Serenity Tip: See your work clearly

It's so odd the veil between how I see the world and how the world actually is--especially in my freelance work.

Last year, I wrote a complicated story on the foreclosure crisis, focusing on people who were in a financial bind because of the healthcare costs associated with multiple sclerosis. Of course I worked hard on the story. I always try to keep in mind how my work can be of service to my clients and my readers, so I went beyond the sources the client gave me (it was a custom publication, where they often supply the people they want quoted) and sought out the best stories to illustrate the issue. I dug into the edits to illustrate the suggestions of experts with the lived experiences of people kind enough to share their struggles while they were in the middle of them.

But then, after the piece was done and I thought it was well received, I got an email from my editor, asking me why I hadn't responded to calls from another editor. Apparently, they'd been trying to reach me for weeks. I was mortified. I called back right away, gave them the information, but couldn't shake the feeling that I now appeared to them to be a flake.

I couldn't let go of the lapse--a lapse I didn't even realize had happened because I hadn't received any calls or emails. In fact, I still felt mortified yesterday, when I emailed the folks at the association for which the story had been written. At the suggestion of another freelancer, I contacted the association directly, seeking to reacquaint myself with them and, hopefully, get more work. As far as I could tell, that one lapse was the only dark spot in my record with them. I hoped they wouldn't remember it.

Well, I got an email back right away and the respose startled and elated me. It started with:

Of course we remember you.
You don't have to sell your talents to us!

That alone would have been enough to make my day. But then it continued to this startling revelation:

I’m not sure the message ever got to you that “Foreclosure and the Art of Saving Your Home” won a 2009 Apex Award of Excellence for Financial & Investment Writing.

For a second, I sat in stunned silence, staring at the computer screen. Then I grinned broadly and did a little jubilant dance in my office chair. This was the story: The story I thought of as a smudge on my otherwise stellar record with them. Not only did they not see me as a flake, but they were thrilled enough with my work to submit it for an award. And it won!

I tell this story not just to share my joy, but because my coaching clients are always trying to hedge their bets. They're always trying to be one step ahead of the mythical editors they imagine checking out their Web sites. They don't want an editor to see them as too much of this or not enough of that. They're convinced, in short, that their experience and their writing doesn't measure up.

But what my experience has taught me--and what this particular experience makes clear--is that as freelancers, we can't see our work clearly. If you're like me, you blow up the negative and shrink the positive. You see yourself through the skewed lens of your own self-doubt and insecurity. It's only natural. We're human. And we work alone, where we don't get to hear the plaudits of our editors unless they make the explicit effort to call us or email us with them.

I encourage you to do what you can to adjust your gaze--to see yourself as clearly as possible.

Chances are, if people are always telling you you're a good writer, you probably are.
If people tell you they like your work, they probably do.

They aren't being polite. They aren't sparing your feelings. They're trying to get you to see yourself clearly, too. Sometimes the obvious reason for their statement is the real one. Sometimes it really is that simple.

Where do you need to adjust your vision? Where is the fog of self-doubt still clouding your impression of your own work and worth?

Photo by terren in Virginia.

Serenity Tool for the Recession: Breathe

If you listen to news reports, you know the gloomy--even terrifying--financial predictions for the year. Well, I'm a pragmatist, and if I want to keep my mind clear and focused on work--and motivated to market--I need tools. My tools, it just so happens, are of the yogic variety. This is an occasional series of tips and tools for maintaining calm and serenity despite the economic forecast. Have a tip of your own? Comment below.

I don't know about you, but when I read about the number of publications going under or taking all their work in house, I catch my breathe unintentionally. I don't think I'm alone on this. Indeed, the Freelance Nation may be one populated by shallow breathers. But now's the time to exhale, says writer and consultant Ally Peltier:

My uncle, who stood on his head and meditated every morning my entire childhood (he died when I was in college), often just looked at me in the midst of a rushed stream of words and said, "Breathe." It's simple, but effective. While it's important to be savvy and work hard, you reach a certain point where you've done everything you can do, and the rest (like the downturning economy) is out of your control. Worrying is futile and destructive to your health. So, when I feel anxious about what's going to happen, I just remember: "Breathe."

