Work Smarter, Not Harder. And other tidbits

I’ve been asked countless times how I work, when I work, which tools I pay for, etc. And even though my next blog post was going to be my tour of the cotton gin, this one has been highly requested, so here we are.

(Cotton gin post coming ASAP!)

But first, a few housekeeping notes on this post:

Affiliations:

The only affiliations I have with anything mentioned in this post is Sew Heidi’s FAST program and the Conscious Fashion Collective membership, (CFC). Sew Heidi did not pay me to say any of this, nor am I an employee of hers. I simply and genuinely have experienced wonderful benefits from purchasing her FAST course and love spreading the love!

For Conscious Fashion Collective, I do get a discount on my monthly membership whenever someone signs up and uses my referral code. But again, I have experienced huge benefits from this membership as well as the community and love sharing more about it!

If you have specific questions about the CFC membership, join us for their open house event where you can ask anything that will help you make a decision in joining.

The event is on Tuesday, April 29th, 2025 at 11am EST. Registration link here!

Regarding any other tools, platforms, or websites on this post: I have no affiliation with, nor did I get paid to mention them. I simply want to share what has helped me my freelancing work.

The Bigger Picture:

This list started with digital tools and platforms but evolved into other, inherently intertwined factors that I want to address first.

Your health.

While writing this post, this section moved to the top because none of the tools or platforms I share here will mean anything if you’re not doing well.

After my family and I moved to North Carolina last year, my mental health took a huge hit, but thankfully, I got through it with the unwavering support of so many people. My husband, friends, family, doctors, our new church community, and lots of prayer.

I am UNBELIEVABLY grateful to be feeling back to myself!

If you’re stuck in self-doubt, anxiety, trauma, depression or anything of the sort, please get help. I can’t express enough that none of these tools will mean anything if you’re not ok. And even though it’s ok to not be ok…….we all want to thrive and enjoy life. Whether that means calling a therapist, your health insurance, or finding health insurance - whatever it is - I know it’s overwhelming, but just take one step each day to take care of yourself.

You are worth being well.

From here on out, this post is written for freelancers.

And, no, I did not use an ounce of ChatGPT for this one. I’ll start using Ai for future posts, but will explicitly say when I use it.

Have fun reading and hopefully, you’ll find this helpful!

Mindset

I’m always shocked at how many freelancers or remote folks don’t have weekly or daily chats with others. If you don’t have time for weekly calls, at least have a texting thread with your closest ones. My weekly calls with my fellow freelancers keep me connected, pull me out of bad moods, and help me navigate project dilemmas. It also allows time for me to pour into someone else’s cup. Shoutout to you ladies! You know who you are! If you don’t already have weekly calls with others- start now! Even 15 minutes of talking with a friend while laughing about life or venting about tough stuff will turn your day around!

Take multiple breaks throughout the day. This is inherently embedded into my routine, as our 4-year-old son is with my husband and I as we work from home. But for those without kids- take a break! Every 30 minutes if you need to. We, as humans, are not made to be in front of a screen for 12947385743 hours.

So go take a walk, even if it’s crummy weather.
Shoot some hoops at a nearby basketball court.
Walk the dog.
Pick up dog poop.
Smell the roses.
Get that dusty, rusty bike out. Throw on your bike helmet even if it makes you feel dumb and just ride!
Feel the wind in your hair!
Pack your work and go to a library for a change in scenery.
Check the mail.
Talk to a neighbor.
Meet your neighbors. (So those awkward moments are a thing of the past or the HOA Karen gets off your back).
Go swim in the ocean.
Go to a fitness class.
Whatever floats your boat.
Just get moving and get outside!

Stand up! Humans are not made to sit at a desk for 5947290347 hours. I was really lucky to find a ol’ school style drafting desk from FB marketplace about nine years ago. It’s gone everywhere we’ve moved. I paired it with a tall desk chair, and voila! Stand or sit, whatever floats my boat for the moment. See what’s on marketplace in your area!

Here's a very real snapshot of me working :) Messy desk, kid practically on my lap and a lived-in house.

Plants.

I don’t care if you can’t keep a plant alive or just don’t like them. Get fake ones if that’s the case. But get some plants!

