Time Off: the True Lure of Freelancing

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.

Year End Wrap-Up

So as the year draws to a close, I am looking back over it all, and seeing what I learned.

1. Schedule more time for my own stuff.
2. Keep the flow of projects steady, so one ends as another begins (reduce overlap).
3. Participate in more online discussions of interest.
4. Attend more conferences (try to hit 2 per year).
5. It's all about backlinks (today, anyway).
6. Bartering rocks.
7. Smaller businesses are typically more of a hassle, but can be extremely rewarding.
8. Communicating SEO in numbers is the best possible way to get more work.
9. Old clients can surprise you with new requests any time.
10. It's all about the relationships you make, maintain, and build upon.

I am sure there was more, but this is a fine little list of 10 things that definitely were a part of 2008.

Overall, Articulayers had a really solid year. Surprisingly, had more work toward the end than at the beginning - which is a polar opposite of the norm (especially when the economy is sluggish). I did see some folks coming to me for a "life-saving" effort (economy-driven), but it definitely felt like more people were hip to SEO this year than last.

I didn't make one cold call in 2008 - a first.

Lots of blogs went up this year - hope they make it. Blogging can be a bear if you are not into it. And jeez, I even like blogging now, but can hardly find time to write anything here, much less plan and execute detailed posts. As with many things, blogging looks much easier than it is. But I helped launch a dozen or more really solid corporate-type blogs - hope they all succeed.

Finally, I gained 8 new clients since July, and they are my main focus as 2009 begins. Some won't have more work right away, but I believe all of them will be back for more of the SEO copywriting love they find here. Great folks, running businesses I believe in or solid reps for bigger companies.

So Happy New Year. Hope you, like me, are psyched for it - SEO work has never been better, or more detailed...and I still love what I do, every day.

Piece.