Lifestyle & Time Out

Security: Keeping safe with One Password

Michael Rose | Technology

Online security is a pain. If you have more than one bank account, multiple email addresses and numerous subscriptions to online services like Amazon, eBay and the rest, keeping track of your passwords becomes a real chore. We’re told not to write them down, and we’re told not to have anything too obvious that can be found in a dictionary.

Security experts recommend we have unique, strong, passwords of at least 12 characters including lowercase, uppercase and numbers. Generating random complicated passwords isn’t too hard… but remembering them is.

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Plugging the RSS time-sink

Mark Kirby | Lifestyle & Time out

Information overload is not a problem — we’ve been surrounded by too much information for centuries.

The real problem is ‘filter failure’.

Here Wordpress & Mobile Developer Mark Kirby outlines a very simple method for filtering website feeds and making the most of your time online.

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Does your Employer have World Cup fever?

Lesley Furber | Employment

With England playing Slovenia at 3pm on Wednesday & a recent survey showing 20% of employers think employees will take unauthorised time off to watch the footie, here is our quick guide to taking time off during the World Cup.

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Important Employment Law changes from 6th April 2010

Lesley Furber | Employment

A summary of the employment law changes coming up on 6th April 2010.

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Family friendly freelancing – tips and advice from a working mum

Linda Jones | Lifestyle & Time out

Agency director and mum of twins Linda Jones shares some expert tips on how to successfully balance the demands of a freelance career with those of a growing family.

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Freelance Creatives: Glug Brighton, networking event

Michael Rose | Events

Crush and Agency Rush have joined forces with Studio Output to host the first Glug Brighton. Based in a great venue bang in the centre of the Brighton’s North Laines The Basement and has space for guest speakers, live art and DJs.

“This will not be some dry business card swapping networking event oh no! This is about like minded people hooking up, listening and seeing something really interesting and having a drink or two.”

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Overcoming overload: How to Avoid Feature Creep in Your Life

Leo Babauta | Lifestyle & Time out

There’s a concept in programming called “feature creep” — when a software developer continually adds one feature after another because “wouldn’t it be nice” and “why not” and “isn’t it cool” and “some users asked for it”. The end result is a bloated program that tries to do everything but ends up being not very good at any of it.

Leo Babauta suggests a few ideas for overcoming feature-creep in your life.

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Launched this week: UK Freelance Forums

Michael Rose | News

Whether you are looking for a job or just some advice on how to run your business the UK Freelance Forum is here to help.

Read on to register…

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Freelance Technology: How do you find co-working places?

Michael Rose | Lifestyle & Time out

If you are lucky enough to own an iPhone 3Gs and you are wandering around town trying to find a place to do a spot of co-working then this funky Augmented Reality app for iPhone looks like an awesome solution. thanks @stephenfry

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Freelance Lifestyle: Laptop tip – get a stand

Jo Blood | Technology

The laptop. A useful tool for portable working or an ergonomic time bomb? Nowadays with many of us relying on our portable friends as our main computer, the laptop has thrown up a new set of ergonomic challenges. By its very design the laptop is disastrous for the back, particularly if you use it as it’s meant to be used on a table hunched over the keyboard peering at the screen. At the end of the day you straighten up and wonder why you’ve got backache or neck ache.

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Freelance Advisor reviews: Bluetooth headsets

Jim Hatley | Technology

If you wanna get ahead, get a headset Bluetooth headsets get a lot of stick from a lot of people, largely because the general public seems to have taken issue with the idea of somebody going about their business with a hi-tech gadget so visibly attached to the side of their head. I wonder if [...]

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Working from home: creating the perfect home office

Jim Hatley | Technology,Working From Home

If you’re freelancing from home on a regular basis a well-lit, well kitted-out office is essential – not just a luxury. Freelance Advisor’s resident gadget guru Jim Hatley takes a look at some home office must-haves. Home office heaven: Screens, scanners, DAB and desk-lamps Last year I have covered a few bits of kit to [...]

