Create Account / Log In

Hey, Free Agent, Did You Eat Your Breakfast Today?

And when you finally sat down to eat breakfast, was it morning or ... 3 pm?

When the phone is jangling, the pace hectic and deadlines looming, do you stop ? to eat?

All self-employed people share the title Chief-Cook-and-Bottle-Washer. Which is just another way to say that it is easy to get stretched thin when you are responsible for everything.

In a perfect world, our work would keep us stimulated, pay the bills, and provide us with a sufficient income to allow a decent quality of life. We would have neither too much nor too little work and it would come in an even flow. Not only that, but our clients would be pleasant and they would pay us on time.

We, in turn, would find it easy to perform our services to the public with excellence because we would be able to stay in touch with the joy that made us choose our line of work in the first place.

But the reality is that most of us are lucky if we can get within spitting distance of our perfect world, much less live in it.

While many of us are drawn to freelance living by the prospect of freedom from having a boss, the truth is that we are at the beck and call of our clients. And, often, through no fault of our own, our workflow is one of feast or famine.

So ? did you eat breakfast today? And when you did, was it morning or 3 pm?

We self-employed folks tend to drive ourselves to go the extra mile. For too many of us the reason is fear. Fear that if we turn down a job there won't be another.

We know that is illogical, but being self-employed means living with a great deal of financial risk. We often feel we can't take the chance. So we take on the new project even though we are exhausted. Or, against our better judgment, we take on a new client whose behavior forewarns of difficulties ahead.

But there is much wisdom in the flight attendant's canned speech that 'in the event of emergency, place the oxygen mask over your face' before assisting your children.

The logic is obvious. You can't help your kids, or anyone else, if you lack basic oxygen.

When you take proper care of yourself, you work better and feel better. And that shows up on the bottom line.

So ? did you eat breakfast today?

Ellen Zucker's website http://www.selfemployment101.com is designed to help the creative sole-proprietor earn a living and have a life.

Have Ellen's articles delivered to your in-box. Subscribe to her ezine The Self-Employment Lady.

Time management a major problem in Africa Business Daily Africa, Kenya - 15 hours ago ... in markets across the continent, I was continuously intrigued by the similarities many of our brothers and sisters had when it came to time management. ...

Time management and multi-tasking employees Economic Times, India - Nov 18, 2008 And it is time management that churns out this skill in an employee. “ Time management makes an employee more productive, helps him/her reach his/her goal ...

For Star Player and Scholar, This Game Day Is Different New York Times, United States - 5 hours ago He calls Rolle a role model for time management and remembers his spending hours tutoring his teammates. “He had this endless clock where he never seemed to ...

Stanford junior Gerhart looking to go out on top USA Today - 8 hours ago Time management and being able to consistently keep up with his studies are important, he says. "I don't feel like there's a lot of stress one way or the ...

Cayman Net News

Chamber Holds Time Management Course Cayman Net News, Cayman Islands - Nov 16, 2008 Twelve Chamber of Commerce members recently took part in a Time Management and Productivity course hosted by the Professional Development and Training ...

Does Time Management Even Exist? Baruch College The Ticker, NY - Nov 13, 2008 So "time management" is a mislabeled problem, which has little chance of being an effective approach. What you really manage is your activity during time, ...

Big Rocks - The Super-Power of Time Management By: John Carpenter ... Healthy Wealthy n Wise, WV - Oct 31, 2008 Effective time management is not always as easy as it seems. There will be things that you intended to do that somehow just didn't get finished. ...

WPU Holds Seminar on Time Management Pioneer Times, NJ - Nov 10, 2008 A healthy diet and adequate exercise are just a few tips Samantha Benson suggests to students in help of managing their time. It is a struggle to manage all ...

IT Consultancy Secrets for Getting Long-Term Clients ITworld.com, MA - Nov 18, 2008 Most consultants face serious time management issues at nearly every stage of their businesses. The fact is, no matter what, you need to focus on building ...

Time Management KVUE, TX - Nov 4, 2008 And fate just seemed to be on their side. But looking back with those 20-20 glasses sure makes you wish time management had been on your side.