How Do You Work? — GigaOM

How Do You Work?

Yawn… Don't Let Boring Work Get You Down

We’ve all experienced times of boredom in our work. Maybe you’ve been doing the same work for too long, whether it’s a corporate job or just the same types of client projects over a long period of time. Whether you are a freelancer working on client … Read More »

When You Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

One of the things I love about being a web worker is the variety of projects I get to work on. Things never get boring around here because of that. Every now and then, an opportunity arises that’s a little outside my usual scope, and … Read More »

 
 

A Coworking Experiment

Anyone who web works from home knows that the flip side to all of that comfort and freedom is the sense of isolation that can overcome you from time to time. There are a couple of ways to get out and find other people. Some workers … Read More »

Sometimes Less Really Is More

At first glance, my office looks like a neat and tidy den of well-organized supplies, electronic equipment and an in-control inbox. So much so that visitors to my work area often blurt out an astonished, “Does your office always look like this, or did you clean … Read More »

Georgina's Plans for 2010

For me, 2009 was marked by big work changes, and these precipitated big lifestyle changes. I went from working full-time in a city office as a copywriter to freelancing as a journalist and editor entirely from home. That’s right: as publications the world over raced … Read More »

Nancy's Plans for 2010: A Year of Projects

A while back I wrote that I don’t believe in resolutions. But I did suggest that the new year was a good time to evaluate your goals, especially business ones. Events the past few months have made it an especially good idea for … Read More »

How to Deal With Trolls on Your Professional Blog

A colleague of mine, also a freelance writer, deleted his blog last weekend. When I asked him why, he cited comment trolls as the primary reason as to why he had to shut it down. “I wanted to showcase my work,” he said, “not spend … Read More »

Will's Plans for 2010

2009 was a challenging year for me professionally, but I learned a lot and am applying those lessons to have a successful 2010. Some good things happened in 2009, too, like joining the WebWorkerDaily team, meaning I am greeting this year with some renewed focus.  … Read More »

How Much Time Should You Spend On Social Media?

Many Twitter conversations revolve around how much time we actually spend on unpaid social media, and how much time we should spend. Few have an answer because the answer is, “It depends.” (I know, I know. Stick with me.) The Social Networking Time Factors So what … Read More »

How to Keep Your Wrists Healthy

Considering how much time many of us spend on the computer, many web workers run risks of developing carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive strain injuries. But there are some steps you can take to limit the problems that come from using less-than-ergonomic keyboards, even if … Read More »

Celine's Plans for 2010: Continued Progress

I enjoyed 2009, especially when it came to blogging projects. It was a great way for me to meet new people to share stories and ideas with; I even had a face-to-face meeting with a WWD reader from another country. Though I had fewer clients, … Read More »

What Is a Good Work Ethic?

I’ve been complimented by several people recently about my work ethic, and while I appreciate those compliments, I’m still trying to figure out whether that work ethic is a blessing or a curse. Really, what is a good work ethic? I’ve heard a lot over the years … Read More »

More Must Reads

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about the personal, professional and private information we share online, especially in light of all of the recent discussions about the changes to Facebook’s privacy policy. I actually believe that online privacy is more … Read More »

2009 was a pretty good year for me, as it consisted of some big, positive changes, among them joining the GigaOM team to take over the reigns here at WebWorkerDaily. I’m not planning on making any major new changes in 2010, just a few subtle … Read More »

2009 was a pretty good year for me. I wrote a book, launched a web site, organized a bunch of local events in Portland, had some fun speaking gigs, and worked with some great clients. I have some plans for how I … Read More »

While everyone around me is enjoying the relative calm after the holidays, I am frantically preparing to attend the larger of the semi-annual Craft & Hobby Association trade shows in my role as the editor of the trade journal Scrapbook Update. For a long time … Read More »

There have been plenty of blog posts and discussions recently about how you need to be “personal” across the various social media web sites, even when communicating on behalf of your company or brand. Social media is about conversations, and people have conversations with … Read More »

I get a lot of email and am often frustrated when I miss an important message, just because it slipped down and out of sight into page two of my inbox. I also have a ritual of emptying my inbox and getting to inbox zero (or … Read More »

As 2010 opens its doors, I wanted to take another look at my Golden Rules of Social Media, published back in May of 2009, to see if I could consolidate those rules into five actions we can take to work better in — … Read More »

A new year often starts with reflection and resolutions, looking back on where you’ve been and making wishes for where you hope to go. Just as important to your success, though, is what’s happening in each given moment. Here are a few things you’ll need … Read More »

Sure you want to lose 20 pounds, and earn twice as much money. But it makes sense to pursue some productivity-enhancing pledges as well. Here are five good goals, ranging from internal auditing to spreading your goodwill. Read More »

I’ve been thinking about the idea of “free,” and not in the context of freemium business models and tangible products or services being given away, as explored by Chris Anderson in his book “Free: The Future of a Radical Price.” I’ve been thinking … Read More »

The holiday season gives us many opportunities to make memories. 20 years from now, we’ll reflect back on the fun times and the sad times we’ve had. Many of us are web workers because we want to spend less time commuting to work and more quality … Read More »

Web workers are dependent on, well, our web. So what do you do when yours is broken and you can’t convince the cable company of that? What do you do when everyone’s is broken and no one can convince the cable company of it, for … Read More »

It’s that time of year. Everyone’s creating lists of the best and worst: the greatest ideas from the last year; ten gadgets that didn’t survive the decade; the most exciting dinosaur finds of 2009. For some reason, a new year is all about … Read More »

Whether you work for someone or yourself, things tend to slow down for many of us in the final two weeks of the old year. What better time to do a little business sprucing? Here are ten things to do before the New Year to … Read More »

My three-person web development company is celebrating. We’ve survived 2009 — a very tough year — thanks to some good planning, and a bit of luck. As I look back, I realize that our success was based not just on our … Read More »

I have a confession to make. Though I am not one of the small percentage of teleworkers who work in the nude, my office attire consists of pajamas and shirts that are often frayed … Read More »

I’m sorry, lo siento, prastee meenya pozhalosta, and mea culpa. Please don’t hate me, but I had to do it. I know you are probably sick of the subject, but no self-respecting time management/productivity expert could get away with not writing about New Year’s resolutions … Read More »

OK, so it’s over one month later, and I finally got a car. I’m actually pleasantly surprised by my final day of car shopping. The first go-round was quite frustrating and ended with me giving up, but I’m happy to report these latest lessons … Read More »

In a previous post where I discussed the concept of a social media calendar to manage your social media outreach and messaging, Bob Hazlett commented and offered up his calendar to use as an example. I’ve downloaded it and thought it might … Read More »

Many readers expressed an interest in knowing more about my accountability partnership, so here’s a follow-up to my previous posts, answering the questions that were raised. Q: Is an accountability partner the same as a business coach? A: I don’t think so. While they have … Read More »

In planning to work from home, we consider in detail the technicalities, the home office setup, and all the fun, exciting things we’ll do to fill in all that extra time we’ll have. This is, after all, a lifestyle change, and there’s a lot to … Read More »

At any given time, there is usually an ongoing debate in some blogging circle about whether ghostblogging is a good or bad thing. I say it depends on how you’re using the term, and how you are using your ghostblogger. What is a “ghostblogger,” anyway? The … Read More »

This has been such an interesting year for me, but it wasn’t always positive; it made me realize that there are so many things outside my control. Though I try to do my best with work, some things always get in the way. When these unexpected … Read More »

When I hear about the processes companies are using to engage in social media-based conversations and communities, I’m a bit surprised that many lack any kind of strategy or written plan. While I’m a firm believer in the need for both spontaneity and frequency in … Read More »

By our nature, web workers are dependent on online tools to do our work. Sometimes those tools become inaccessible, though. For example, recently a hosting outage took down 37signals’ Basecamp, an app that many web-based workers depend on heavily. These outages can quickly become crises. … Read More »

Jan. 1 is coming, and it’s time to make those New Year’s resolutions! Yes, I know I said in an earlier article that the New Year is a bad time to set arbitrary goals about changing your life. But while it may not be the … Read More »

When you work with anyone, it’s important to keep good records. But documenting your work can be even more important when you’re telecommuting. With many employers, you’re required to document certain pieces of information, like how many hours you’ve worked. But keeping a few more … Read More »

Yesterday, I wrote about the value of having an accountability partner. This is the perfect time to set up a partnership with someone for the New Year. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of the relationship. Be careful who you … Read More »

An accountability partner is someone who can help you stay on track toward reaching your goals and creating a life and business by design rather than default. January marks three years that my accountability partner and I have been meeting, and I cannot say … Read More »

Through high school and college, I used to rail against having to use outlines because I saw them as stifling my creativity. It wasn’t until years later, as more of my own consulting work grew past just straight up technical writing of user documentation, … Read More »

Some of us thank our lucky stars for staying busy throughout this year, with the occasional period of being overloaded. But I’ll take feeling overwhelmed with client requests over famine any day. I often say that I’m lucky with my business. However, the truth is … Read More »

A few of my local clients like to meet in person every so often. We usually go to a local coffee house — we’re able to take laptops along, if we need to double check something online and we can get coffee while we talk. … Read More »

Many folks tend to use their Facebook accounts either for personal or business use, not both. However, those of us in a one-person business can find it effective to combine the two, with a little help from Facebook’s privacy features. To draw the line between personal … Read More »

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