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Freelance Hacks: 10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It

Leo Babauta | Lifestyle & Time out

Leo Babauta of Zen Habits rises at 4:30 a.m every day. And he’s clearly insane! But before we roll over and pull the covers over our heads… lets hear some of the benefits and, if it sounds good to you, how you can make it a lasting, productive habit.

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Freelance Hacks: Do less and get more done

Leo Babauta | Lifestyle & Time out

As a freelancer with multiple clients, multiple deadlines and multiple todo lists it can be hard to know what to focus on next – so rather than choose we often end up doing two, or more, things at once. As part of a series of posts on Getting Things Done for Freelancers Leo Babauta of [...]

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Home office: One size doesn’t fit all

Jo Blood | Lifestyle & Time out,Working From Home

It’s no fun being average… but at least your desk and workstation have been designed with you in mind. If you’re above-average height you will know that it’s not quite so easy. Posture professional Jo Blood gives tall guys and gals a few hints on how to make their working environment work for them. Tall [...]

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Going freelance: Four ways to get your family to support your freelancing career

Dianne Bown-Wilson | Starting Out

Choosing to switch from full-time to freelancing can be a tough decision and the change will go a lot smoother if you have the help and support of those closest to you. Freelance Advisor, Coach and Consultant Dianne Bown-Wilson continues her series of articles on freelance career development issues for freelancers and contractors. Nearest and [...]

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Tis the week before Christmas…

Emma Jones | Managing Business

Freelance Advisor and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up’ Emma Jones give us a timely reminder of the things we could be doing in the run up to Christmas. What can freelancers do when things get quiet over the holiday season and what plans can we make for 2009. When the phones hush and emails [...]

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Freelance Advice: Portfolio Working and how to go about it

Dianne Bown-Wilson | Lifestyle & Time out

In part one of this series consultant, coach and trainer Dianne Bown-Wilson explored the advantages of portfolio working. Today she helps us identify the tools we’ll need to put it into practice. Portfolio career: How to Designing a Portfolio Career comes down to achieving an appropriate and desirable balance in your life between need and [...]

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Freelance Advice: is Portfolio Working the right choice for you?

Dianne Bown-Wilson | Managing Business

If you’ve recently retired or are thinking ahead to your remaining working years now could be a good time to consider developing a portfolio career. In this two part series consultant, coach, trainer and writer Dianne Bown-Wilson tells us why it is a good idea and how to go about it… Portfolio careers: the perfect [...]

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Freelance Advice: Make the most of your office chair

Jo Blood | Lifestyle & Time out

When working in a client’s office why is it the freelancers and contractors who always get the bum deal? Are you fed up with always being allocated the worst chair in the office? Our ergonomic expert Jo Blood gives us a practical guide to promoting good posture and making the most of your office chair. [...]

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Create a professional welcome while working from home

Emma Jones | Working From Home

Freelance Advisor and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up’ Emma Jones offers us the first in a new series of pieces for our Working from Home section. Here she takes a looks at what freelancers with a home office can do to create a professional image for clients and a great first impression for customers [...]

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Working from home: 17 secrets for success

Leif Kendall | Lifestyle & Time out

Ah… the life of a freelancer… feet up, TV on, sitting around in your dressing gown and your clients are none the wiser. But is this really the best way to approach your freelance and contracting work? Freelance Advisor and Web Marketing Consultant Leif Kendall asked the freelancers on the Brighton New Media list what [...]

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Tools for Time boxing

Michael Rose | Lifestyle & Time out

Mark Kirby’s piece on Time-Boxing for Freelancers this week got me thinking about all the time I could waste trying to find the perfect tools for the job. The irony of this is not lost on anyone I’m sure so, rather than waste unnecessary time on “productivity p0rn”, I thought I’d take Mark’s advice to [...]

