Do you ever wonder if there are rules guiding freelance? When you think of freelance rules, what comes to your mind?

In every profession there must be rules governing their activities. The code of conduct for every profession humans engage in could either be written or unwritten. Freelance is in fact the most recent source of income and virtually everyone is running over here. Therefore, freelance has rules. If indeed there are rules guiding freelance, then who enforces them? Now, let me come out plain. Freelance has certain rules but these rules are completely informal and unwritten and nobody enforces them. You won't even know about the existence of these rules until you start experiencing freelance failure. You are supposed to have these rules at the back of your mind and make them a part of you. Nobody is going to sit you down and start lecturing you on them. Also, no one will punish you for not keeping to them. The simple reality is that when you fail to adhere to freelance rules, you will fail in the freelance marketplace. Your continued failure will push you into self-discovery of these rules. Freelance is highly decentralized, so there's no governing body to tell you about do's and don'ts. It is now left for you to observe the technicalities of freelance and come up with what way of life or pattern of behaviour that will suit the job and make you succeed. The pattern of behaviour here becomes the rule guiding your freelance journey. Freelance rules are relative in that what works for you won't work exactly the same way for another. The most important thing therefore is to keep to every rule that makes your freelance work effective. Generally, there are three most important rules every freelancer must adhere to if they intend to succeed in the world of freelancing. All other rules are constituents of these three rules. I call them the three golden rules of freelancing. Until you have learnt to keep to these rules, your freelance journey will keep being a struggle. Every other rule comes under these three rules; therefore when you can keep to them, you have succeeded in keeping all thereby guaranteeing your success in freelancing. You must know these three golden rules, have a mastery of them and follow them religiously. Do not ever fail to maintain any of these rules if you intend to succeed as a freelancer.

Rule 1: Save And Manage Your Time

There will be no success in freelance without proper time management. Nobody will tell you how to go about using the time available to you, absolutely no one! But when you fail to make good use of your time, you'll keep experiencing freelance failure. The best way to succeed as a freelancer is tied to judicious use of the little time you have. There's no one who has got time in abundance. We all have the same 24 hours every day but what distinguishes you from other people is your ability to make the best use of your time. Freelance works with timing and when you get this wrong, you'll get every other thing wrong. No client will be willing to engage a time-wasting freelancer. You must learn to plan your time in such a way that every aspect of your life is covered; ranging from work to exercise to sleep to leisure and the rest. Don't spend all your time doing one thing leaving other things unattended to. All your time doesn't have to be spent on work work and work and not only on leisure either. You must be able to strike a balance for that's what makes you a successful freelancer. Draft your time in such a way that no aspect of your life gets more attention at the expense of others. When you are able to do this, every other thing will fall into place. 

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Rule 2: Save And Manage Your Energy

Your energy enables you to get freelance jobs done. Without your energy, you won't be able to think, act, plan and execute. Your energy in this context refers to you. Take good care of yourself, eat well, exercise and have enough rest and sleep always. Do not waste your energy when you need to conserve it. There are a good number of freelancers who spend all their time doing unproductive things and when they land gigs, they become physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically worn out to carry out the assigned tasks. On the other end are freelancers who spend all their time working and working until they become used up and start delivering poorly done jobs and sometimes too they break down thereby becoming unfit and unable to even deliver jobs. Do not overuse your energy. Do not underuse your energy. When you are told to eat well, exercise regularly, have enough rest and sleep and drink enough water, you are merely being told to save and manage your energy. These things energize you and ensure you are able to do your work effectively. Freelance involves mental work but you can't think properly when you are malnourished, lack sleep and unhealthy. A sick body will translate to a sick mind. An unhealthy body is an unhealthy mind. Nobody will teach you how to go about taking care of yourself. You should find out the best way your body loves to be taken care of and keep to it. Failure to do that will result in freelance failure and you can only have yourself to blame.

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Rule 3: Save And Manage Your Resources

What are your resources as a freelancer?

Have you ever tried to find an answer to the above question? It is really pitiable to know that many freelancers do not even know what their freelance resources are.  Freelance resources are those things that make freelance work possible and easy. Your smartphone is a freelance resource. Your laptop is a freelance resource. Your fellow freelancers are veritable tools for a successful freelance career so they are freelance resources. The freelance platform where you belong is a freelance resource and the most advisable and resourceful freelance platform is UpMyChain. You should ensure you identify with UpMyChain freelance marketplace if you really want to succeed in this field. That's one resource you must have with you always. There are other applications that help you carry out freelance tasks. These applications are also freelance resources. Ensure you take care of every resource that helps you in your freelance work. These resources are both material and human. The material resources should be kept in a good condition and stored in the right place. Take good care of your devices, high-tech applications and keep them in good working condition always. How can you tell a client stories about mishap when they entrust their jobs to you? That will be highly unprofessional and unacceptable. Ensure your material resources are properly taken care of. On the human resources part, you are expected to maintain a good and healthy relationship with your fellow freelancers. You stand to gain a lot from networking with other freelancers. Don't ever fail to keep to this rule. For every discussion you have with another freelancer, you are going to learn something new. This is what makes freelance unique. 

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Easy Answers:

1. Save and manage your time
2. Save and manage your energy
3. Save and manage your resources

If you found this article helpful, do well to leave a comment using the comment box below. Do have a very pleasant and successful freelance career. 

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