Keeping Track of Hours and Income How Much Am I Screwing Around

Lately Ive wondered if I have ADHD or something. Ill start proofreading a project or writing an article and my mind wanders within minutes and then Im checking my Bubblews bank balance, then my PayPal balance then dreaming of a vacation and then hopping onto Facebook JUST FOR A SECOND, then 20 minutes later I have gotten NOTHING DONE!

Sound familiar? If not, and you have it all under control, GET OUTTA HERE!

So this week I started a new little spreadsheet. I already have one to keep track of my Fiverr jobs and one for my daily earnings so I can hold myself accountable there (that spreadsheet is not what I go by when I share my monthly income with you here on the blog; earned versus I HATE IT IN MY HANDS = two very different things).

Down the left I have each day of a 7-day week.

Along the top I have different projects: Fiverr, Bubblews, Regional Mags, National Mags, Ebooks, Blogging Sites, Other.

Each day I keep track of time I spend on each project. Doing this ONE DAY woke me up to how much I was NOT working. I felt like I was working all day, but I was checking email, answering tweets and (see top of this post for the other things I do to screw around).

Dont get me wrong: social media and email and all that are things I need to keep up with. But I need to set aside a set time daily for that and log it in OTHER.

The plan is to add up the time Ive spent actually working, the money Ive earned and then figure out my dollar per hour rate. And then increase that rate over time.

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Am I Too Late to Sell Vector Graphics now

Thats one hell of a question. But, every old birds in the microstock industry will tell you that it is never too late. However, 10 times tougher you must expect (with Yoda voice).

Contributors used to sell hundreds of downloads for a simple set of 16 vector icons during 2008 era. One such simple set of icons can generate you thousands of dollars over a short period of time. Today, a big set of 100 - 500 vector of icons can only generate you $10 dollar a month. Though, this is just my hypothesis, but I believe many can agree and more would agree soon.

Too many people contributing too many high quality works causes the meltdown. The supply is overshadowing the demands. Do you want to know who you are competing with? Take a look at this.

Searching for the keyword "icon set" at Shutterstock.
Searching for the keyword "silhouette" at Shutterstock.
Searching for the keyword "animal cartoon" at Shutterstock.
Searching for the keyword "labels" at Shutterstock.

Are you up to the challenge? Can you produce such quality and quantity? If you think you do, then it is not too late for you. And all is not lost. There are contributors who are still be able generate a comfortable side income from this with less quality works. You must be able to hit the right niche and continue to be committed to it.

If you really want to give it a try, then I recommend you to try the below 3 agencies first due higher volume of downloads and acceptance rate.

Shutterstock (must try first)
Fotolia
DepositPhotos

The golden era of microstock is definitely over, but that doesnt mean you cannot create your own golden era if you start now.

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