Freelancing in any industry is a challenge. I won’t spend a lot of time detailing what the oh-so-sexy life of “working for yourself” actually looks like each day. It’s sufficient to say that if you let it, freelancing has a way of monopolizing your life and shoving everything else out.
As you’re working incredibly hard, doing whatever it takes (aka, have figured out how to make it as a freelancer) to pay employees, pay off small business loans, get ahead, etc., you may forget you have a spouse… or children…or dogs that really do need to be taken out. Like, now. Maybe you’ll occasionally skip a shower to save time. Spray yourself with Febreze (you’ve done it, don’t lie). And then there’s sleep. Who really needs sleep after all? An extra half hour of work. Of emails. Of editing. An hour. Maybe two.
Freelancing, even and especially when it’s going well, is a bottomless pit of need. Since it is entirely dependent on you and success or failure is yours for the taking, it has a constant lure of “if I just work a little harder, stay up a little later, I’ll get what I want.” It’s this kind of thinking that ultimately causes burnout (also, relationship troubles) if you don’t take steps to prevent it. Here are a couple of hard-learned lessons that I’ve come to find helpful when the freelancing life is threatening to take over.
Make financial breathing room:
Money will always be the most urgent need, so it’s important to get a handle on that first. Do you need to diversify what you offer a little bit? Run a big sale? Call in that favor? I have found most freelancers and entrepreneurs to be idealists. As an idealist myself, I know how hard it can be to do things you aren’t necessarily passionate about just because you need the income. The inner voice shouts, “This is why you left your 8-5 in the first place, so you don’t have to (fill in the blank)!” Tell that voice that unless he/she/they can put on pants and go make money, they can sit down and shut it.
Giving yourself a safety net by saving really helps to reduce stress in this area. Start small. Put $20 per month in a savings account. And then up it to $50. When you have enough in savings to cover three months of income, open a retirement account and try to make as close to the maximum contribution as you can every year. Having a savings account and an IRA will allow you to turn off the panicked voice and think long-term, strategically, and with a clear head.
After you’ve made a little financial plan, you can focus on the next biggest issue: your mental health. Freelancing will happily take over everything else in your life if you let it. It’s supposed to serve you, to make your life better. If instead it’s controlling you, then you either need to make a major adjustment or you need to quit. I love freelancing, but there have been many moments when I am *this* close to quitting. And someday I still may do that, but when that day comes at least it will be my choice rather than something I was forced into by financial panic or mental collapse.
Present over perfect:
The title of this section is borrowed from a book of the same title by Shauna Niequist that has recently helped me put freelancing life into a healthier perspective. For reference, I have a spouse and two small children and my office is in our shared living room. I often feel frustrated at my work because it keeps me from being the spouse and parent I want to be. I also feel frustrated at my family sometimes because I feel they’re keeping me from getting work done. Being “present over perfect” is consciously – sometimes forcefully – rejecting the idea that I must be the best parent, the best spouse, and the best business owner all in one tidy, totally-holding-it-all-together package. Instead, I choose to be fully present at work when it’s time to be at work and fully present with my spouse and children when it’s their time.
Practically this means creating habits that serve as boundaries around work time and personal time. For example, when I get up in the morning I get fully dressed even if I have no meetings. I make my hair look presentable-ish, pour a cup of coffee. When work time is over I change clothes and shut down my computer so that I can’t even be tempted to “just write a quick email” while my kids are playing on the floor. I do not check my work email obsessively (anymore). I do not hover over my business social media accounts (anymore). When I am home, I am all home. It has taken a lot of practice, but reinforcing those habits allows freelancing to be a source of healthy challenge instead of an all-consuming burden.
So even if you can’t work as many hours as you’d like in a given day, you can make the hours you do work focused and excellent, which will make you feel a little less pulled in too many directions.
Day jobs are not the devil:
There’s an undertone in the freelancing world (not just in the photography industry) that having a day job makes you not a “real” freelancer. Let me just tell you, in case nobody has, that that’s not true. If a part time job allows you to also be present for your family and pursue photography as a business, then that job is your fairy godmother. Day jobs can also help keep you connected to other people when freelancing gets lonely. It can provide health insurance, sick leave, and maybe even vacation time. It isn’t failure, or selling out, or less-than to insist on that for yourself and your family.
I hope this article has encouraged you to keep your chin up and make some changes if you need to. Remember, we became freelancers because we wanted our lives to be better. If it isn’t doing that for you, then you have the right and choice to change it.
If you have tips that have helped you survive and thrive as a freelancer, we want to hear them! Share your tips on Twitter (tag us @Adorama), or email Elizabeth directly, and your advice may be published in the next article: “Readers’ Guide to Freelancing Without Losing Your Mind.”
As always, good luck and happy creating!
Feature photo by Daria Shevtsova on Unsplash
