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.
- 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?
- Be attentive to your clients. Your clients are mature adults fully capable of handling themselves. So be repectful and treat them as so.
- Quality is everything. Yeah, they say that at McDonalds but you still eat there right?
- 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.
- Learn to just say no. Didn’t work during your teenage years. No sense in trying now.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Save money whenever possible. Well, have to keep up with the stash of Red Bull and coffee, right?
- Always use a contract. Go with the pinky swear instead.