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How to Enliven your Creative Spirit?

Juice up your creative abilities!

Creative freelance professionals such as writers, designers etc., many a times, feel that their creativity has stagnated and they’re no longer able to come up with innovative ideas. There are some common factors, which if avoided, can help freelancers in enlivening their Creative Spirits and delivering top-grade results in their freelance career.

Let us take a look at the some of those creativity killers, which you should certainly avoid to stay focused and productive:

Monotonous Work Regime

Working in isolation away from colleagues and professional environment often fosters monotony and despair in a freelancer’s life and one feels like going stir crazy. monotonous schedule

Networking with other freelancers via social networking tools is recommended as it would bring a feeling of companionship and help you to stay motivated and deliver excellent work results. Play around with ideas that come to your mind to make your freelance work interesting. Take frequent breaks to avoid this monotonous schedule and let creative juices flow with full velocity.

Over-committing deliverables

Always under-promise and over-deliver! Clients sometimes pose big challenges for you by setting strict time lines for the projects they want you to execute. However, the capacity to face this challenge varies from freelancer to freelancer, and the creativity is one important aspect that needs to be paid attention to for delivering excellent project results.work pressure

Some freelancers stay calm and composed when they hear about the deliverables & time frames set for the same, whereas some freelancers start panicking on just the mention of strict time frames and work stress. So in those circumstances, it’s always better to take some extra time in advance so that your creative juices can keep flowing and you’re able to plan and execute your project efficiently.

Real-world difficulties

Freelancers often come across real-world difficulties such as handling their finances, managing software, dealing with bad clients, paying their credit card bills, petrol bills, mortgages, repair work etc. It then becomes a cumbersome task for a freelancer to focus on his work and come up with impressive work results owing to the day-to-day problems that surface.monetary insecurity

A freelance writer, graphic designer, web designer etc. who earn their bread and butter owing to the creative abilities they possess cannot come up with good write-ups & visually enticing graphics & designs in case they’re worried about handling these unfortunate real-world challenges. So the best way you can gear up your creativity is keeping this distress aside and then work on the projects.

Freelancers’ effective marketing tool is the quality of their work and hence put in your best possible endeavor to deliver these results as only this would bring you great appreciation and personal freedom as a freelancer.

Cluttered Work Environment

Creativity gets easily disrupted by unhealthy work environment. As a freelancer, you work from home but it is equally important to keep your place of work clean just like in office environment. Keep your desk clutter-free as dirty work environment is a serious creativity killer. Remove all the loose stationery, kids clothes lying around as a clean professional environment would open the creative doors of your mind and fresh ideas will flow out, which would certainly reflect in your work.work environment

Stay organized and keep all necessary items of use such as pens, calculators, paper clips etc at your arm’s length. As a freelancer, you own the project from scratch to end. Hence, you need to think, concentrate, plan and then execute the project. So, you need to have your creativity in action. Try to keep your desk in front of the window that opens to a garden or park. The view would keep you rejuvenated and refreshed.

Multi-Jobbing & Multi-tasking

A part-time freelancer might be tempted to do some ‘freelance work’ during his office duty hours and simultaneously doing regular office duties such as answering clients’ calls or emails, or executing Boss’ instructions. This is the biggest catch involved as this way you won’t be able to come up with innovative ideas and integrate them in your freelance work.multitask

Some people are good at multi-jobbing and multi-tasking but working on numerous things at a time is a tedious task and can adversely affect project execution. Most of the freelancers when do multi-tasking (such as emailing, chatting on different messengers, talking on phone, executing a freelance project) cannot stay focused and it’s then when their creativity takes a back seat and they end up doing a mediocre job.

To keep your creative instincts alive, you need to be attentive and devoted in execution of your freelance project. During project execution time avoid using your phone, chatting on messengers so that nothing can distract you.

Interrupted Work Schedule

Frequent interruptions by kids or family members, phone calls, relatives’ visits etc. can seriously kill your creativity. Such fragmented work schedule can sabotage your creativity and drain out all your energy and inspiration.work schedule

Make a work schedule and stick to it. Try to stay away from the factors which can prevent your innovative ideas from germinating and getting you involved in your work.

