Freelancers are mobile. We have to be. Think about the word freelancer; one of its root words is free. People become freelancers because we don’t want to be tied down to a single job. We want variety and the ability to control when and how we work. We’re individualists.

We move from job to job even when we’re sitting still. I worked on three different projects for three different clients today. That’s not the only kind of mobility I mean though.

Sometimes you have to move house too. I’m in the middle of a move right now, and as a freelancer there are things I have to deal with that people who go to the office every day don’t have to worry about. When I worked in an office, it didn’t matter if I moved. The job stayed in the same place, I just had to change the route I took to work.

As a freelancer there’s a bit more to it. If you’re going to have an interruption in your internet, you may not be able to work. If you’re on an oDesk assignment it’s difficult because you can’t log time. So the essence is going to be communication. Make sure your clients/employers know you may not be available online for a while. You can tell them the details or not, that’s up to you. Just make sure they know your work status, and that you haven’t just dropped off the world.

The same people who make good freelancers often make terrible employees because they don’t like doing the same thing over and over. It’s great for variety, but it means that the kind of person you find on a site like oDesk isn’t necessarily the kind who will maintain a long-term working relationship. Sometimes providers just drop off the face of the earth. Make sure your buyer knows you’ll be back.

Do yourself a favor and keep the lines of communications open.

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