Some wise man once said that all rules were made to be broken (I know, cliche). It’s true though. Who ever got by as a freelancer by happily obeying the rules of the working world? Yet despite this career choice, there still always seems to be more rules to have to follow. Well, I give you permission to break these ten so you can get on with your career already.

10. Set and meet deadlines. If it doesn’t involve kidnappings, legislation or nuclear standoffs, then it really isn’t important in the grand scheme of things, is it?
11. Be attentive to your clients. Your clients are mature adults fully capable of handling themselves. So be repectful and treat them as so.
12. Quality is everything. Yeah, they say that at McDonalds but you still eat there right?
13. Always collect a 50% deposit at the beginning of any project. I’d think a 100% deposit would be better. You know you’ll be high-fiving me later.
14. Learn to just say no. Didn’t work during your teenage years. No sense in trying now.
15. Eliminate your work distractions. Spending hours on end on Twitter and checking up on Lindsey Lohan makes for a pretty dull life. See how distracting yourself with work turns out.
16. Take a vacation once in a while. Now would be a good time to go all crazy with Twitter and the Lindsey Lohan updates instead of doing something lame, like travel.
17. Keep up with your health. Live young forever. Spend day after day high on Red Bull and coffee and burning out your retinas. Kids are totally jealous of this.
18. Save money whenever possible. Well, have to keep up with the stash of Red Bull and coffee, right?
19. Always use a contract. Go with the pinky swear instead.