I want to share a real experience from my freelancing journey. I was Top Rated with a 100% Job Success Score. Then came one client.There was no payment issue at all it was purely about behavior and communication. I was editing her video. She messaged me about some changes. I replied within the same day, just a little late. I don’t know what was in her mind, but she cancelled the contract and left a review while I was asleep. When I came back, I handled everything calmly. She updated the review to a positive one: “Abdul is great to work with. He is polite, professional and responsive. Would hire him again.” But even after that, the job stayed marked as unsatisfied. My JSS dropped from 100% to 84%, and later my Top Rated badge was gone. She hired me again because the project was still ongoing. I delivered the video, it was approved, and I started working on the next funded milestone. My editor was already working on it. Later, she asked for simple changes on an old video. I agreed. She messaged again while I was busy with another project.She assumed I was being ignored. That same night, she cancelled the contract again, said “video is still the same”, blocked me, and left another review without giving me any chance to respond. She then requested a refund for the funded milestone, even though: - Work had already started - My editor was already involved And without thinking too much, I approved the refund.I should have disputed it, but I chose peace. That choice cost me. My Job Success Score dropped to 69%. I stayed respectful. I stayed professional. I fixed issues. I refunded money. And still… this happened. Sometimes being too good doesn’t protect you it punishes you. This is my POV.What’s yours? Comment below.

🌙 Last Night I didn’t sleep the whole night because I was working on a client project. I worked 1 hour 50 minutes on a $13/hr hourly job.I assigned tasks to my editor, handled client messages, and checked updates. ☀️ Morning - At 7:30 AM, I went out to get breakfast. - After that, I got ready for college. - Left home at 8:10 AM and came back around 1:15 PM. - As soon as I reached home, I slept because I was awake the entire night. 🌙 Afternoon / Night I woke up at 12 AM and saw many notifications from Upwork One client canceled the contract and left a 2-star review. 🔄 Client Issue Resolved I talked to the client, explained everything clearly.The client understood the situation and changed the review to 5 stars. Before Review (2⭐):Said I missed the deadline and didn’t respond on time. After Review (5⭐):Said I'm polite, professional, responsive, and they would hire me again. They rehired me and added a new milestone.This situation taught me a lot about client handling. 👨‍💻 Work Progress - Updated my editor with complete instructions. - Took updates about when he will deliver the video. - Replied to another client telling them their video will be ready tomorrow. - Worked 1 hour 30 minutes on the $13/hour job today. - My sister brought Maggi, and I ate while working. - Completed all hourly work by 5 PM. - Received an interview from an agency → wrote and sent the cover letter. - Applied to one more job on Upwork. - Completed most of the remaining tasks. 📌 Today's Completed Tasks - Worked on hourly job (1h 30m) - Solved client issue + got review changed to 5 stars - Communicated tasks to editor - Replied to clients - Wrote and sent cover letter for agency interview - Applied to a new Upwork job - Managed notifications and project updates 📌 Upcoming Tasks - Go to college (Friday → early off) - Continue client work after coming home - Take updates from the editor - Deliver pending videos - Apply to more Upwork jobs - Focus on providing high-quality work - Finish all remaining tasks for clients

Gratitude / Reflection - Aaj maine apna kaam efficiently manage kiya aur clients ke saath progress hui. - Khush hua ke Upwork par interview aur new opportunities mili. Work Hours - Total work hours: approx 8 hours (mix of client work, Upwork proposals, editing guidance). 🌅 Morning Start - Utha: [Raat ka 7 baje]. - Morning activity: Gate par ek person help ke liye aya, maine help ki aur wapas aaya. - Notes: PC par mera bhai gaming kar raha tha, isliye maine laptop use kiya aur client messages ka reply kiya. 👥 Calls / Meetings - SEO Client Meeting: Thumbnail aur content discuss kiya, kaam guide kiya. - Upwork Interview: Khana khaya: 2 roti, qeema aloo ka salan ke sath. Interview ke baad client se offer liya, accept kiya aur task editor ko diya aur guide kiya. - Key points / decisions: Client ko pricing guide kiya, offer liya aur accept kiya. 🏠 Family + Home Tasks - Family ke saath shaadi ki movie dekhi aur wo moment enjoy kiya. 🧊 Quick Reset / Energy Boost - Food ke baad energy boost hua, focus maintain raha. 🍽️ Meals + Breaks - Lunch / Dinner: 2 roti, qeema aloo ka salan. - Meal context: Food ke saath Upwork notifications check kiye aur interview manage kiya. 📈 Work Planning / Execution - Clients ke revisions: 2 clients na revision manga unko reply kiya aur videos editor ko update ki. - Editor ko guide kiya ki video speed increase kaise karni hai. - SEO client ka monthly task reply kiya. - Upwork proposals: 3–4 proposals send kiye. - Thumbnail aur SEO tasks: 2 videos ke titles, descriptions update kiye aur thumbnails improve kiye. - Side projects: New client project close payment discuss kiya, editor ko script bheji aur deal finalize ki. 🔥 Team Coordination - Editor ke saath 2 video fast karne aur upload karne ka process manage kiya. - Thumbnail designer ke saath meeting plan ki aur collaboration discuss hui. 🏡 Personal / Home Calls - Family ke saath movie aur relaxation time enjoy kiya.