It’s proven that the more green you see, the more calm you can feel. Obviously my desk is riddled with plants- all live- wink wink ;) A dear friend back in Utah got me obsessed with plants and I know fellow freelancer Caroline Kuhlman loves them too!

If you do opt for real plants, buy them from a local nursery! The quality will be so much better, as the ones at big box stores aren’t taken care of as well. Employees at local nurseries and plant stores are more knowledgeable and have a love for plants, so the plants at these stores are typically in better shape and loved well. In my experience, these employees are happy to help educate. They hear a lot of : “I need a plant for my desk that I can neglect but won’t die but will still look pretty.” (They should direct you to a Snake or ZZ plant BTW).

The next point for Mindset is:

Get a good laugh! We should all take pride in our work but let’s not take ourselves too seriously. When you’re stressed, it’s time for a laugh. These are some of my go-to's.

Papa Meat

Gad Elmaleh

Trey Kennedy

Trey Kennedy Podcast

Armchair Anonymous with Dax Shepard

Whoever your favorite comedian is :)

And lastly,

Change your clothes.

Say what? Yes, change your clothes. My husband said to me one day, “I just realized you change your clothes five or six times a day.” He was referring to this:

Pijamas
Sweats
Workout / Activewear
Day outfit
Sweats again (if my regular outfit wasn’t comfy enough for chillin on the couch with a bag of chips)
Pijamas for nighty night

I mentioned it in a therapy session, and she noted that many folks who work remotely do this and that it’s actually very smart. It separates the multiple hats you’re wearing throughout the day and the roles you take on, (whereas those who commute to work have that commute time to mentally and physically separate roles).

Working From Home With Kids

Our daughter has been in school since I started freelancing. But for our son, and while we were still living in Utah, I did not have childcare for the first two and a half years. Honestly, I just did what I could with the time I had. Think- cracks of the day during naps. But eventually, we were finally able to afford 12 hrs of daycare a week. Click here for my podcast episode with Sew Heidi for the juicy details, because it took a while to get there!

However, after moving to North Carolina in August of 2024, we weren’t able to find any reliable full or part-time childcare. We did find INCREDIBLE new friends who watched our son for a bit here and there, but as far as something permanent, it’s in the works. Truthfully, this was devastating for me, as I’d worked so hard to be able to pay for those 12 hrs.

After we moved here, my mental health took a huge hit, (as I mentioned), and I took a break from working. But it’s been 4 months now since I’ve been back at it and……. Truthfully, I don’t know how we do it, but we do!

My morning starts around 5am. Sometimes 6….or 6:30 if I need more sleep. Since having kids, I’ve become a morning person and LOVE my quiet morning work times. Everyone’s still asleep and I can focus for about two hours.

While our daughter is in school, I sometimes place lots of sneaky toys and activities around the house for our son. He's great with playing on his own for an hour or two at a time. He loves shouting at Alexa for songs and it is quite literally what he’s doing now as I write this post.

I utilize movies and shows on the TV during meetings, but limit it. The longer he watches, the more I feel his brain melting, so I do my best to use it only for meetings when I can’t be interrupted. CosmicKids Yoga via YouTube is fantastic!

Our kids have their own pairs of wireless headphones so I flip on Spotify with the explicit content turned off ;) or throw on some educational music like preschool songs. Our son will walk around the house as quiet as a mouse, just listening. It’s adorable.

Most of my breaks are spent taking him to the park, going on a bike ride, enjoying being outside on the hammock, or simply just being with him.

The trampoline is helpful when I want to work outside with the iPad in my bug-proof pod. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

When my husband is done working for the day, he takes over parenting for the rest of the evening , (if we don’t have anything else going on or if he doesn’t have to work late). On the days that’s not possible and I have to continue being the full-time parent, I carry on! It truly depends on the day, my mood, and what we’ve got going on as a family- be that church, Tball games, hanging out with friends, etc. And yes, some days when my brain is melting or I have a big deadline, I let them have a movie night.

And some days… honestly, I just don’t get a lot done. But that is ok! We wanted a family, and this is the season of life for us right now. I will say though, something that has helped me is to not have them be entertained 24/7. When they aren’t entertained nonstop, their brains are given the opportunity to think creatively and look for fun things to do around the house. We’ve found that a lot of times when this happens, they will actually use the toys they forgot they had, play hide & seek, or build a fort. We do let them use my iPad sometimes for FaceTiming family or SkillShare. They love picking a SkillShare medium and going to town!

