Words on the Page

Rewarding Yourself

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Turning Tables by Adele Wow. That was short-lived. I was able to spend exactly three hours on Tuesday relaxing. Then four new projects came in, three of which are due next week. One is a 2K-word article. Marathon time again. Yesterday was a nice mid-week break. There are benefits to living…

Happy 4th!

Posted on by lwidmer

I searched for a video that wouldn’t be political, wouldn’t overuse sentimentality to influence, wouldn’t once more bring up the World Trade Center, and wouldn’t insult anyone’s intelligence. I was able to avoid all but possibly that last one. Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Worthy Advice: Advertising

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Don’t Stop by Foster the People Slow start this morning. With tomorrow being a holiday, I’m feeling like gearing down a bit, taking more time to meet my own needs, and maybe just taking time to breathe. June was one busy month. But the mint juleps are mixed in the fridge…

Monthly Assessment: June 2012

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: In These Shoes? by Bette Midler Nice weekend. I can now say my birthday is officially over. For some reason, I had four days instead of one. Husband and I shopped for my gift (clothes, yes!) on Saturday, so the celebration wound up that day. Yesterday was much too hot and…

The Process

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: You Wreck Me by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Super day yesterday. I finished a case study, an article, and got the sidebar nearly complete. Also, I took two client calls — one that sorted out future payment arrangements and another that outlined ongoing work and potential retainer arrangements. I was…

Forging Ahead

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Farther Down by Neon Trees What a nice birthday! I didn’t stay off the computer entirely — in fact, I spent more time on it than planned thanks to an unauthorized install of a Conduit search engine onto my computer when I downloaded an MP3 file converter software program. I uninstalled…

Bring on the Cake

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: My Fault by Imagine Dragons Today is a holiday for me — it’s my birthday. My intention is to do no work whatsoever, but that may not be possible entirely. Still, I’m going to enjoy the sun and the summer before it disappears entirely. I’ve been stuck inside working so much…

When Words Repeat

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Helpless by Neon Trees I had a slower paced day yesterday and was glad for it. Since returning from Canada, I’ve been on fast forward. It was nice to have things to do, but not so much that I had to chart it all to remember it. I picked up a…

Creating Client Partnerships

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Better Together by Jack Johnson There’s something about that song on a summer day, isn’t there? Well, there’s something about Jack Johnson on a summer day — any song. His island life just rolls like waves through his lyrics. The start of a busy, but not crazy week. I have an…

Things That Make My Head Explode: Part Nine

Posted on by lwidmer

What’s on the iPod: Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd (oh yes, it is!) What a hot day yesterday! I’d love to say I was able to get outside and enjoy it, but as it happened, I had an interview at 2 and I spent the morning researching a sidebar for an article. It took two hours…

Cathy Miller

I swear there's something in the water. Princess Jones has a post about how she has switched to payment in full upfront because of the problems she was having chasing down past due payments.

I'm still waiting for my June check (that is due the beginning of the month-not the end) for my retainer arrangement.

In this my busiest month, I can't get clients to respond to things I need to proceed and it's getting hotter than you know what, which is messing with my walking time. Not to mention I will be working this weekend, which is something I RARELY do, but can't avoid with all the delays.

Sigh…enough ranting.

Lori

Rant away, Cathy! That's what this post is all about.

Same situation — June check due at the beginning of the month. You're right; it must be in the water. How many clients are leaving you without answers? I'm sitting on just the one, but there's another who's gone silent and the check is due in. I thought I was over the invoice-payment issues. I'm too busy for this crap!

Joseph Hayes

I love the segue from unpaid invoices to poison ivy. I'll step up the invoice thing to "rush assignments with after publication payments".

Lori

Joseph, I tend to have those little accidental parallels. 🙂

Yes, the rush assignment. What's unnerving is the corporate "rush" assignment that requires you to give up a weekend so they can all sit around Monday pondering it for two minutes and table it, only to decide to take four weeks to get back to it.

Krista

re: One-sided conversations

Oh, boy do I know a few of these people. They ask how things are going, but if your answer is more than 10 seconds you can just see their discomfort. They're jumping out of their skin and I can read their thoughts…"Okay, enough with your boring life… It's my turn to talk for 45 minutes now."