We hope that these suggestions given by us would help you in identifying your creativity killer and overcoming it thereby enlivening your Creative Spirit, which would certainly help you in carving a niche for yourself in freelance market.

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Why is Freelance Career so Exciting?

Freelancing is an exciting career and the current trends indicate that millions and millions of workers across the world (42 million freelancers in U.S. alone) have switched over to freelancing taking into consideration the multiple benefits it offers. Now a virtual worker sitting thousands of miles away can execute the projects as seamlessly as any office employee.

Why freelancing appeals so much to professionals?

Feeling of Independence

freelancer

The biggest benefit of freelancing is the control that you can have over your own destiny. You are independent to self-set a working schedule as per your convenience.

As a freelancer, you’re well rescued from the clutches of a terrorizing Boss always making you stand head over the heels, general distractions, office politics, numerous meetings over unattainable goals etc.

Enjoy the Freedom of Choice and Timings

You don’t have to strain your eyes all day long in front of PC, sticking to your desk. Freelancing offers you the freedom of flexible timings. You can work anytime, anywhere as per your choice and schedule.

You have full control over the pace at which you work. You can plan your lunch breaks as per your wishes & are free to take any number of personal phone calls. You can do lots of street shopping and spend quality time with your near & dear ones, which of course is rare if you are involved in a routine 9—5 job.

Also, the choice of doing a project is in your hands. If you wish to execute a short project, go for it.  You have varied options of freelance projects to choose from. When & how you want to work, it’s at your discretion!

Reduced Expenses

When you work from home, the daily expenses are automatically curtailed. You can save a considerable amount of money such as commuting expenses, traveling time, petrol bills etc. In a regular desk job, you end up spending great money on purchasing formal office dresses whereas in freelancing, you can even execute the project in your old, comfortable outfit.

Unlimited Opportunity to Earn Money Online

Freelancing gives you a global perspective and an unlimited scope to execute projects and earn great dividends owing to the time you devote to the freelance work. As a freelancer if you operate smartly and use social networking channels efficiently, you can earn great profits online as these would give you a chance to connect with professionals & companies all around the globe and choose from the countless outsourced projects matching your skill sets.

Many freelancers today are earning decent money online as compared to regular desk jobs. Most of the online services marketplaces, such as ours, offer free registration, where they get access to varied projects matching their domain of expertise.

Reduced Pressure and Stress Levels

The level of frustration and resultant stress is relatively very low in freelancing as compared to that in a full-time job. As in freelancing you are saved from the work pressure and annoying bosses, you can be stress free and improve your efficiency while executing the projects and build a triumphant online presence.

Reduced work pressure and degree of stress give you an excellent opportunity to put in your best possible efforts as these will determine your success as a freelancer.

No Firing, No Lay-offs!

The tanked economy has resulted in massive job layoffs but freelancers are not worried about this aspect. In fact, economic recession has turned out to be a bright opportunity for them to bag more projects and add to their income.

Also, the people who have lost their jobs in this financial storm have started freelancing as this fetches them a scope to earn a decent livelihood on their own terms & conditions.

However, freelancing is not always a bed of roses as it involves lots of real-world difficulties to be handled. In order to thrive successfully in freelance business, one has to face day-to-day professional challenges and overcome the stagnancy in learning process due to less exposure to office environment. In that case, one can make optimum use of online resources available to avoid these difficulties and realize the benefits of this opportunity faster and more effectively.

Hope you liked our post and we welcome your feedback and suggestions on the same.

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10 popular websites to search & get stock photos

We all need images. Sometimes for our blogs to illustrate the theme, sometimes on a website to engage more readers or at times for other creative needs. A nice, high–quality image supporting your content definitely catches the attention of many eyes. Integration of relevant images in right formats help bring more credibility to the website or a blog.

There are abundance resources available online one can look up to find that perfect image. But it is advisable that before downloading an image online, you must consider some terms of use or license agreement to avoid any kind of copyright issues.

Here are some legal terms of use, which you must know before downloading an image:

Public domain- They are available for anyone to use for any purpose.

Rights managed/ protected - The term “Rights Managed” means the image can be used in a certain way. This includes restrictions on medium, size, format, duration and location of use.

Royalty free images - You can purchase the right to use the image without paying a royalty each and every time you use it.

Subscription- This helps you download and use certain amount of images for a certain period of time, which can be royalty free or exclusive.

