Do you steal a few minutes to sneak some glances on your break from work?

Does the dim light of the screen dominate your sleepless nights?

Then you may be a victim of productivity porn. 

Productivity porn is an addiction to the self-help section of the internet.

Contrary to a healthy approach to self-improvement, productivity porn puts the addict in a perpetual state of seeking. For freelance bloggers, productivity porn translates to a pretext for procrastination that ultimately handicaps us from doing the thing that we do best: writing.

Instead, productivity porn paralyzes its addicts with the idea that they are not good enough and that they need a new fix before they can be a good writer. This habitual insecurity will easily kill the most beneficial habits.

Here’s why: 

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Are you a systems gal (or guy)?

Even if you’re not, but you’re trying to grow your freelance writing business, this post is for you!

Systems exist to make your work easier. By having the right systems in place, you’re less likely to drop the ball and more likely to stay focused and on task.

I set out with the goal of leaving work behind when I launched my freelance blogging business in May of 2014. As the sole income earner for our family of four, I knew I needed to be successful with my side hustle if I ever hoped to take it full-time.

I’m happy to say that’s been the case. I’ve now quit my day job and I’m free – free to bust my butt and hustle to earn a living in order to feed the one big and two small mouths I have at home.

Here are the 3 most effective systems I’ve created and implemented to help me go from a brand new freelancer to one who earns more than $4,000 per month inside of six months. 

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It’s short. It only has two letters and one syllable.

You’d imagine the word “no” would be easy to say. After all, it’s the 56th most common word in English.

However, the difficulty isn’t in its pronunciation but in the emotional charge it holds. Most people think it’s a negative word.

I’ve discovered that saying “no” can have a positive impact on your career as a freelance blogger.

Unfortunately, the word “freelance” often comes with misconceptions attached, too.

To some clients, “freelance” means you don’t have set working hours, so you can be at their beck and call 24 hours a day. To others, it means you work for yourself, so you’ll be glad for the money and take on any old gig they send your way.

Until recently, I would’ve been anyone and done anything a client wanted, simply for the sake of avoiding upset. But saying “no” makes better business sense.

Here’s why: 

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