Like most freelancers I know, I check Craigslist on a regular basis. Lately I’ve noticed the gig and jobs lists have become a venting ground for frustrated writers and designers who feel the need to lambaste ads and companies asking for free and cheap services. And this puzzles me. For one, why waste your time? And secondly, if it weren’t for those no-pay and cheap gigs, many freelancers wouldn’t be getting the paid gigs they’re getting today.

Internships and apprenticeships have been around for as long as specialized skills have been in demand. But today’s economy has changed the structure of these long revered traditions where speedy growth and advancement is the name of the game. Instead, the tendency is to offer one time or irregular gigs and newbies in the field use these to build a portfolio of experience they can’t get because no one will hire them without experience. And there’s nothing wrong with it. As long as it’s win-win.

I have a master’s in writing but I still needed to pay my dues when I headed into freelancing. I did a few articles for nothing but publications credits, wrote a few books for what seemed pennies an hour, and did graphics work pro bono for non-profits and friends. These slave wage gigs are what landed me a three month, full-time contract and several articles with a major national magazine and ever since, I have been able to get great contracts with livable fees writing and producing the kind of work I had set out to do.

Now, there are a lot of slime balls out there who ask for the most unreasonable things and are only concerned about what they can get out of the relationship. But there are plenty of fledgling companies and individuals who just need help with basic services to get their business or project off the ground. These are great time investments for a greenhorn freelancer, especially with new companies since it gets you in on the ground floor and if you do good work for them, they are likely to come back to you when they need more consistent or advanced work. Just let the prospect know what you need to get out of the project and if it’s by-line credits, reprint rights, items for your portfolio, etc. be sure you are guaranteed these things in the contract you have with them.

Alternatively, if you are one of those fledgling businesses who are strapped for cash, don’t feel bad asking for low or no cost services, just be certain you are able to offer something of high value in return. Be prepared to give testimonials and references as needed, don’t ask for the entire production to be off limits for use in their portfolio, and if they are a great resource, return a favor and recommend them to others.

No money doesn’t mean no value. There are many things in this world that just can’t be bought. It just needs to be valuable for both sides.

It has been a couple weeks since I posted a blog here. I had not planned to take a break from posting but when life pummels you with one thing after another, you have to pick your priorities and be honest about your limits. The problem is, organization and those well laid plans tend to just fly out the window when that wrench gets thrown into the cogs. But that doesn’t need to be the case. You just need a plan for when your plans don’t work out.

This month I was forced to restructure my work life, I got sick, and ended up with a bigger workload than expected all while working on a new collection of art. Suddenly I found myself having to choose between keeping up my on-line presence and other really important things, like sleep.

Instead of flailing about trying to make it all work, I was able to shift quickly into a plan B because I had already determined my priorities. I decided long ago that I would not compromise the quality of my work by regularly operating sleep deprived so I made sure I was getting 7-8 hours a night. I had also decided that the completion of the new artwork by the end of this month was a priority over all my other work so I headed into the studio first thing every day to be sure I would get done what I had slated for that day. All my other usual activities were relegated to later in the day the most important ones being done first and if bedtime rolled around with a few things still not done, they were at least the items that I already knew I could manage to do without.

If I had not had a clear idea about what was most important for this month and long ago had resigned myself to not being Superwoman, the many unexpected interruptions could have completely thrown off all my plans. Being prepared enabled me to complete some great art work and as a result I won Judges’ Choice for best body of work at the Mile Hi Art Show I participated in this past weekend.

Life is one long string of interruptions. Things do not usually go as planned so if you expect to make your long term plans work out, you need to have your priorities predetermined and know what you will be willing to give up when necessary. Then, once you get through the unexpected detour, you can get yourself back on track knowing you have had some success, which will keep you motivated and on track for the long haul.

Since the subject came up a few times yesterday, I thought I’d speak about the usefulness and beauty of the oft maligned ‘mess’ that is so common in creative spaces. My awareness of this issue started with the skimming of a blog that upheld that organization helps creativity. Something about an uncluttered space means an uncluttered mind which will allow your wee brain more room to come up with ideas and create. I shook my head through much of it. Since when are limitations (lack of space in your head or on your work table or in the materials or tools you have) roadblocks to creativity? To me, limitations are inspiring challenges and clutter is simply creativity in action.

Later yesterday I meet an artist and blogger on Twitter, Rosie_Rowe, who spoke specifically to her love of ‘messiness’. I have to say, it shows in her work—in the most pleasing and beautiful way. To add more ‘orderliness’ to her art would be to ruin it. She admittedly works in utter chaos, but I see what comes out of it, and all I can do is applaud.

I can be both messy and organized. I actually love to build organizational systems in my studio and office—it’s like solving a puzzle to me—but I do prefer to keep bits and pieces of what I am working on scattered about, as it would be in an active, busy studio, office, desk, or other creative workspace. The scattered remnants of a craft project on the kitchen table or the pile of resource books and color cards on a designer’s desk is a display of the creative process in motion, of the history of the creator’s progress. A mess means something is happening, possibilities are being transformed into realities, and  and, for me at least, such a sight is exciting and energizing.

Not everyone feels this way, I know. My significant other is partial to neatness and things being in their place more often than not. Although a musician and entertainer of a rather outlandish sort (see Reverend Guy Marvel), he just feels better when things are orderly, when there is some modicum of control in the house. This is just how some people are, just as others prefer to just keep going rather than worry about the debris that results from their creative process. The usefulness of messiness or orderliness is, when it comes down to it, best measured by an individual’s preference.

But like anything, it should all be in moderation. I mean, if you are too orderly while working, you probably aren’t letting yourself go, allowing your mind to slip into the zone where keeping things neat is usually last on the list and where over-thinking your work is usually quenched. But being overly messy often results in delays as you search for tools or files, or mishaps when buried paint jars tip over or client’s notes get tossed with the first sketches.

My solution is to take a few minutes at the end of my time in my studio or at my desk to put away the things no longer relevant to my present project but leaving, where they fall, those tools or references or materials I will need when I return, so I can fall right back into my work. You can try that if the chaos is taking over but, bottom line, don’t let anyone ever tell you that your work space is too messy—or too neat. There is beauty and inspiration in both.

Working for yourself often means you work a pretty crazy schedule. There is always a list (usually a very long one!) of things you feel you personally must get done to keep your business/career going and growing and it can take up all your time. But never lose track of why you are doing this … to live a life by your own terms, one that you enjoy. Don’t let it become the ‘job’ that takes over your life so your life is your work and there is no living outside of it.

Taking time out is one of the hardest things for me, a consummate workaholic, to do. Which makes it all the more necessary that I have a plan for not working as well as for work.

I have a couple of rules, some which you may find apply to you but most likely you will need to devise your own to fit what you need out of your life. The important thing is to have a plan, schedule it like any other appointment, and keep it. It’s necessary for your sanity, your energy level, your creativity, and your relationships.

My Rule #1 is that I take time out at least three nights a week to spend time with my significant other doing nothing in particular—just being focused on us is what is important.

My Rule #2 is that one day a week, I don’t have any work scheduled. I often end up working a bit here and there—catching up on correspondence over morning coffee or networking but just to chat. The key thing is, I don’t make a work list and I give myself no work obligations. This is commonly Sunday because it’s usually the one day clients won’t write or call. Usually. I try to get together with friends on this day.

My Rule #3 is that at least once every three  months, I get out of town. Strangely enough I am very good at not working while on vacation. I don’t know why but it’s the reason I require that I get out of town—I know I will just relax and forget about all I have waiting for me because there is nothing I can do away from the office and studio. It gives me time to recharge and the experience boosts my creativity.

What are your rules for keeping your life balanced?

If you don’t have any specific rules, make some. They can be guidelines like mine above or work hours that you diligently adhere to. It doesn’t matter. As long as you take time out for you and for the ones closest to you. And that you go experience life.

