Freelancing in any field usually has a lot of perks to consider. But one of the biggest is an ability to take more time off than "normal" folks - this was certainly the case for me.
But it hasn't been working out that way lately.
I only blame myself for the inability to take more personal time, but it comes from a freelancing mindset, and I would think I am not alone in this thought pattern.
Fighting Those Unnatural Urges
By nature, I don't really consider myself a workaholic. I have a million hobbies, a great family and lots of friends to keep busy with, so I look forward to time off.
The rub comes from freelancing for a living.
A freelancer is never really sure where the next gig is going to come from. They don't know how regular the money will be, even if the work is happening. For me, there is always a sense that I have to be getting some new work coming in, or I am going to be royally screwed.
So this is where I am finding myself at times these days - unable to relax and enjoy what I have earned, unable to revert to my natural state of contentment. I have these unnatural urges to keep working and it is making it hard to play...which is a shame. It'll make my life shorter if it continues, I am sure of that.
So even though I believe a freelancer should always be looking for new challenges and more work, I am going to also suggest that there is huge value in occasionally ignoring this advice. Take a breather once in a while, and go fishing all day. Go window shopping. Travel somewhere. Hit a museum, an art gallery, or whatever it takes to reconnect you to the world.
Life is never all about work - even for a freelancer. The lure of SEO freelancing is not sexy because you put in more hours than if you were in another line of work. So while you look for new clients, more work and better opportunities, take the time to take a guilt-free break. Your mind, body and soul needs it, even if you feel like you simply can't get away.
A final thought on this before I move on, too - my clients are RARELY, if ever, as concerned about the project deadlines as I am. I don't miss deadlines, so why would they care? They set them, and I meet them...but in between, I often fret more than I should. Like I said before, this is my fault, and it wasn't always like this. I used to relax a lot more than I seem to any more.
Maybe I need to take a week or 2 off and do some soul searching?
Naaaahhh...too much work still to do out there.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment