• Just move the bloody couch!

    My wife and I have decidedly different approaches to moving furniture around. We’re both keen to try something new if it’s going to help life work a little easier. Vicki’s like: “That’s sounds like a great idea, let’s do it!”… Read more…

  • What is Freelance Contours?

    This email list started with the super-boring name “Freelancer Daily Email”. YAAAAWWWN! 🥱 Sure… it was pretty clear about who it was for. And how often I’d be emailing. But that’s probably all it had going for it. I thought… Read more…

  • Do you fear the catawampus?

    One of the biggest fears of new freelancers is meeting with clients. The fear can be very real — like a catawampus silently stalking them. But you may find… sooner or later… you kinda have to meet one or two… Read more…

  • When freelancing shines…

    Ask anyone who’s thinking about freelancing why they want to do it… You’re almost guaranteed to find “flexibility” near the top of the list. Although the freelancing lifestyle isn’t without its challenges… How you manage your time is yours to… Read more…

  • As good as it looks?

    I just about wet myself laughing while feeding Nellie our cat. One glance at the Purina Oscar cat food box was enough to do it. Maybe I’m crazy. But I reckon the marketing department were having the equivalent of a… Read more…

  • “He’s our lunatic”

    “Gibson may be a lunatic, but he’s our lunatic”… These are words from the Boston Globe’s review of Mel Gibson’s 2006 film, Apocalypto. He’s got lovers. And haters. Of his films. His acting. And him. He’s had his own share… Read more…

  • “What if they don’t like it?”

    The self-doubt demons seem to like throwing these questions into freelancer brains: What if they don’t like… … my writing? … the website I designed? … the way I presented the report? And you can be certain there’s a million… Read more…

  • Had to pull my skin back on after she did this…

    Here I was sitting at my desk. Headphones on. Bopping along to “Turn It Off” by Paramore. Busy tickling the keys while I coaxed another email to life. Meanwhile… My youngest daughter, Leah, had walked into my office. Now, when… Read more…

  • More “tip nuggets”…

    A couple of days ago I mentioned a time when I was going to call my freelancer-focused business “Practical Freelancer”. I had a good response to that email. So thought you might like to see some more of the “tip… Read more…

  • Why do you tell us stuff like this, Chris?

    From the “we’d never know this freakish thing unless Chris told us first” file… One website calls it a “swarming mass of terror”. And you thought one rat was bad? Try 10 of these sewer dwellers. Squealing, writhing, jerking around… Read more…