We have randomly picked 10 popular online resources to get free, royalty-free and paid images.

1. Istockphoto

With more than 4.5 million of photos, illustrations, videos and audios contributed by 70, 000 artists from across the globe. Istock photo is one of the commonly used images downloading websites.

It also benefits its users with an option to buy and sell their pictures. Designers or photographers can sell their images and illustrations as Istockphoto pays 20% for each file download. However, exclusive contributor can get up to 40%. Know more

Subscription- Choose from millions of royalty-free photos, illustrations, video, audio and Flash files starting at $1. Learn more

2. Gettyimages

They provide extensive range of images and stock illustration offering rights managed and royalty free creative images with latest editorial coverage including news, sport and celebrity photos. Getty images Creative Express offers a database of 200, 000 royalty free stock photographs as they constantly update and add 1, 000 fresh photos every month. As a special offer, they are providing up to 50 royalty free images to download daily.

Subscription- Two annual plans available for web and print resolution images. Learn more

3. Freerangestock

The site provides high-quality, high- resolution free stock photos and free textures submitted by talented photographers, shot by Freerange Stock, and collected from Freerange archives. All images are at least 2400 x 1600, and photos can be used for commercial or personal projects.

They also offer revenue-sharing program for photographers, who have submitted their photos when users click on any of the ads next to their submissions. It allows you to keep 80% of the advertising revenue generated by your download pages and your profile pages. Know more

Subscription- Images are free but you need to give credit to the website. Learn more

4. Stock.XCHNG

Browse through a huge photo gallery containing over 350, 000 quality stock photos submitted by more than 30,000 photographers. The images are contributed by big and small photographers and it privileges many new contributors to add their own photographs to the site.

Subscription- All Images are copyrighted property of SXC or its Image providers. All rights are reserved unless otherwise granted to you. You can only use image in digital format on websites, multimedia presentations, magazines, newspapers, books, brochures, flyers, CD/DVD covers etc. Learn more

5. Everystockphoto

Currently indicating 4, 458, 956 free photos on its homepage, Everystockphoto.com is a license-specific photo search engine. You can search for millions of licensed photos for free. You can view a photo’s license by clicking on the license icon, below and left side of the photos. It also allows you to rate, tag, collect and comment on the photos.

Subscription- Most of them are free to use under specific conditions. All the images are license specific. Learn more

6.  Freedigitalphotos.net

Thousands of royalty free photos for websites, newspapers, magazines,video, TV productions, iPhone applications, forums and blogs. Every image is free, with an option to buy high resolution versions for print or graphic design requirement.  They can be used for commercial and personal use. If you are using their image you have to give credit to FreeDigitalPhotos.net. Know more

Subscription- Images are for free and with a option to pay for high-resolution images. The price is currently $5 for a medium-sized image; and $10 for a high-resolution file although prices can vary. Learn more

7. Stockvault.net

Here you can rate, search, share photos and download them for free. It allows designers, photographers and artists to share their images and photographs with each other. It is a free image bank with “ready to use” web layouts and logos to help those who can’t afford to download images from royalty-free agencies.You can use them for personal or non-commercial use.

Subscription – You have to follow certain guidelines before using the image. Learn more

8. Shutterstock

It offers 7, 009, 532 royalty-free stock photographs, illustrations, and vectors, out of which 67, 256 new stock photos added this week contributed by 169, 061 photographers.

Subscription- Download 25 images every day 1 Month -$249 - 1 Year -  $2559
Download images any time for up to 1 year- 5 Downloads -$49- 60 Downloads -$229. Learn more

9. FreeFoto


The site offers 1, 25, 724 images with 166 sections organized into 3,444 categories. It also features exclusive images, which are added on a weekly basis. FreeFoto images are available for commercial use to publishers, government departments, NGOs, educational establishments and a wide range of other businesses.

Subscription- Prices start from $30. Learn more

10. Public domain Photos

This site offers 5,000 free images, 80, 000 free cliparts, which are placed under public domain category. You can use them for any purpose including commercial.

Subscription- You can use images freely but be careful before using a photo, which contains logos. Don’t use trademarks.

Hope these image banks or websites will help you download images as per your requirements for a blog or for creating an effective design for a project.

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