I consider myself a pretty good listener, but I also find myself zoning out when I'm not part of an actual "conversation." I could not agree with you more!

Paula

Lori, remind me never to introduce you to that know-it-all, pretentious, self-involved friend of mine, because she's a non-stop talker. (I'm so used to it, it's almost a game now: If I mention something totally about me, how long will it take her to shift the conversation back to her? And my new favorite: Make something up and watch her pretend she knows all about it – but it's so hard not to burst into laughter watching her try to sell it!)

Lately I've been guilty of the 10-minute answers because things have been so crazy around here the past several weeks.

That leads to my comment on "Selfish Additudes" – why do so many people think the rest of us are here to serve and provide for them? Yesterday I noticed someone ripped a large petunia right out of my window box. I planted them symmetrically this year, so the gaping block of color really stands out. When squirrels or cats dig up plants, there's dirt everywhere and the plant is left behind. This time: no dirt, no plant. Why would someone do that? If they wanted to be destructive, pull out all the plants. It's not like a petunia has any monetary value.

Hope your poison ivy rash is healing, Lori – the eczema on my hands is finally healing, except for the finger I scratched raw the other day. My own fault, I know.

Devon Ellington

I used to put a sign on my NYC apartment door that said, "If you interrupt me when I'm working, I will be rude."

And then, I was.

Even the mailman — if he walks up to the door and I don't get up to meet him (he can see me through the window), just puts the mail through the slot and waves. Most days, if I can, I chat with him for a few minutes.

Amanda Brandon

Details are making my head explode from both ends of the spectrum – too many scope creeps and others who call you and ask you where the work is when they give you two words to work with. I had a person ask me on Wednesday where his article was and he'd given me one detail, three words to be exact. The scope creep is getting ridiculous on other stuff. If people would just read! Ah. All better now.

P.S. Thanks for the Twitter shout out!

Anne Wayman

what's making my head explode at the moment is trying to work with a well meaning but almost hopeless customer service gal… it's taking 3 times as long to get the problem solved. Sigh… I feel like invoicing them for her education.

I've probably been way less than sensitive to other's needs this week…

Have a great weekend all.

Kimberly Ben

Sounds like rough week, Lori, and I hope the weekend makes it all better.

Your comment about pretension stands out for me because I spent the week dealing with a client who was pretension personified. It was just ridiculous.

Lori

Krista, I know someone who goes on about how many famous people he knows. After four hours of nonstop talking, someone told him to shut up. That lasted for ten minutes. He just can't not talk about himself even if he's merely talking about everyone around him. It's still incessant bragging.

Paula, no thanks! I know that woman via your descriptions in the past! Don't you feel like saying something totally outrageous to see how quickly she responds with how she's done/said the same thing? Tell her you're going skydiving next week with THE best instructor. LOL

Devon, I'm making a sign like that as we speak. Perfect idea!

Hang in there, Amanda! Hey, just point to the contract and say, "Oh, we don't have that work included. Let me work up a separate agreement and pricing for that." It's amazing how quickly they back off when they realize it's costing extra. 🙂

Sometimes Anne, you just have to allow yourself to forget about other people's feelings and concentrate on yours. Go for it. 🙂

Kim, that's the worst! They're usually the ones who will argue the invoice or simply avoid paying, too. Hope next week goes well for you, too!

Lori

Ooops. Signed in under another account. How weird is that?

Lori

There. That's more like me. LOL

Sandy

Amen to all these Lori.
On the poison ivy, my brother used to dab it with bleach to dry it out — he swears it works.
Hope you have a good weekend.

Sandy (late to the conversation, as always)

Lori

Sandy, good seeing you again! I've tried bleach — it does work, but it can leave nasty scars. My mom uses it — she's a tough broad. LOL

I used Zanfel for the itch. It costs a small fortune, but it gives me hours of relief — sometimes it doesn't itch again.

Joseph Hayes

Poor blotchy itchy easily-distracted Lori. Email me your address, I have PGTips for you!

Lori

Joseph to the rescue! You know how I love a good PGTips…email on its way!