I went to sleep at 9 AM and woke up at 9 PM. When I woke up, I saw my brother playing a game on the PC, so I used his MacBook instead. I logged into my WhatsApp and Upwork accounts and started checking messages. One client had already sent me an offer, and I had discussed the details with him earlier. Before accepting the offer, I had already found a video editor for his project and sent him the video and everything needed. After that, I accepted his offer and successfully closed a new client. Then I checked WhatsApp again and saw a message from another client asking for feedback on thumbnails. I replied to him and then listened to some music for a while. Later, I went to the market to buy some things, including noodles for myself. At 10:53 PM, a message came from the client in our group chat asking when both of us would be free for a meeting. I replied by 10:55 PM. We waited for the thumbnail designer to respond, and at 11:32 PM, he saw the messages. Before joining the meeting, I was sending proposals on Upwork, and I received a reply from one client. We scheduled a meeting for Friday night, which was a great sign of progress for the day. The client then told us to join the meeting within 10–20 minutes. I asked the thumbnail designer to create a Google Meet link and send it. He shared the link, and I joined the meeting. We had our meeting where we guided the thumbnail designer. After the meeting, my task was to optimize the video using the thumbnail and handle everything else. I completed that task, and by the time I finished, it was already 2 AM. After 2 AM, I went to the kitchen with my noodles. I cooked the noodles, boiled an egg, and also made a banana shake. By the time everything was ready and I brought it to my desk, it was 2:39 AM. While eating, I watched a video about Ozair bhai’s journey to gain some knowledge and motivation from his life. By 3 AM, I had finished the video, and then I started working on the hourly job. Between 3 AM and 5 AM, I accidentally recorded a wrong screen, so I deleted that part. Because of that mistake, I could only complete 1 hour and 50 minutes of work today. After that, I decided to rest. I went to bed, felt sleepy, shut down my PC, and slept.

My journey didn’t start with a fancy setup or some big opportunity… it started when my family gave me 20,000 PKR to build a computer. With that money, I built a low-end CPU… literally just enough to run GTA 5 at 30 FPS and open CapCut without crashing. Exporting even a 5-minute video took 2–3 hours, but that didn’t matter. That PC became the foundation of everything I am today. Before that?I was working on my elder sibling’s Shahbaz Sharif laptop, where I made intros for gaming channels.It was 2018, PUBG was booming, and every kid wanted an intro.I used to sell each intro for 100 rupees.Small money… but big lessons. From that 20k PC, I kept building my skills. I worked, I played, I experimented.Then I jumped onto Fiverr. I sold reel bundles. I completed two orders.From there I found my first real opportunity a Pakistani Amazon store owner who needed an image editor. He paid me $1 per image.I edited 70–80 images per week or month.I made around 15k–20k PKR in total…Until he suddenly ghosted me. But at the same time, I was building my AI Automation YouTube channel, growing it to 800 subs with a USA audience.Seeing the results, I thought: “Why not sell this as a monthly service?” So I did. I went to Facebook, started posting, sending DMs, and somehow closed 2–3 clients, each paying me 20k per month for full channel management — scripting, editing, thumbnails, SEO, everything. Those months taught me real video editing + channel handling experience…But again, after 6–7 months, those clients started losing interest, results didn’t matter anymore, and one by one… they ghosted too. One day while scrolling Instagram, I saw a reel about writing a cover letter for Upwork.Suddenly, I remembered I had an old Upwork account where I did one $25 job and then gave up. So I reopened it.I had 80–90 connects and a template from that reel. I rewrote my profile.Updated my skills.And applied again. After 15–20 proposals, I closed my first real client:SEO for his faceless channel. He paid me $10 per video.Consistent work.And I’m still working with that client today.