LogMeIn lets you set up a network of computers so you can work anywhere. I have used remote access systems before, and the delay drove me nuts. I always felt like I was drunk driving with my mouse.

If you need to work from the coffee shop, you have to try LogMeIn! I put the desktop on first then registered my new laptop. When my desktop is on, I can use my laptop (or any other computer I am using) to access my home desktop. In real time. With no delay.

I have been sitting on my front porch every afternoon this week, using LogMeIn to reach the desk in my office. It’s so good I forget that I’m remotely accessing things.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s free?

Here’s a list of my other favorite free tools.

Tags: logmein, remote access

I have shopped for therapists once or twice before (what — you thought I was always this sane?). It was always annoying to me that I couldn’t meet with someone first to see if I liked him and his style. I always had to make an appointment and pay for a visit or two or three to see if we’d get along.

But we don’t get to try out therapists before we buy. We don’t get to audition a plumber or sample a dish at a restaurant before we sit down to dinner. As consumers, we gather recommendations from friends or the web and hope that we’re happy with the service. And if we’re not, we usually pay anyway.

As a freelance writer, I’m asked from time to time to write a sample paragraph or, in one case, a whole article on spec — meaning I write something for free hoping they’ll like it and pay me. Chrisblogging.com says there are two reasons you might want to write something on spec: if you’re new and if you really want to get into work with a certain company. Author Deborah Straw warns that you have no legal rights when you write something on spec, and you can get burned like she did.

I’m actually not bothered by writing a few paragraphs to show someone I can write for a new market. I’m generally a fast writer, and if someone asks me to write a few words to see if I can speak to an audience, I usually dash something off in an email within a half an hour. I figure that if they don’t like what they see, I’m really no worse off. And if they do like it, I’ve probably earned a fairly loyal client.

I’ve been rockin’ busy this morning with calls, emails and plans. I have another telecon in 20 minutes, and I need several minutes to prepare. I’m hectic and productive.

At about 11 a.m. I took out a healthful chicken breast to cook for lunch. Seven minutes ago I realized I was starving and didn’t have time to wait, so I frantically stuffed down some broken, stale tortilla chips, dipping them into the mostly empty dregs of three bottles of salsas and spreads.

You’d think I’d be able to manage lunch better since I work at home.You’d think I’d remember that yesterday someone thought I looked thin.

You’d be wrong.

Today I found a cool analysis of successful viral videos that I learned about on Seth Godin’s site. I took a few minutes to forward it to one of my clients who wants to do some video.

As I stirred in bed this morning, I received two emails from another client, who subsequently called me to set up an appointment.

I set an appointment time with a third client for an interview today, and a fourth client just called to set up another appointment.

None of these things took more than 5 minutes, but together they ate away at 45 minutes since I kept popping in and out of my other morning work to answer the calls, return the emails and set the appointments.

My philosophy is that my hourly rate needs to be strong enough to absorb these little connections. I can’t possibly charge 15 minutes per client (15 is my minimum these days) for these little pieces. I’ve written before about how little projects can eat away at a day, but these little admin pieces just don’t fit into the billable category, I think. I just need to make sure that I get paid enough to cover these little things.

I’ve been hired to write an article for a technology company. When the company exec first approached me with the idea, my first impulse was to turn him down. His website was a mystery to me, presenting technological specs for IT and engineering professionals in a jargon I couldn’t break.

But my contact didn’t want me to write an article for engineers, he explained. He wanted me to write an article about his technology for business people and general consumers. He wanted me to have an AHA! experience about what his company does and then convert the concept into general terms so other non-technical people could understand.

Thanks, I think, to my journalism background, I’m actually good at these types of pieces. I wrote for quite some time for an animal science group, where I’d read scientific journal articles and translate them into press releases for the general public. And I love delving into a complicated concept and coming out with a way to share the information so that people can understand.

Similarly, I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never taken a marketing or PR course. I’ve always found it a benefit that I don’t understand the rules that everyone else understands. I simply approach every topic as if I was a member of the target audience. What types of things do I read that may communicate this message? Why would this message be important to me? How do I want to digest it? Answering these questions can usually give me a strong plan for developing a piece that reaches the right audiences.