Getafreelancer.com help please...
By moonchild1au
@moonchild1au (6237)
Australia
November 23, 2009 4:58pm CST
Ok, so I was lucky enough to get a job that I bid for on this site....The job is basically posting answers & reviews on sites like yahoo answers, jabber, trust pilot, etc...it is spam but it's also promoting a product st the same time...
I do enjoy this work but it's taking up way too much of my time...my employer said that it would take me around 4 hours to complete until I get used to it & that their other employees that have been doing the work can complete it in 2 hours.
I have to do 14 reviews & 35 answers...It's taking me forever to complete it each day that I have to do it...What would you do? I have only been doing this job for 2 days...would you wait to see if you can get it done faster or just bite the bullet and tell your boss that you can't do it?
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1 response
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
23 Nov 09
Hi moonchild1au :) First of all, congratulations on getting the job that you bid for... that's very encouraging! In answer to your specific question, I would give it a chance. I've been working online for ten years now and I remember my work was overwhelming at first. There is always a learning curve and, unfortunately, there is a tendency for people to feel that working from home is (a) easier than "a real job" (I put that in quotes because anyone that does it knows it's a real job), (b) faster than "real work" (the "get rich quick" folks fall into this category).
Being an independent contractor is absolutely not the walk in the park that it's often projected to be... it takes time and dedication to generate an income from home. I can't tell you how many holidays I've "missed" because I've had to leave the festivities to work. I forgot the meaning of "weekend" a long time ago because online jobs don't run on a 9 to 5 work day like the corporate world. But, on the upside, I have been able to see my kids off to school in the mornings and I've been here when they got home at the end of the day. I get to do work that I love and I always say that I'd give it up kicking and screaming if I had to go back to working the way I did way back when.
If your employer says people are doing the job in two hours, you can probably assume you can get it down to three hours from the current four that it's taking you. Once it becomes familiar, you'll find yourself zipping through certain aspects, I'm sure. Ultimately, you need to weigh the compensation realistically against your efforts... and also think about how you will feel if you give it up and you don't find something to replace it. The potential of lost income can be a great motivator.
Whatever you decide, I wish you the very best of luck with your online work. I'm sure you'll be successful :)
@moonchild1au (6237)
• Australia
23 Nov 09
Thanks for your encouraging words...I always knew that being a contractor would be hard work but I like the benefits of working from home as I have a 2.5 year old daughter. I guess I have been discouraged only because I started on Sunday which I over-committed myself that day & yesterday, I had ALOT of house work to do as mondays are my BIG days...this job is working Sun, Mon, Wed & Fri...It's taking me longer then the 4 hours at the moment....Tomorrow I don't have that much on so I am hoping that I will be able to get it done by the time they want it done by.
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@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
23 Nov 09
I can definitely empathize with you... and I understand the value of generating an income from home when you have a child as young as your daughter :) The best thing you can do for yourself, in my thoughts at the moment, is establish the most rigid schedule you can muster (respecting your child's needs, of course!). Do you have to work defined hours for your employer or the work just needs to be done on those specific days that you mentioned?
My sister always tells me that she could not work from home like I do because she would be too distracted -- stopping her work to go and put in a load of laundry, answering the doorbell or phone calls, cooking, etc. What I told her is that you have to treat working from home like any other job. You can't leave an office to go home and do laundry. You do laundry around your work hours. I also had to condition family and friends to stop phoning me or dropping by during the days and times I was working -- that was one of the hardest things to accomplish because, when you're home, they think you can "take a break" any old time and it doesn't work like that. Unfortunately, this is something that really does happen with a home office. The temptations are many and they don't stop.
Perhaps you should try to create a schedule for the home-related jobs, like housework, the same way you schedule your work - otherwise, you're going to be stressed on both sides of the coin and that won't be good for your health or your morale. You'll feel that you're neglecting your housework and family and you'll also feel that you're not succeeding at your job. I will fully admit that I'm bad at getting up and walking out of my office and closing the door - but there has to be a balance to keep the sanity ;) We like sanity... sanity is good LOL
@moonchild1au (6237)
• Australia
24 Nov 09
you have raised some good points there & I have tried woking a schedule...basically the work just needs to be completed on those days by a certain time...I always do my house work first thing in the morning then sit at the computer to work...I think that maybe I just need to do what you said & make it more rigid - nothing distracts me here when I work until my daughter wants something like a cuddle or just to play.
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