This is another one of those pieces of advice that can come off as trite or a platitude. But in the yogic world, it isn't code for "quit complaining" or "chill out, man." It's a direction to engage in a real practice, just like Sun Salutations or, in the business world, following your business plan.

Yogic breathe work is called pranyama, the fourth of yoga's eight limbs that also include asana (what we Westerners think of as "yoga" but is actually the physical postures). A March 2008 study confirms what yogis have known for centuries: Practicing it can increase oxygen in the blood, calms the nervous system, lowers blood pressure and improve cardiac response.

It's good for you, and it feels good.

The type of breathing that one yogi recommended to me for today's economic troubles is Nadi Shodhan (Alternate Nostril Breath). I like to practice this especially when I'm in a sauna or steam room, because if feel like it really clears out my sinuses while calming me. But you can do it at any time and it takes two minutes:

Serenity Tools for the Recession: Metta to the rescue

If you listen to news reports, you know the gloomy--even terrifying--financial predictions for the year: It'll get worse before it gets better; the economy won't rebound till 2010 at the earliest; blah blah blah. It's enough to make a self-employed individual hide under her low-overhead desk. But I'm a pragmatist, and if I want to keep my mind clear and focused on work--and motivated to market--I need tools. My tools, it just so happen, are of the yogic variety. This is an occasional series of tips and tools for maintaining calm and serenity despite economic forecasts. Have a tip of your own? Comment below.

Here's a sign of the economic times: You're waiting for a check. You got a particularly heinous set of edits. Or, you're trying to cram 2000 words into an 800-wordcount story. How do those feel in your body? I don't know about you, but I harden myself. I steel myself for confrontation.

That's why Metta practice is so important.

Metta is a form of guided meditation designed specifically to soften your heart.

Now, for you more practical types, this may sound too namby-pamby for you. But I challenge you: Visit Lisa Dale Miller's Web site and download her 20-minute Metta meditations for beginners.

There are lots of places you can learn loving-kindness meditation, but I found these in iTunes' podcast search, and I like them because they're free, easy to follow, and her voice is relaxing and melodic. Plus, she encourages you to pile up a bunch of pillows on your bed and relax during meditation.

There are two Metta meditations Miller offers:

• One that opens your heart to someone you love unconditionally, as well as to yourself.
• One that opens your heart to someone about whom you have neutral feelings, as well as someone with whom you may have conflicts.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

It's not that that publisher who hasn't paid you doesn't deserve your ire--but you deserve freedom from rage and the blocked energy that comes with it. With a soft heart, you may find yourself more flexible, more able to focus on what you can control and, by extension, more serene.

Who knows: Your marketing to increase, your ease around contacting your editor, her publisher or an attorney to get easier. That's what you have control over, and that's what serenity is all about.

More on motivation

So yesterday we started a discussion on how to change a habit. Today, let's continue it by looking at someone else's take: Specifically, the brilliant blog Unclutterer's post on using brainwashing techniques to break a bad habit.

I know, creepy and crazy. But hear them out.

The post is based on the book How to Work the Competition Into the Ground, which studied how brainwashing techniques can be applied to workplace motivation. Some of the techniques Unclutterer points out are creepy, like subliminal thought (I don't know about you, but I'm unlikely to motivate to record short messages and put them between songs on iTunes--but that's just me). Others seem less cult-like and more about awareness and mindfulness to me. They don't have to be creepy.

And of course, the main difference between a cult and you is the purpose of these tools: You're not in a cult (as far as I know); you just want to be able to tear yourself away from email, clean off your desk, get better at marketing, etc. And of course, none of these tools, by themselves, are going to take all your money and separate you from your family. But losing your serenity and becoming a workaholic might...

Here are my favorites:

* "Repetitious self talk:" Hey, we know that one! That's a mantra!