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Thinking inside the box: A method for focusing on freelance tasks

Mark Kirby | Lifestyle & Time out

Getting things done throughout the day is what keeps the contracts and cash coming in. But how do we know which tasks we should be working on? And for how long? Freelance Advisor’s life-hacks guru Mark Kirby offers a smart solution to planning freelance work. In this post I’m going to focus on a simple [...]

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Find us on Facebook – for freelance advice and networking

Michael Rose | Managing Business

Find freelancing advice and support by joining our community of freelancers and contractors on Facebook. By becoming a fan of Freelance Advisor you’ll get all the latest articles and advice, alerts when new content is added to the site, and you can help build the community by connecting with other freelancers and contractors in your [...]

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Freelance co-working, USA style

Darren Fell | Lifestyle & Time out

In this second article from the USA, Freelance Advisor founder and serial entrepreneur Darren Fell gets the low-down on the American co-working scene and some advice about the pitfalls of freelancer café culture. Wanting to continue the debate on the merits of co-working, I descend on one of the very first co-working establishments – the [...]

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Working Hours, Rest Breaks and Holiday Entitlements – Working Time Directive – and Bank Holidays

Lesley Furber | Employment

All the information you need to know about the Working Time Regulations – Rest Breaks, Weekly working hours limits, Daily working hours limits, Opt-Outs, Holiday entitlements – and Bank Holidays.

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Do you follow? Freelance Advice on Twitter

Michael Rose | Managing Business

Freelance Advisor is on Twitter And you can follow us here. If you’ve not yet joined the twittering classes then you’re missing out on the latest social networking phenomenon – according to TwitDir, the unofficial Twitter Directory, there are now over 3,000,000 users and the Twitterverse is still growing. If you’ve used Facebook and their Status [...]

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Adding exercise to your daily routine

Helen Wilkinson | Lifestyle & Time out

Professional Personal Trainer and Massage Therapist Helen Wilkinson is on a mission to get us work-from-home types up off our butts and out there exercising. If the thought of getting out of your comfy swivel chair fills you with dread then read on… she’s got a few ides that might inspire you. Kick start your [...]

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Freelancing USA

Darren Fell | Managing Business

Are the streets of San Francisco paved with exciting projects, paying excellent rates? Is it full of perfect customers with realistic expectations? Freelance Advisor founder and serial entrepreneur Darren Fell took a trip to the epicentre of Internet start-ups in the hope of finding out what we can learn from our colleagues on the west [...]

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Staying in touch in the midst of mayhem

Mark Kirby | Managing Business

When you are busy, its easy to forget to keep in touch with friends and family who you don’t see on a day to day basis. Perhaps they live far away, or so close you feel you could get in touch with them at any moment, but always forget. Perhaps you see certain people a [...]

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The ADVANTAGES of being a self-employed contractor or freelancer

Michael Rose | Starting Out

In the last post we looked at the disadvantages of going solo. Now we turns to the ADVANTAGES of being freelance or self-employed… which is MUCH more fun! You are the boss You say what goes. If you want a lie-in or a day off, it’s up to you (but make sure you make the [...]

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Using exercise to unwind

Helen Wilkinson | Health

Freelance Health: Using exercise to unwind. Taking time out from a busy work schedule to relax and unwind.

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Setting a real-life goal – 10 Top Training Tips for a successful Marathon!

Helen Wilkinson | Lifestyle & Time out

Fancy setting a real-life goal? Something that you will be so pleased about for years to come if you actually go and do it. Could it be as daring as climbing Mount Everest or possibly building a school in Africa? How about something a little closer to home that so many people enter into, do [...]

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Podcast #5: Five things you always wanted to ask your accountant – part 1

Andy White | Lifestyle & Time out,Podcast

Part one of an interview with Steve Crouch of SRC Chartered Accountants. Steve answers questions on such things as salaries, dividends, section 660, IR35 and VAT. Topics covered: Limited company verses sole trader; Taking a small salary with big dividends; Section 660 – profit share between spouses; Consideration to IR35; When to register for VAT; [...]

 
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