Tag Archives: freelancer

Monday’s Link Roundup.

In this week’s Monday’s Link Roundup, if you’re an introvert like me, you’ll want to read 5 Ways an Introvert Can Build a Thriving Audience Online.  And for a unique perspective on capturing personal histories, take a look at Photos of Very Old, Very Loved Teddy Bears.

  • The Dual Lives of the Biographer. “The biographer has two lives: The one she leads, and the one she ultimately understands. The first is a muddle of misgivings and misapprehensions, hesitations and half-chances, devoted to the baggage carousel or the Netflix queue or wherever the empty calories of existence are served. The second — the life the biographer pins to the page — has themes. It has chapters, a beginning, middle and end. Intentions align with actions, which bloom into logical consequences.”
  • The Best Design Books of 2012. “From Marshall McLuhan to Frank Lloyd Wright, or what vintage type has to do with the evolution of iconic logos.”
  • Pranks, Ghosts, And Gore: Amazing Photo Manipulations Before Photoshop.”New York’s Metropolitan Museum is the largest (and at 150 years old, almost the oldest) museum of art in America, exhibiting some of the best examples of pre-Modern art this side of Europe. Which makes it a fascinating stage for a current exhibit examining the legacy of Photoshop, a tool that has done much to undermine traditional thinking about photography over the past decade.”
  • 5 Ways an Introvert Can Build a Thriving Audience Online. “Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, clarifies that introversion is different from shyness, which is a fear of social judgment. Introversion simply means you are more energized and at your best in less stimulating and quieter environments. So, how can introversion help you achieve world domination, how can you — the introvert — capture the hearts, minds, and trust of an audience?”
  • Photos of Very Old, Very Loved Teddy Bears. “For his MuchLoved series, photographer Mark Nixon has shot minimalistic portraits of some well-loved stuffed toys and collected their stories. Spotted by Laughing Squid and on view now at the Mark Nixon / STUDIO in Dublin, Ireland, here are some of plush friends loved a little too well. I mean, seriously, some of them are missing limbs and have their woolen little guts spilling out. That’s, uh, some lovin’ right there.”

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email.

Monday’s Link Roundup.

In this Monday’s Link Roundup I’ve listed several book reviews that I think you’ll find interesting. If you’re concerned about  digitizing your precious family history, you’ll want to read Digital Imaging Essentials.  For an understanding of  what it’s like to be  supportive parents of a gay teenage boy who tried to commit suicide, be sure to read Oddly Normal. And for John Lennon fans, don’t miss The John Lennon Letters.

  • No sunlit room, no last words. “As Luke Allnutt watched his father die, he thought the time for a meaningful conversation and emotional epiphany was at hand. His father had other ideas.”
  • The best way to get unstuck. “Don’t wait for the right answer and the golden path to present themselves.This is precisely why you’re stuck.”
  • 10 Essential Marketing Skills for Freelancers. “As a freelancer (or potential freelancer), you live and die by your ability to sell your services. And uOddly Normal is not Joseph’s story. It’s the story of his parents, who struggled for years over how best to raise a child whom they knew was gay, who wasn’t out to them or the world, and whom they thought was mentally crumbling under the pressure of that secret.nless you’ve got some kind of agent or marketing firm doing your marketing for you, you’ve got to be your own marketer. If you’re like me, that doesn’t come naturally.”
  • Digital Imaging Essentials by Geoff Rasmussen. “Genealogists use digital imaging technology every day. But what they do not know about it can harm their digital treasures. They have needed a comprehensive, easy-to-read guide, full of illustrated step-by-step instructions to learn how to digitize, organize, preserve, share, and backup their digital collections.”
  • The John Lennon Letters, Edited by Hunter Davies. “The triumph of these 200 or so letters is that they are not just about John and Mimi, or John and The Beatles, or John and Yoko. They are all of that but, within the framework editor Hunter Davies gives them, they’re also about a time and place, and Lennon’s role within it. It is hard to distinguish whether the honestly and innocence of some of his correspondence reflects his personality, or his era.”
  • Translating from speech to prose. “Terkel’s books consist of tape-recorded conversations with mostly common people; after a brief introduction from Terkel, each text unspools almost seamlessly, with only an occasional nudge from the questioner. But here’s the thing: most people don’t talk that way.” [Thanks to APH member  Pattie Whitehouse for alerting me to this article.]
  • Book Review: Oddly Normal. “Thirteen-year-old Joseph Schwartz …came out at school one spring day in 2009, rode the bus home, shut himself in his suburban New Jersey bathroom, and downed way too many capsules of Benadryl. He had never been subjected to overt homophobia, was only a few years away from hearing the president of the United States express unequivocal support for gay marriage on national television, and was the son of two very supportive, loving parents. But no matter his direct relationship with what it meant to “be gay,” Joseph carried the weight of his difference… and it almost killed him. Joseph’s dad, New York Times national reporter John Schwartz['s],… new memoir, Oddly Normal: One Family’s Struggle To Help Their Teenage Son Come to Terms With His Sexuality… is not Joseph’s story. It’s the story of his parents, who struggled for years over how best to raise a child whom they knew was gay, who wasn’t out to them or the world, and whom they thought was mentally crumbling under the pressure of that secret.”

