If a project is drifting, the usual instinct is to ask for more updates — which makes it worse. Agree the communication contract on day one, use a status format that takes two minutes to write, give feedback in one prioritised round, and treat revisions as something countable rather than an open tap.
You do not need a twenty-page agreement. You need seven things named clearly and a record that both sides agreed to them. The clauses that matter, how to write exclusions that prevent an argument rather than start one, what “IP transfers on final payment” means in practice, and what to send the client who will not sign anything.
Twenty proposals and not one you can compare? The problem is usually upstream, in the brief. Here are the six things every project brief must state — outcome, scope boundary, what you supply, budget range, timeline and how you will judge “done” — plus the same job posted badly and posted well.
Working from home means no boss — and no boundaries. Simple systems for time-blocking, managing multiple clients, avoiding scope creep and protecting your focus.