The pros and cons of freelancing and what’s needed to transition from corporate life

Lifehacker, a productivity blog that I’ve linked to in other entries, had a good post the other day about working for yourself: Technophilia: From cubicle to couch.

For someone who’s just transitioning from working for a company to freelancing, the author has some good insight into preparing to work for yourself (hoard cash), the advantages of freelancing (flexibility), and the disadvantages (work is never done).

Are you considering freelancing?

I’ve been freelancing for more than a year now and, to be honest, at first I wasn’t sure how long I’d last doing it. Now, however, I don’t see myself ever returning to a 9-5 corporate job. If you’re interested in working for yourself, Lifehacker has a “freelancing self-assessment” that “puts your self-motivation and organizational skills to the test.”

Avoid typos and grammatical mistakes by listening to your writing

When reading something I wrote, sometimes I see what I meant to write—not what I did write. My ears aren’t as easily fooled as my eyes, however. So when reviewing what I wrote, I have my iBook read it back to me. Having the computer speak it, instead of reading it aloud myself, allows me to focus on the content.

To have your material read back to you on a Mac, highlight the text, go to the application’s menu on the toolbar and select Services > Speech > Start Speaking Text. Then read along as the computer dictates what you wrote.

This step helps you pick up missing words that you’d normally add in your mind when reading, as well as when you misspell a word, but in doing so, correctly spell a different word (something spell check doesn’t catch).

(And welcome to the Lifehacker readers who clicked through that site’s post mentioning this entry.)

Advice for starting a home office

If you’re a freelancer or interested in working from home, Lifehacker readers (including me) have some suggestions about what you’ll need for a home office.