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email.

From the Archives: How to Stop The Clock And Make Time for Yourself.

How to Stop The Clock And Make Time for Yourself. If you’re self-employed as I am, you’re probably all too familiar with the trap of filling most of your days with work. There are deadlines to meet, marketing activities, clients to see, and  administrative chores. Maybe you’ve found a way to manage all this and still have a life. If you haven’t, here are some lessons learned from my three decades of experience that you might find helpful. To be honest, sometimes I  “mess up” and don’t follow my … Read More


From the Archives: 7 Questions to Ask Before Taking on a New Personal History Client.

7 Questions to Ask Before Taking on A New Personal History Client. What’s worse than having no clients at all? If you said the client from hell, you’re absolutely right. Here are seven questions to ask yourself that will ensure that you don’t end up working with Satan’s cousin.

1. Do I have the time? Look carefully at what’s on your plate right now. This should include not only current projects but also  ongoing business tasks such as networking, promotion, and bookkeeping. Don’t forget to factor in personal … Read More

How to Stop The Clock And Make Time for Yourself.

time fliesIf you’re self-employed as I am, you’re probably all too familiar with the trap of filling most of your days with work. There are deadlines to meet, marketing activities, clients to see, and  administrative chores. Maybe you’ve found a way to manage all this and still have a life. If you haven’t, here are some lessons learned from my three decades of experience that you might find helpful. To be honest, sometimes I  “mess up” and don’t follow my own guidelines. But they’ve become a habit now and so it’s easier to get back on track when I’ve run amok.  Let me know what works for you.

  • Take mini breaks. Taking breaks restores your energy and helps prevent repetitive stress injuries. I take at least four or five breaks during my day. I stop for a 15 minute cup of tea around 10 am after putting in an hour or more of work. I break for lunch and have a power nap afterwards – no more than 30 minutes otherwise I feel groggy. Mid-afternoon, I stop for 30 minutes, make some tea (You can tell I like tea!) and read the newspaper. Between 4:30 pm or 5 pm I go for a brisk 30 minute walk. I get back and work until 7 pm. Then I stop for the day.
  • Make a date with yourself. I found that unless I actually designated a day free from work and other chores, I never really managed to take time off. So I looked at my work and social demands and decided that Mondays worked best for me. Now here’s the trick. This is a day you designate  just for you. It’s not a time to do all the chores around the house that you’ve been neglecting. I use my day for play and relaxation.  I may read, go for a long walk, check out my favorite Thrift Stores, or putter in the garden.
  • Begin your day unrushed and peacefully. I take about two hours from the time I get up until I sit down to work.  My day starts (after I feed our cat, Annie) with 30 minutes of meditation. This is followed by about thirty-five minutes of stretching and strengthening exercises. I stop for breakfast, clean up the dishes, and then have a shower. No matter what my day holds for me, I know that starting it off in a calm and peaceful manner means I can cope with almost anything.
  • Fix a definite time to end your work day. For years I’ve made a rule that at 7 pm I stop work. I get up and walk away from my desk.  I don’t take calls  unless it’s an emergency. If you don’t discipline yourself to stop work at a fixed time each day, the danger is that you end up working until you collapse into your bed.
  • Set boundaries and keep to them. If you’re unclear what boundaries are important to you, chances are you’ll get blown about like a leaf in a storm. I’ve alluded to some of my boundaries above. I end my day at 7 pm. There has to be a very compelling reason to change that. Monday is my free day. Nothing interrupts that unless it’s a call from Barack Obama! And that has yet to happen. There are other boundaries you can set that have to do with your fees, the quality of work you expect from yourself and others, the type of personal history project you won’t undertake, and so on.

Photo by Sergei Yahchybekov

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email.