Smarterware

Designing My Ideal Work Mix

The hardest part about being a freelancer for me is deciding what jobs are worth taking on, and what I should turn down. I want to do and have it all--but the whole "only 24 hours in a day" thing really throws a wrench into that plan.

Fact is, when you're the boss of you, you've got to be a really good editor: recognize the good gigs and avoid everything else. Over at the FreelanceSwitch blog this morning, I published a piece called How to Craft Your Personal Business Model, in which I describe how I am attempting to do just that. Part of it was designing my ideal work mix, a high-tech pie chart I scribbled on a piece of paper, which you see here.

The work you turn down says more about you as a professional than the work you take on. While I'm still figuring out exactly what I want to be when I grow up, I do know what's important to me, and right now I'm trying to use those values as best I can to guide me to the right people and projects. For more of this kind of touchy-feely career mush, check out the full article.