When you work for yourself, you tend to work a lot. Ok, let’s be real … you tend to work ALL the time. Days, nights and weekends can be, and often are, completely taken up by your business tasks–trying to meet a client’s deadlines, getting work ready for a show, or just trying to keep up on orders (and bills!). Having this happen occasionally is just part of the gig. But if it’s happening all the time your life,and work, will suffer.

I had to learn this lesson the hard way, and I’m still working on it. I’m a workaholic. I really do not like to be idle. I have worked myself sick and have, on several occasions, almost ruined my closest relationship because of it. I thought I was going to need a 12 step program! But the solution was a lot simpler than I expected.

Creating under pressure and just creating something for yourself are two different things. So don’t make the mistake of thinking, it’s not like regular job stress because it’s creative. It’s still stress.  You really need to take time out to do things that are purely to feed your soul (or spirit or imagination, or whatever you want to call it). It may be social, artistic, adventurous, vegetative, or zen. It doesn’t matter what it is. The important thing is to get away from work and live life.

In our society we are often made to feel like we’re in a race. But as someone’s mother used to say (my mother didn’t have sayings … she just had ‘looks’) “Haste makes waste”. Extend that idea to working too much and too hurriedly. You will burn out and kill your creativity as well as your motivation. Get out of the race and refuel. You will be more efficient, more successful, and more energetic if you do this regularly. And you will be happier. So will your family.

Consider taking time out EVERY day to do something for yourself, spend guilt-free time with those closest to you, or just to do nothing much. Set one day aside every week where you are not allowed to do ‘work’ and go kick back with friends or have adventures. Get out of town, even for just a day, at least once a month. And have regular vacations–like 3-4 times a year.

You might be thinking to yourself “I don’t have time for vacation!” but consider when you have gotten away from it all, how the new sights and experiences you had got you so jazzed or how calm you were when you returned. You need that, just like you need food and shelter. And for creatives, time out and new adventures is absolutely imperative to keeping your creativity from going stale.

So, go ahead, take time out right now and go plan a vacation or do some creativity work just for yourself. Then notice how you feel when you get back to work. Thinking of it as feeding your creative being and don’t starve yourself.

I left my very well paying, fly me all over and keep me at plush hotels, corporate job to become an artist. Really. And that’s exactly what I told my six bosses and everyone else that asked. I don’t think they quite believed me. Well, not a first.

Then as my last day approached, people started coming up to me with these tentative but strangely admiring looks, and they would eventually reveal to me their own creative proclivities. One woman in quality control revealed that on occasion she wrote short stories, the IT manager manager used to write poetry, one of the vice-presidents revealed he’d bought his last home with space for a furniture making studio he had yet to set up, and even the multi-media guy, who had the most creative job in the place, brought around sketches of these 3-D moving wooden scenes and toys that ran by wooden gears he used to make. Used to. There was a lot of  ‘used to’ and ‘I would like to someday’ comments.

These revelations confirmed for me one of the reasons for my leaving a regular job. The competition and all consuming drive that is perpetuated in large companies stiffles and leaves no room, energy, or time for personal creative expression. I was feeling it myself. With a degree in both fine art and creative writing, it was intolerable to spend weeks, sometimes months without writing even a poem or sculpting a pendant. I can’t not create. But I don’t think I am unique there. Everyone has something inside them they need to get out and put into a tangible form, even if they rarely share it. Food, shelter, companionship and creativity. I believe those are the bare necessities we need to feel whole and to live.

I have never known an wholly  unhappy creative person who was working on their craft. Tortured, yes. Angry yes. But desperately unhappy and frustrated by their life? Only when they couldn’t work.

Perhaps I’m wrong but I have a feeling that if every child in school was required to take a creative class each semester and every person on earth was expected to spend at least a few hours every week creating something new to share with the world, we’d have a much happier, more content world. Yeah, I know. Idealistic nonesense that is.  But I believe it to be true and will live by it. Create, write, sing, dance, sculpt, paint, cook, garden, craft … just do something good for your soul every week if not every day. And see if it doesn’t make a difference.