Waiting until the last minute always feels so risky, but it's awesome when it works out like that.

Emails get lost in crowded inboxes now. I call clients right after sending the initial invoice, and I keep a note of the date and amount in front of me. Having that info ready makes the talk quick and usually gets a check scheduled by the end of the week. It turns a week of ignored messages into one five-minute conversation.

Ever spent forever trying to fix something only to find it was just unplugged? Yeah, that advice hits home hard because I always forget to do the simple checks first. Last month my internet went down and I reset everything a dozen times before noticing the router cable was loose. It's embarrassing how often I miss the obvious stuff and waste so much time. Now I force myself to look at the easy fixes before I even start to worry.

Always check the simple stuff first, saves so much headache.