[_lc1i]

The client isn't paying me for lines of code added (I would often lose money if that were the case!), but they are clearly looking for me to add some sort of value. Otherwise I could just show up every day, give out some fist bumps, and go home while billing my daily rate.

Since directly measuring value added for the sake of compensation is not so straightforward, freelancers use rates (for better or worse). My argument is, the more <measurement of time> I work, the more likely I will add the value the client is looking for. Since I like a lot of flexibility in my schedule and want to still bill fairly (for both the client and myself), I use hours as my <measurement of time>.