Here is a picture of my daughter’s latest artwork using watercolor & oil pastels.

Onto some more technical things:

Portfolio / Website

Fellow fashion freelancer and dear friend Courtney Osborn asked on LinkedIn for people’s experiences with their own websites, and I had this to say:

“I've asked myself if it was worth putting the time, money, and energy into my website, and every time, my answer was yes. With the website builders nowadays, it's so easy and getting cheaper and cheaper. SquareSpace or Wix- they're both easy for carving out a quick website or even just a landing page in a couple of days. It's the decision fatigue where you have to be so disciplined and call it a day. IMO, if you approach it with the mindset of getting it good enough and accept that a website is never "finished," you can put one together super fast. I LOVE saying, "all my work can be viewed on my website via the signature link below." They can go to one place to see my work, get to know me, see what else I'm working on, read my blog, etc. I think of it as my own tiny space on the internet that I have complete control over. With every platform, there are limitations, but with your own website, it’s your call!”

I started creating a website in 2020, before I heard that a lot of freelance coaches don't recommend it. And even though I spent way too much time on it in the beginning, I knew in the long run I wanted one, as freelancing wasn’t / isn’t my only game plan. (Think: a blog, podcast, book, potential brand, multi-topic community platform, etc). Tiny empire.

I went with Wix because they had a sale at the time, but from what I’ve heard, SquareSpace is wonderful too.

For Wix, the longer your plan is, the cheaper it is. Example: My 3-year plan is $345 for those three years instead of the $200 it would have been for 1 year.

IMO, once you get further down the road of freelancing, a website is necessary, as it creates a landing place for the professional you. People can get to know you a little more, see all your work, you can start playing around with SEO (search engine optimization). My latest discovery call- the guy found me through googling “denim designer.”

Scheduling Meetings

Calendly!!! Free version all the way!

Calendly syncs with Google Calendar, and I use Google Meets for all my video meetings. Zoom is fine too, but I love Google Meets as it has a built-in filter to brighten the room and your face.

More on my video meetings in the “Keeping Track of What Clients Say” section

Marketing Yourself & Your Services

Linkedin all the way baby! Don’t overthink posts. If you’re nervous, post something like,

“What are your favorite fashion trends right now?”

“I’m new to Linkedin, so why not introduce myself….xyz”

I use Instagram too, but not nearly as much. It’s a beast that will always be hungry and in my experience, isn’t worth more than a quick post. And despite my being a millennial, I never jumped on the bandwagon of posting a video, reel, carousel, or whatever else they’ve added to it. I legitimately only know how to post…..and stalk potential clients. In the non-creepy way.

Engage! You have to engage! Even 15 min a day with genuine comments on others’ posts. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out. (And again, in my experience, that is only true for Li, not IG). The engagement is SO MUCH HIGHER on LinkedIn!

Project Management

Asana I’m going through a 2.5 hr lesson on Asana 101 right now (April 2025), via SkillShare and already regret not working through it earlier. I'm using the free version right now and going to say GAME CHANGER way too many times in this post, but it’s true!

Learning & Other Freelance Coaches

Skill Share.

Thank you to fellow freelancer Afroditi Michailidi for the free month! If anyone would like to try it out for free, send me an email. If you haven’t spent any time on it, I HIGHLY recommend.

No ads, you get qualified teachers, and loads of various endeavors to explore such as Painting, Software, SEO, Animation, Crafts & DIY, Photography, etc.

They also have mad good sales around Black Friday. I get a discount through the Conscious Fashion Collective Membership, but you can take advantage of their Black Friday sales.

My kids are using it a ton right now for watercolor!

Other notable mentions for Learning:

Sew Heidi’s FAST courses…..of course

Youtube- Illustrator help

383 Design Studio

With love, Christina

Zoe Hong! I recently got to chat with her on a Conscious Fashion Collective event!