* Spend time at events that get you motivated to do the thing you don't want to do: If your problem is office clutter, as they suggest, then "[a]ttending a conference on uncluttering, going to hear a motivational speaker, watching a show like Clean Sweep or even reading Unclutterer can help you to think about the subject in a positive way and believe that you are capable of being an uncluttered person."

I'll add that you can also create the experience you want to have. This is actually a reason I started this blog. I wanted to spend time every day thinking about how I can apply my mindfulness and yogic techniques to my life as a freelancer.

* Get help: Having a guide in the particular area where you're trying to create a new practice--organizing your desk or emails, starting a yoga practice, sending more marketing ideas to potential clients--helps you get there. That shouldn't be any shock. The trick is finding the right guru for the job. As Unclutterer rightly points out, that can be a professional organizer. It can be a job coach. It can be carefully selected support people.

Serenity Tool: Cool It Now

Serenity Tool is a feature in which I highlight office equipment and tools that can increase your serenity by clearing your mental clutter, freeing you of anxiety and preparing your for those times when things don't go the way you'd like. If you have a suggestion for a tool or a question of what can increase your productivity while keeping you serene, email me at heather at heatherboerner.com.

If you're like a lot of people, you use a laptop for your work. I sure do. I love the portability but I hate the blistering heat it generates if it's set flush against any surface.

Of course, you should never use your computer on blankets or anything like that. But what you should do is get a cooling pad for your laptop.

Why? Because for every minute your computer is cooking, you're damaging the life of your laptop. Memory will start to degrade and your laptop's life will shorten. Want to be a good steward to your electronics? Support them by keeping them cool.

This isn't just practical. It's also spiritual. I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out. Unless you're an IT consultant, most self-employed people aren't good at technical repairs. If you're like me, you panic every time your computer does something weird--a program shuts down for no reason, not to mention the Blue Screen of Death. And when you have to replace a computer every year because you're not treating yours well, you're busying yourself with stuff that takes you away from growing your business.

Cooling pad options:

* The prop-up: These pads work by propping your computer a few inches off your work surface so air can circulate easily and cool the computer naturally. The advantage? It uses less energy and you can DIY with a few smal notebooks on the sides of your computer.

* The fan: This is the version I went with because i figured it would cool my computer faster. these can have two or three fans that rotate constantly to whisk hot air away from your computer.

* Bells and Whistles: You can even get a cooling pad with an LCD display and an overheating alarm. The one I went with has a USB hub and a memory card reader, also. I've never used the card reader, but love the hub because I have more devices to hook up to my laptop than it has USB ports.

Whatever you choose, be sure to look for size:

* Find one that is the size of your laptop. While I love mine, it's a little smaller than my laptop and I'm looking to replace it with one that fits my computer comfortably.
* Power source. Some power themselves through your USB port, and if you're like me, you don't have a USB port to spare.

Quick Escapes at Your Computer

If you're fried and procrastinating it could be your brain's plea for a break. So don't just visit snarky Web sites or engage in gossip. Instead, there are some great quick-break meditation sites on the web that can get you to real relaxation and help you get productive again:

The Meditation Room

This site offers two great things: Instructions on how to meditate and also guided meditations via RealPlayer Audio. The only bummer is that if you have a Mac, you won't be able to hear them. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Relaxing Image Meditation

I know it sounds like snake oil to say that looking at pretty pictures is anything other than, well, pretty. But research shows that guided imagery can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, as well as blood pressure. This site offers a slideshow of pretty pictures combined with tips on meditation.

Guided Relaxation Audio Files for Anxiety

This site, run by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Health Services is a treasure trove of both information for identifying and relieving anxiety and of guided audio files on learning relaxation breathing exercises. These come in both RealAudio files and Mac-compatible MP3 downloads and are only a few minutes long. So squeeze them in between appointments.

Deep Breathing Relaxation Audio Sessions

The University of Wisconsin Madison University Health Center offers 18 different short audio files for deep breathing relaxation. Titles like "breath awareness," "peaceful focus" and "brief muscle relaxation" are supported by voice-over explanations or you can choose fils with only harp or nature sounds to support your relaxation. But maybe avoid the "sleep technique" file until bedtime. You don't want to drift off before that big phone call with a new client.

YouTube

I know. The same site full of snowboarding wipeouts and Asian kids lip syncing to the Backstreet Boys also has a slew of guided imagery and guided meditation videos that can give you a nice break in your day.

Serenity Tool: Back It Up

Serenity Tool is a new feature in which I highlight office equipment and tools that can increase your serenity by clearing your mental clutter, freeing you of anxiety and preparing your for those times when things don't go the way you'd like. If you have a suggestion for a tool or a question of what can increase your productivity while keeping you serene, email me at heather at heatherboerner.com.

If you're like me, you can feel like you are your thoughts and words. It's a professional hazard. But there's a way to put that feeling where it belongs. Instead of feeling attached to every word you send out and like you are your job, create a container for your work--literally.

Get yourself some backup for your computer and all its precious files. Aside from sparing you the gruesome fate of losing everything to the Blue Screen of Death, it's also an act of being a good steward of your work.

Here are the choices you have to make:

1. How much memory do you need? The easy way to figure this out is to look at how much memory your computer holds total and get at least half of that. For every professional, the amount of memory you'll need will depend on your profession. If you're only looking to back up Word files, which are small, you won't need as much as if you'd also like to back up photos, music or graphics.

2. External hard drive or online backup? Basically, you can either back up with a super souped-up version of those little keychain flash drives or you can subscribe to a monthly service that allows you to back everything up over the Internet. Each have advantages and I've used both. The joy of online is that you can access your work from anywhere, on any computer, quickly and easily by logging onto your account like you'd log on to email. The advantage of external backup is that you generally get more bang for your buck.

3. PC or Mac? In my experience, backup systems are generally one or the other--though I chose my Maxtor because it can be written for either. Be sure to check your backup compatibility before you buy.

Now that you know the basics, may I recommend:

The Maxtor One Touch Plus External Hard Drive

I purchased one of these last year and love it. First of all, it's massive: it came with a full 750 GB of memory for $250. That could hold my whole computer hard drive more than seven times over.

Second, I found it easy to install and simple to use. That's a big deal for me, because despite growing up in a family computer professors, I'm not terrible tech-savvy. New hardware, computer breakdowns--they all make my fingers tingle with adrenaline and wash me with waves of nausea.

But with One Touch, you simply plug the hard drive into an outlet, attach the USB or FireWire cable to your computer, and after software installation (which was automatic with my Mac but comes with an easy-to-use CD for PC) and voila! The external drive shows up on your computer. Simply double click on the Maxtor Manager icon and set the backup schedule. Then you're done. You don't have to think about it again until you need to retrieve something.

Recently, I made a change to an article and wanted to see what it had been previously. So I double clicked on the OneTouch 4 icon and found the document. Easy. And what a relieve.

If you're more interested in online backup, I've used two that I can comment on:

iBackup:

If you have a PC, this is the one for you. Your mileage may vary and there are other options out there (Carbonite, eVault and others come up with just a quick Google search.) But I used iBackup at the suggestion of some colleagues and loved it. It starts at $9.95 a month for 10 GB of memory and goes up from there. I found that 10 was plenty for me when I started and then I needed more.

I found their customer service friendly and simple to use. If I hadn't switched from PC to Apple, I would have kept them for years to come.

BackJack:

When I first got my Apple, this is the service I went with. At the time, there were few options for an Apple user who wanted to back their work up online. Now .Mac, Apple's service program that includes online backup, offers 10 GB of memory for $100 a year and another 10 GB for $100 more, I believe. But at the time, I think they only offered 2 GB. So I went with BackJack. The best thing about the service is that it's quick and easy and when you call for support, you get a very friendly Canadian woman who just couldn't be more happy to help you. However, at the time I subscribed, the cost was high: $53.50 a month for the 10 GB I needed. Recently, they upgraded the service to work with Apple's new operating system, Leopard and reduced their prices. Now you get 5 GB for $15 a month, and each additional Gb for $2 more. Still, that can run pretty high.