sinks, shower and toilet. I pee on the seat all day long and take hot dumps without using air freshener. My wife can't complain b/c it's my office.
There's a big ass bay window in front of me where my dog sits and sleeps. I drink coffee all day long with a handy coffee warmer my wife got me. My Aeron chair kicks ass. I fart in it all day long so it smells like ass. I dare not smell it. There's a couch in here when I need to take a quick snooze.
My wife is a stay at home mom. She makes me coffee, breakfast and lunch during the day. My daughter comes in here every few hours which is real nice. I spend short spurts of time with her during the day.
Right now I'm jamming to Mr. Hudson and the Library, then some Marilyn Manson, and then over to some Jon B DnB, mixin shit up.
Every couple of hours I check blogs and other sites for some inspiration and to just clear my head.I work until about 6:30pm or 7pm. Then off to dinner with family. I clean up dinner and then work until 8pm, finishing up for the night, closing shop. I watch TV with the family from 8 - 9 usually, something off of DVR usually. Then I study from 9 - 12 midnight until I fall asleep. Pretty much do the same shit every day. I like it. Some days I work late but nowadays I've been trying to work less, or at least normal hours. I spend the weekend with the family.
- thanks, the farting and shitting parts really made it seem realukit
- Scotch_Roman0
I tend to start working late, between 9 and 10. Trying to get into an earlier regimen though. Sometimes I go to the gym shortly after the business lunch crowd, other times I run in the neighborhoods nearby.
I usually work till around 6, sometimes later. Break just long enough for lunch, then back to it. I check in on the wife and son now and then throughout the day (my wife works at her office two days a week). I basically work right up until dinner time, then I commute the 6 feet from my office to the kitchen for dinner. Spend time with wife and son at night. Sometimes I work for an hour or two after dinner, but that's pretty rare. Occasionally I'll do some work on Saturdays, mostly admin or fiddling with my business plan. Sundays are for worship, rest, relaxation.
Some days it seems like I get nothing done... occasionally I have to watch my son on days when my wife works. I get almost nothing done except for emails on those days.
I've realized that roughly 50 hours of fully paid work per month covers our bills and a bit of spending cash. Not that I'm content to sit back and work a shorter week, though. It's funny, I feel guilty when I don't put in at least 8 hours a day. I guess I'm a tough boss.
- oh, Scotch_Roman, where fore did you get your name?doesnotexist
- how has it been going with your new studio?_salisae_
- A Scotch Roman is a transitional style of type that was originally developed in Scotland during the late 1700s.Scotch_Roman
- I like that style of type, hence my new handle.Scotch_Roman
- @ _salisae_, things are going OK... staying afloat thus far. I need more work to keep this thing going though.Scotch_Roman
- I feel like I'm giving out discounts left and right just to get my foot in the door. Everyone's white-knuckling their wallets.Scotch_Roman
- wallets.Scotch_Roman
- ukit0
Any MOAR?
- Meeklo0
- Yes!!!fyoucher1
- i once knew that guy...
havent seen him since new yrs =]gerardm - Thats hilarious.
I have that book and that jar sitting beside me too.. hahaClaymantis
- falcadia0
Coming off of 5 1/2 years of working in agencies. I have been freelancing for just 2 months. I was a little nervous at first to be out on my own to see if I could actually make it work. After a week or so of hustle'n and grind'n I established enough connections and projects to fill up the plate for a few months.
God it feels good to be working for myself and not dealing with the power struggle of a boss. The more effort I put into to it the more I get back. I have been working longer hours but It just feels better knowing I get to keep what I make instead of just a cut.
8-5
Basement home office
Lots of coffee
I use Task Time 4 for managing projects / invoicing / reports.
- Scotch_Roman0
falcadia, what seems to be working out the best for you in terms of getting actual work? I too have enough work to stay afloat for a couple months, but it took me a couple months to get to this point. I've mostly been talking with friends to get warm introductions at various organizations, which seems to be the best tactic so far. A bit of cold-calling and cold-emailing, which hasn't produced any results.
Then there's random leads, like this guy who found me on Twitter out of the blue...
I'm looking at time mgmt/invoicing/tracking software. Anyone ever used Billings?
- Meeklo0
I think the "I have no boss" is a myth, non 9to5ers love to dream about. Most of the time I feel like I have 36 bosses.
but hey... thats just me :)
- True. If someone is paying you, there is a bossbabaganush
- No your right. I guess it's just the traditional employee / boss relationship I don't miss. Always looking over your shoulder.falcadia
- There is a difference between a boss and a client you are working for. At least I feel that way.falcadia
- gerardm0
i usually wake up around 11 am unless there's a shit ton of work to do i get up around 9:30ish.
i keep my station right next to my bed lolz... i usually check my emails do a quick video conference with my other business partner.
after that i get to it which usually means cracking open flex and dominating code for untill about 2pm when i start looking for a break/food.
get in the car go to the deli taking the longest route possible. get a chicken sandwhich.
come back work till around 6:30 break for dinner and whatever im down for that night then usually return to my computer from like 12-3am and get a head start on the next day...
- MondoMorphic0
^^ Yeah, every one of my clients is essentially another boss, but at least when one sucks, there are a number of other "bosses" that are fine.
I've been freelancing for 1 year now and I really enjoy it. There have been times when it has been VERY stressful trying to get big companies to pay me because of all their red tape and bureaucracy, and I worry about taxes, but otherwise, it's been great.
I usually wake up around 7:00AM and either get my son ready and to school, or when he is with his mom, I go for a surf. Either way, I am back in my home office and at work by 8:30. I work non-stop until around 2:30 when I pick my son up from school, which is followed by about 30 minutes of after-school football with him and his friends. I'm back in the office by 3:30 and I work until dinnertime. Depending on deadlines and whatnot, I sometimes work after my son goes to sleep at 9:30 until around 11:00 or 12:00.
Aside from time with my son and girlfriend, I make time for the gym and going out with friends.
Any suggestions on how to best insulate oneself from Uncle Sam? I think I make the most of my write offs/deductions but I wonder if there are other tips for minimizing the tax time screw-job.
- era4O40
Wake up at 8 and put on a pot of coffee. Go through my email and voicemails while it's percolating. Grab a cup and jump in the shower while listening to the weather/news. Mosey over to the desk at 8:30 and work through the day. 2-3x a week, I take the PATH into the city for client meetings. And, I expense everything humanly possible. :)