Robin Schneider: Adobe for Fashion

Natalie: Points of Measure

Procreate App: digital sketching on the iPad via Amiko Simonetti’s courses. Absolute game changer! Get her free downloads and look for sales, usually around Black Friday

Fashion Draw App for the iPad. This one is a HUGE game changer as well because there are tutorials within the app! And it’s only $47 for lifetime access!

Fashionary books- The Denim Manual is my go-to of course.

Daria Art World Amazing!

Zoe Hong’s new book, Fashion School in a Book

The Power Pause by Neha Ruch. This will re-wire your mindset for anyone who has kids and is navigating life and work after bringing that sweet bundle of joy into the world. I’m so thankful my sister Rebekah recommended it!

Free Money by Austin L. Church. Love his mindset, point of view and newsletters!

All things Rachel Meltzer! Her infectious personality will make you smile!

Storage

Google Drive- it’s where my projects live; I’m on it every single day. It’s where clients have access to any work, but I may transfer this to Asana.

We Transfer - great for sending big files

Email

I use gmail and pay $7.70 a month for G Suite- extra storage & features.

I thought this was obvious, but recently heard someone mention it- if you’re using a Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo, iCloud email address- you won’t be taken seriously. Frankly, it shows your age,

and your age shouldn’t matter!

Double Checking Written Work

Grammarly!! Every day, all day, baby! Whether you’re writing in Google Docs or an email, it will show you what is grammatically wrong and how to fix it! The only platforms I've found that it doesn't work on are Instagram and this- Wix Blog editor...frustratingly enough. (But I always write in Google Docs, then transfer it here).
Despite that, Grammarly is EXCEPTIONALLY helpful for those whose second language is English.

I use their free version, but you can always upgrade to the paid ones for extra features.

This will be really embarrassing if there's any spelling errors after publishing.....

Community / Staying in the Know

This post references things specific to freelancers in Sew Heidi’s FAST community and Conscious Fashion Collective, but if you’re a freelancer in general, most of this applies to you too, just maybe on a different platform.

*If you live in the conscious fashion world or want to pivot to it, I have a referral code for the Conscious Fashion Collective membership. Hit me up, and I’ll set you up!

Both of these specific communities live on a platform called Circle.

And folks, I can’t say this enough: Your fellow freelancers are not your competition! They are your friends and collaborators! So, turn those Circle notifications on throughout the week so you don’t miss any potential gigs or opportunities to help someone else out. Turn the notifications off during the weekends for healthy boundaries, then turn em’ back on whenever your work time starts!

WhatsApp. Many factories prefer communicating through WhatsApp, and I prefer keeping all communication with other freelancers on this app. It helps separate work and home, which is especially helpful when working remotely. (Not that my freelance friends aren’t my friends, but you know what I mean).

Ai (Artificial Intelligence) for Pitching / Quick Info / Finding Events

First of all, Chat GPT roughly translates in French to Cat Fart!

Shout out to fellow freelancers Kate Knight & Amanda Thome, who brought this to my attention.

And listen, I’ll be the first to say that I was not on board with Ai at first. Most of us don’t know how it works, but when you give it a chance and understand how to use it on a basic level, it will SAVE YOU TIME. Most agree that Ai is not going anywhere and if you don’t get on board now, you’ll be left behind. It will become a tool that everyone uses eventually- on the same level as email, Zoom, Excel, etc.

As far as Chat GPT goes, I call it Cat Fart because I can never remember if it’s GPT or GTP.

Make sure you create a login because when you have an account, it will keep a record of all the things you type in and eventually “learn” about you. Your interests, tone of voice, etc. Creepy, I know. But use it as a tool! Don’t rely on it; use it. There’s a difference. You can’t take everything it spits out. You have to give it prompts and refine it. For Example: here is a not-so-helpful prompt:

“Write a cover letter based on this job description.”

What’s wrong with this? It’s too vague, and it has no idea what your skills or experience are to tailor it accordingly. Try this instead:

“Good morning, please write a cover letter based on this job description, (enter the job description) and my skills and experience listed here: (enter that info).

It will spit out a cover letter MUCH more personalized and sounding like a real person. But make sure what it gives you is true, accurate, and sounds like how you would speak.

Oh, and always say, “please & thank you.” Because when the robots take over, maybe they’ll spare you.

Shout out to fellow freelancer Candice Stokes who brought me up to speed on her girl Chat!

