Handling Multiple Customers & Deadlines as a Freelancer

Posted on March 4, 2019 by

The good news about working as a freelancer for multiple customers is that your customers know up front that other people have a call on your time. And I’d have to say, for the most part, they respect that reality. However, the work is the work, and when the work is due, it’s rare that you’ll get that deadline to change. How, then, do you keep all your tasks juggled safely? I’ll share my approach. Your mileage may vary. Continue reading →

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Battling Workaholism and a Bad Job Market

Posted on February 28, 2019 by

This week a friend sent me an article from The Atlantic about the career travails facing the Millennial Generation. The essential points of the article were: 1) Americans have made a religion out of work in the sense that many of us hope to derive some transcendental meaning or fulfillment from it; 2) Millennials are often unable to enjoy/experience this fulfillment because the job market is bad; and 3) People can and should find meaning in life outside their careers. Feel free to read the article in full, there was more to it, and it’s worth your time. My post today will be my reactions to it. Continue reading →

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Getting Out of a Rut

Posted on February 25, 2019 by

Note: This entry has been changed from its original version to address a couple of errors.

It can happen to the best of us: we enjoy our work, we like our coworkers, and we seem to have a good routine going. However, the problem with routine is that human beings seem to get restless with it. We get bored. The happy path we made for ourselves has become a rut, and we’re running the risk of turning predictable or irritable when there’s really nothing wrong. Today’s entry is an brief meditation on ways to mix in changes without accidentally turning your mild boredom into something worse. Continue reading →

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Air Disasters and Problem Solving

Posted on February 21, 2019 by

I don’t watch a lot of television, but one of my guilty pleasures is the Smithsonian Channel’s Air Disasters, a series of 45-minute documentaries about airline crash investigations. I know, as a regular flyer of commercial aviation, I probably shouldn’t do this to myself, but so far it hasn’t interfered with my enjoyment of flying. What’s interested me most has been the problem-solving process. There is a technical communication connection, I promise, but if even thinking about plane crashes bothers you, feel free to read another post. Continue reading →

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Thinking Like an Adult

Posted on February 18, 2019 by

I’ve written a little about this topic before, but sometimes I need a reminder. First, I suppose I should clarify what I mean by “thinking like an adult.” For me, it means simply that you’re taking responsibility for your situation/circumstances and believe that it’s your job to figure out a way to deal with them. Some additional thoughts are below. Continue reading →

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