My former boss has approached me numerous times to do some freelance work for him. I did before, as I wasn't that busy at my full time job, but right now i'm nearing the end of a project and I'm incredibly busy.

He requested for me to do something that was "extremely urgent" about 2 weeks ago, and i told him i was busy and i wasn't sure how quick i can get it done. I'm becoming increasingly busy with my fulltime job, so i emailed him and informed him that i do not have the time to spend on his project and that he should have his full time employers work on it.

he emailed me back and told me those guys can't work on it and he really needs me to do it.

i really don't have the time, and in fact, i actually don't want to do it. i don't want to work for him anymore because he is really too demanding and my spare time is my spare time to relax and workout. i can't sit in front of the computer all the time.

do i really owe him anything? should i just suck it up and get the job done? he's not even paying me the hourly rate i requested! how can i nicely tell him that i really can't do the job?
lol @ doumbek
you're right. but what should i do? just ignore him? refer him to someone else? i don't want to bother with the latter.

Why are you being "nice?" Look:

"he is really too demanding"

This is why you quit, right?

"he's not even paying me the hourly rate i requested! "

Then why on Earth are you WORKING for him? Whatever hold he has over you, trust me, he is aware of it and he is taking advantage of you. Even if it's just the "no one else can do it but YOU" card - you have to let go of this, it's your ego that is keeping you tied to doing this work.

Second, although you haven't mentioned it and probably haven't asked your new boss, doing work on the side is called "moonlighting." Although there's a possibility it's not a problem, if your new work is the same field as your side-work, there is a conflict of interest.

What I'm saying is the work you do for the old boss may get you fired, and the old boss is probably aware of it. He doesn't care.

Get this: HE DOESN'T CARE. It's not that no one else can do it, it's that he can get it done cheaper and faster with you because you know the jobs and - here's his bonus - you can be manipulated. If he cared so much, or you are so indispensable that he is compelled to chase you and jeapordize your new job for his projects, he would have offered a raise and tried to resolve any reasons you had for leaving before you left. Why didn't he do that?

HE DOESN'T CARE.

Are feeling the urge to not be so nice now? I hope so!

You have already explained you are very busy, next step is quadruple you normal fee. For big bucks you will find the time