important lessons about Freelance
4 important lessons about Freelance: I entered the world of self-employment at the end of 2017; But I’ve been writing independently since college several years ago, and I’m learning more every day. Every new customer, goal, and year brings a new set of challenges that always turn into valuable lessons. It’s not an easy life; But it guarantees me the most precious thing I have: freedom; I have complete freedom to choose the time, place, and amount of work I want to accomplish, and of course, there are a set of pros and cons to self-employment; But it’s worth the effort, it’s allowed me to do things I never thought possible.
1. Determine the working hours that suit you:
Organization is crucial, and so is flexibility. When you’re first starting out as a freelancer, it’s tempting to test the limits of your flexible working day: get up late, meet a friend for lunch in the park; say after lunch; These are all the great things that come into play when you work from home and have the ability to set your own schedule; But for some, the opposite is true. You may be afraid of unwanted satisfaction, or get excited about your new job and stick to your computer late into the night.
None of these things are necessarily a wrong choice; But it is important not to slip into either extreme. You should not work so much that you don’t have time for lunch with a friend or an afternoon nap; But you should also be wary of an unorganized schedule. Because habits have so many benefits, I’ve tried a variety of work schedules, and here’s a general description of what works for me:
I get up early because my mind is most alert in the morning, which is when my body naturally wakes me up.
Hard creative work done first, these are the things that require more of my focus and mental strength.
I eat regular meals and use that time as a break; When I’m away from the screen.
I add in a quick stretch and exercise or a walk outdoors, or both if I can.
I work the rest of the day in batches.
I have a deadline, after which I don’t check email or answer notifications.
2. Adjust as needed:
I am an organized woman by nature; So working out regularly wasn’t the biggest challenge for me; If I used to work as early as possible even later, I knew that I really enjoyed my early mornings; My body naturally wakes me up around 6am, and I also learned that around 3pm my brain shuts down; But when I work from 6 AM to 3 PM straight away, I get tired eyes, headaches, get irritable, not to mention I miss the best parts of the day.
Bottom line: organization is important; But don’t organize your home business to the point where you forget to listen to your body and adapt accordingly; I make a daily schedule now by dividing the time in a way that works for me; This includes napping after lunch so I don’t feel drowsy the rest of the afternoon, and it also involves working in short, productive bursts with meaningful breaks in between.
3. Don’t forget to live your life when keeping track of finances.
I love setting goals, and I love making a big spreadsheet at the beginning of the year to keep track of my goals. One of my big goals is; Such as paying off student loan debt within three years, and I have developed a bold plan for that; But in addition to this goal there are the goals of my savings and retirement accounts, and add that to my monthly bills and self-employment taxes, which means talking about a large part of my money scattering before it reaches my account.
I like managing money this way because it makes me feel more in control of my future. But that can be difficult. At one point, I was keeping track of all my daily expenses to see where I spent the most, and I had no room for a sweet unexpected opportunity.
I learned these financial techniques from the personal financial coaches I read and write about; But don’t let money make you forget yourself, keep track of your spending; And be sure to set aside some money for fun; You may make a small amount at the end of the month, depending on your financial situation.
4. Money does not come without a cost:
The double-edged sword of freelancing is that there is always another sale to be made. I am a writer; So there are always more ideas to submit and more posts to view; Being a spreadsheet person, I know how much every hour of my time is worth at this point in my career. In other words, I know how much money I could make if I worked instead of laid off or instead played volleyball on the beach with friends.
One of the greatest lessons I learned is that money comes at a price. In 2019, I hit a huge financial goal. It was my best year so far. for I felt that every dream of mine had come true; But I was also in one of my worst mental and emotional states during the summer, which is my favorite season. I often worked from 4 am to 6 pm and deadlines loomed, and I often dreamed of my work. Every enjoyable hobby and activity brought guilt; Because there was always more to do.
I learned hard that every new customer and every new additional work means more money; But at a great cost: the cost of my free time, my mental and emotional health, and sometimes my physical health; For me, achieving this financial goal wasn’t worth all the side effects; In 2020, I set a new goal: to make enough money to give me a break, and then make time to do anything or nothing.
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