Ai for 3D Rendering

I have not tried this yet, but I have seen first-hand how flippin' cool and effective it is. If a client wants to see what their design could look like in real life based on a napkin sketch or from one of your designs, try inputting it in New Arc!

Sew Heidi has a great video of this.

Ai for Images

I mentioned this on a recent CFC call, and I haven’t tried it yet BUT. People. It is CRAZYZ COOL! Fellow freelancer Philippa Cooper showed me FaceTune and I am shocked at how great the images look. I’d never have guessed they were Ai-generated.

If you’re overwhelmed by taking photos of yourself for an about page or for social media- try FaceTune! (7day free trial)

Ai for Finding Brands

Sew Heidi does a tutorial of this in her events, but here’s a rundown. Try typing: “Good morning, please find ten small conscious-fashion brands that focus on women’s swimwear.” And in five to ten seconds- there you go! Again, you still have to research further, but it gives you a phenomenal start.

Since I’m in the conscious/sustainable fashion space, I use Good On You a lot. It offers an INCREDIBLE database of brands based on a 1-5 scale. They also have in-depth articles on materials, top picks, needs to know, etc.

Find websites, communities or platforms specific to your niche and subscribe to their emails so you’re up to date on your specific area of expertise. For example, I’m in the denim space and conscious fashion, so my inbox gets love from places like:

Ai for keeping track of what Client's said

Even though the name of this sounds like it was created in a garage by a bunch of dudes that were totally high…….it’s not.

Wudpecker will change your working life! I use this for recording discovery calls and any video meetings! What used to be me scribbling furiously as clients spoke, is now me sitting there listening earnestly, undistracted. AND it recently landed me a project. The client wanted to understand my conversion with a factory more deeply and instead of re-capping the whole thing, I just forwarded the Wudpecker email recap to her, and she was blown away! I’ve spoken with the founders and they are wonderful folks.

Vetting Manufacturers

I first ask within Circle in both communities for factory recommendations but what is exceptionally helpful is the list of manufacturers I have access to through CFC’s database!

Adobe

I’m very lucky to know someone who works at Adobe, and they have graciously offered their employee discount to me. Here’s the rundown: $37.46 each annually for Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat, totaling $112.38 annually. If you’re having trouble paying the regular monthly rate, call them and let them know you’re considering canceling your plan, and in my experience, they will offer a discount!

Tech Packs

Google Sheets and Excel. I will probably end up using only Excel here soon.

A fellow freelancer graciously offered to go in on a Microsoft 365 Family Plan with a few others, which brings my annual total to only $22!

Graphics

Canva Pro. I COULD NOT WORK WITHOUT THIS. Use the free version if you’d like but I’ve found, for me, the paid version is more than worth every penny, ($119 annually). Any graphics that aren't denim designs are from Canva. This is a must have tool, even if you use the free version.

Getting Inside Your Client's Head

Try Streak It’s a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool, a plug-in to your browser of choice and allows you to see when someone opened your email. Great for getting a vibe on your pitches! If someone opened your pitch email multiple times, you know they’re interested!

Instagram stalking. Brands who are active on good ol’ IG will usually share plenty of business and personal information that you can use to tailor your pitches to and find out more about what’s going on behind the scenes. Example: I sent a pitch to a brand that incorporated, “.....I’m sure with your third baby on the way, your plate is full!......” The owner had shared on her Instagram stories of her 3rd baby being due soon. So I had context to some behind the scenes.

You can use LinkedIn as well, but IG is typically better for this. Really, whichever platform the brand is most active on.

Bookkeeping & Taxes

I’ve been using Google Sheets for keeping track of income and expenses, however I’m growing out of it and, will consider bookkeeping with our CPA or something like Freshbooks.

LLC

Sorry non-US folks- I have no clue how this works outside the US, but for those of us in the states, just Google “creating an LLC in xyz state.” The cost varies depending on where you live. Example: Utah’s filing cost for 2024 and prior was $18, but this year, it has gone up to $37! I’ve heard for CA residents, it’s upwards of $200.

Blogging

You’re already here, folks.
Someone recently asked if I’d considered Substack. I’m new to that platform, but from what I’ve heard, it could be a great way to get my posts out there more & eventually monetize. Stay tuned.