Yesterday I came across an article by Rob Loukotka where he was talking about how turning down work or certain projects is the better decision many of times than accepting such work. Full article found at link below:
http://fringefocus.com/2010/freelancing/just-say-no-how-to-turn-down-new-projects
This was a timely article for me to read. Over the past 3-4 months my work load has increased significantly. Prior to this, and even up until the current period, I have been accepting almost any job or project that has come my way. When you are just starting out in a career where your income is earned solely through freelancing, you need a lot of contacts. Much of the work I am getting these days has come from second and third referrals from clients I did work for almost a year ago. It is without doubt that early in your career, you must be careful as to the work you turn down, as your ability to be selective about the projects you work on may not be up to your liking.
However, there comes a point where you will have enough work on the table to keep you busy, and you can start to pick the work that really interests and inspires you. Rob’s post provides great insight into what your thought process should be when you get to the point where you say “NO.”
The biggest factor for me is calculating how much additional time, energy, and stress a said project will truly entail. A one days worth of editing a simple piece can easily turn into a week of going back and forth with client. To truly be happy in your creative career in addition to being successful, you need to filter and focus your talents and energy to the work that you truly believe in.