Category Archives: tips

by Scott Nesbitt

A few screencasting resources  Clip to Evernote

Want or need to jump into screencasting, but don’t know where to begin? Then take a look at these resources that can help get you up and running:

Do you have any favourite screencasting resources? Why not share them by leaving a comment?

by DMN Communications

Tips for efficiently editing in Word  Clip to Evernote

by: Rhonda Bracey

Recently, Bill Swallow stated on the HATT list: I’ve been a long-time advocate for efficient process and documentation. I base this on one key truth: I’m lazy. I’m so lazy, in fact, that I bust my butt to make things easier.

And so it is with me and Word. If I can find an more efficient way to do something, or to automate a tedious and/or repetitive process, I will.

For the past 18 months I’ve edited hundreds of academic-style environmental science reports for a global oil and gas company. The editing – or QA as we call it in house – involves everything from formatting (such as checking consistency in headers and footers, page margins, styles used) through to a full review of the content, including the usual grammar and punctuation checks, as well as checking lists of terms and making sure that citations and references match.

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by Scott Nesbitt

Coworking spaces: a good option for the consultant  Clip to Evernote

One of the atttractions of being a consultant or a freelancer is that you can work from your home office. As Ivan Walsh discussed in a guest post, working from the home office can have its joys and its pains.

Aaron and I usually work at clients sites, although we do some work from our homes. I’ll be honest: when the weather’s warmer, I take a laptop or a netbook out on to my enclosed porch and work for hours.

That said, sometimes you need to get out of the house — if only for a change of pace or to avoid the inevitable distractions. TO get that change of pace or a change of scene, many consultants and freelancers decamp to a public library or a favourite coffee shop.

Another option is a coworking space. And it can be a great way to straddle maintaining working from home and renting a more traditional office.

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by DMN Communications

The joys and pains of working remotely  Clip to Evernote

by: Ivan Walsh

“You’re so lucky,” she said “You get to work from home.”

Before I could give my 2 cents, she listed the wonderful things about working remotely: not having to commute, more time with your kids, and other such perks.

Like most things, though, working remotely has its ups and downs.

I’ve worked at home for the last seven years and made most every mistake you can make. So, here are a few tips if you fancy taking the plunge.

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by Scott Nesbitt

Stepping into the freelance world, part 5: rendering unto the tax collector …  Clip to Evernote

tax Taxes. It’s not a four-letter word, but it may as well be. I won’t go into the reasons why people dislike paying taxes — we all have our own. But if you want to play (or, at least, stay in business) then you’ve got to pay.

For the full-time employee, paying taxes is relatively easy. Employers deduct tax at the source, and at the end of the year you file an income tax return. If you’re lucky, and any other income that you have to pay taxes on isn’t too high, then you might just get some money back.

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by Scott Nesbitt

Organization and productivity  Clip to Evernote

I have to admit that I’m not the most organized person around. I try hard, and I’m getting better at it but sometimes I slip off the rails a bit. A lot of that has to do with trying to juggle too many balls at the same time. And, until recently, part of it has been not having a coherent system and paying attention to that system.

I realize, though, that organization (which can lead to improved productivity) is important to the freelance technical communicator. And to the full-timer, too. So, over the last little while I’ve been looking at how I organize myself and how to do it better and in a more simple fashion.

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