Recently, I was in a situation that made me feel bad for folks who need virtual assistance.
I think there’s a certain etiquette involved in any sort of business situation. If you’re asked a specific question, give the answer to that question. (more…)
Updated October 2020.
Routine, as defined by Dictionary.com: commonplace tasks, chores, or duties as must be done regularly or at specified intervals; typical or everyday activity: the routine of an office.
While it’s important to have a specific routine for any job, I think this is especially true for anyone who freelances/works from home. When you’re home, it’s so easy to get sidetracked with other tasks. If you can’t focus, the work will suffer.
Here are some tips to get more focused: (more…)
Take a look at your inbox. Yup, right now. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
You probably don’t remember signing up for half of those emails or newsletters. Am I right?
So is it any wonder, really, that we’re often so careful about where we submit our email address? Every blog, every website, every freebie we’re interested in downloading… they all want our email address. And then, we forget to unsubscribe. Before we know it, we have hundreds of emails in our inbox, and we feel overwhelmed just looking at it.
Here are tips for managing your Gmail inbox. They’ll help reduce the chaos: (more…)
Working from home – it must be a lovely dream, right?
Yes and no.
I absolutely love every minute of working from home, it’s no secret to anyone who knows me. I feel blessed every single day (even the crappy days!). But I would never say it’s easy, not at all.
Setting boundaries and routines are key when working from home. This goes from limiting family interruptions (regardless of your work hours) to ensuring clients know your availability (and sticking to it!).
Here’s how I stay productive: (more…)
Is there anything more frustrating than a lack of clarity to complete a job?
In my “working for the man” job days, I often came across this, especially when I was learning my job. I was given a set of instructions to follow (and made notes for myself so I could do it on my own for next time), and after doing this task for a few weeks on a regular basis, suddenly, I was called out on missing an important aspect of the task. What was being brought to my attention made sense, but when I referred to my notes, that aspect was, indeed, missing. There was a lack of clarity in the initial instructions and I was reprimanded for it.
Then the silent but definitely present, “You’ve been doing this for weeks, why are mistakes happening?”
How unfair. If only there was clarity involved in the initial delegation of tasks. (more…)
Updated October 2020.
Things have definitely changed since I first wrote this blog post. Freelancing and working from home weren’t quite as normal as they are today. Thanks to Covid-19, many more people are working from home than ever before. And I’m sure many can attest to the fact that it’s not as cushy as some might believe!
If I’m being honest, though, while it IS great.. there are definitely some downsides to it, at least until a routine is put into place: