Freelancing is pretty great.
You get to work from home, decide your own hours and rates, and choose which projects to accept based on your own interests, skills, and availability.
Except there’s a little something called discipline at their heart of this fine balance called being your own boss. And not everyone has it – especially those who’ve pulled any of the following from their Rolodex of excuses:
1. “The subway wasn’t running.”
Have you heard of Uber? Or Lyft? Or a regular taxi? Even biking, alternate bus routes, and good old-fashion walking will get you from point A to point B.
2. “I couldn’t find anywhere to work.”
This essentially translates to “I couldn’t find wifi” – which is pretty much akin to saying you couldn’t find air to breathe. Starbucks exists, you know.
3. “It was so nice out.”
We get it; it’s tough to do work while 95% of your Instagram friends are uploading photos of their Caesars on a patio – about 1% of the actual working population, by the way. But if you’re a young professional in any of Canada’s major cities, you’d be spending every third day sunbathing instead of finishing a timely project (and praying for a cloudy day).
4. “My phone died.”
A lot of freelance projects rely heavily on consistent communication – your phone being out of commission for any lengthy period of time is incredibly detrimental to that. If you can remember to feed the dog before you leave the house, you can remember to do something as equally critical as plugging in your phone. There are also things called wireless chargers.
5. “My friend was sick.”
Doctor’s notes are non-transferrable – not having a “boss” doesn’t mean your responsibilities disappear when your BFF’s Friday morning hangover invites you to play along for an all-day movie marathon. Emergencies excluded, of course.
6. “There was a major snowstorm.”
We’ve actually heard this from someone working from home as an excuse as to why a project was delayed. Unless two metres of snow somehow blocked the path between your bed and computer, winter weather is not an excuse for the self-employed. Remember: you’re lying to yourself more than anyone.
7. “I didn’t get your message.”
Everyone gets every message these days. The odds of actually missing one that happens to be important are essentially 0%. Gin or vodka sodas on the rooftop after work? That’ll have a response before you even hit ‘send’.
8. “I was working on something else.”
It’s no secret that freelancers cater to a handful of clients at a time – but it’s imperative you make each feel like priority number one. This excuse is like telling your date you have to cut dinner short because you promised to watch Orange is the New Black with your wife tonight.
#NOTABLE
Want more updates on the most Notable things happening so you know before your colleagues do? Get our exclusive newsletter here and follow us on Twitter for all the latest.