If you remain self-employed and independent, your schedule will be more flexible. Track hours and plan days ahead to ensure that you complete work in a timely, efficient manner. Schedule hours for phone calls, client meetings, and networking events. Consider hiring a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). As an independent contractor, your tax situation will be more complicated than if you were an employee. If you live in the U.S., you must pay full social security contributions and purchase health insurance. Plan to contribute money to a private pension plan. Consider purchasing professional liability insurance to protect you in the case of a client lawsuit. If you have a spouse with health insurance, you might avoid needing to purchase insurance. Within the software consulting industry, who you know is vastly important. Some consultants spend ten hours a week connecting with new contacts and maintaining past relationships. Be willing to help consultants who have less experience than you.
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One-sentence summary -- Practice good time management. Manage your finances. Continue networking.

Sodium in your diet can contribute significantly to water retention and bloating. Limiting the amount of salt you get in your diet may keep water retention and bloating at bay and help you feel better. Avoid adding extra salt when cooking. Also, be sure to check for hidden sources of sodium in foods, such as soy sauce as well as canned vegetables and soups. Stay away from processed foods, which generally contain high sodium levels. Some examples of processed foods are deli meats and cheeses and dishes from fast food restaurants. Junk foods like potato chips are also often laden with bloat-causing sodium. Eating three balanced, nutrient-rich meals daily can keep you regular and help control bloating. Vary your diet with choices from the five food groups, focusing on fruits, vegetables, and low-sodium or unsalted nuts. All of these can control bloating. Whole fruits and vegetables are high in water, which can help flush excess fluid from your system. Getting at least 1 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 2 cups of vegetables every day can help keep you healthy and treat any bloating you may have. Choose whole fruits and vegetables like blueberries, bananas, strawberries, carrots, broccoli, and spinach. Make sure to vary your choices so that you get a wide range of nutrients. Remember that 100% fruit or vegetable juice counts towards your daily total. Check their sugar and sodium content to ensure you don't make your bloating worse. Whole grains can keep your bowels regular, which can reduce bloating. Eat choices like whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal, cereal, or brown rice. Make sure to stay away from refined carbohydrates like white pasta and white rice, both of which may make you retain water. Aim to get at least three to five servings of whole grains every day. Consider trying different whole grains like amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, quinoa, and spelt. Eating dairy products and foods with probiotics can help relieve bloating (unless you are lactose intolerant, in which case you should avoid dairy). Many yogurts on the market contain these potentially bloat-blasting foods. In addition, you can find probiotics in yogurt, kefir, pickles, tempeh, kimchi, sauerkraut, buttermilk, and miso. In addition to your healthy diet, foods containing certain nutrients can reduce your bloating. Eat foods that have potassium, magnesium, and calcium to help further flush out excess water. Eating foods high in potassium such as bananas, cantaloupe, mangoes, spinach, asparagus, and tomatoes can also help flush out your excess water. Get magnesium from almonds, avocados, and brown rice. Yogurt, cheese, and dark green vegetables such as spinach have calcium. The herb parsley is a natural diuretic, meaning that it can help flush excess water from your system. Either chew on some fresh chopped parsley or add it to dishes to treat your bloating. It may seem counterintuitive, but drinking water can help flush out excess water. Drink at least 2.2 liters (0.6USgal) of water to ensure you're staying hydrated and not retaining water if you are a woman. Remember that 100% fruit juice, tea, sports drinks, and soda count towards your daily hydration total. Drinking any type of alcohol can cause your body to dehydrate. In turn, this causes your body to retain even more fluid and become bloated. If you're experiencing bloating or frequently get it during your period, try drinking water instead of alcohol to prevent bloating.
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One-sentence summary -- Limit your salt intake. Eat a healthy diet. Increase your intake of fruits and veggies. Consume plenty of whole grains. Get plenty of dairy and probiotics. Choose foods with potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Chew on parsley. Keep yourself hydrated. Avoid alcohol.

Place the cake on a piece of cardboard and outline it with a pencil. Remove the cake and cut the circle out of the cardboard. You could also place your cake on a decorative plastic tray or a cheap pizza pan. Make sure that the rubber bands are covered. Cut the ribbon so that both ends overlap slightly. Secure the ribbon together by taping the two ends together. You can wrap more than one type of ribbon around the cake. Wrap each layer in a different type of ribbon or wrap a large ribbon around each with a thinner ribbon layered over the larger one. Add fake flowers to the cake by sticking the stems between diapers. Stuff colorful pieces of tissue paper down the paper towel roll (if you used Method Two) and add flowers coming out of the top. Go to your local craft store and see what decorations you can find. You can also add baby travel sized products for extra flair. (This is an optional step.) Tie the netting together at the top with a bow, or add a stuffed animal to the tie for a "topper" to the cake.
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One-sentence summary --
Create the base for the cake out of cardboard. Wrap a ribbon around each layer. Place decorative embellishments on the cake. You can wrap the diaper cake in cellophane or netting to help with transportation.