If your freelance dream of working on a beach, mojito in hand isn't your reality, welcome to the club. But here are three things you can do to make your freelance life so much better.
A comfort to read, thank you! I'm a year into being freelance and I'm still navigating boundaries! For me it's more boundaries with myself and making sure I prioritise my health and general life things alongside my work.
I enjoyed this so much. Especially the point on boundaries. I worked on my actual wedding day - pushy emails came despite the fact that I’d taken leave to elope and checked in with everyone to remind them I’d be MIA for one day (but obviously hadn’t told clients and editors why I was unavailable)! Boundaries are certainly tough when you’re freelance. I guard them now like a lion!
Gah your wedding day! I remember doing edits in my parents' garden when my sister was getting married and that felt bananas enough. I do think we develop the strongest boundaries when we've gone through bin-fires like this...
This was a great read!! I laughed so much while reading it. I can't believe i found someone online who i can relate with so so much! AH! More power to you girl 💪🏽 Keep writing!!
Just thinking about going freelance, but up until now I was working in academia. "Anyone working in science or politics seems to treat weekends like working days" this is so painfully true.
I went freelance for the first time (designer) in March, and I'm very much guilty of letting people pay less than my skills are worth because I think "they'll never pay that!" when I look at the total. It's a mixture of imposter syndrome and (to be honest) working with the wrong clients who don't appreciate the value in an intangible skill like design. It's a really difficult habit to break!
I loved the point about freelancers being like hired helps (the whole piece, but this point me give a wry smile). That pretty much sums it up, sometimes. :)
In my case, I took to freelancing as a break after three solid jobs, as a break that I changed to long and permanent one. :) I approached it with dread -- who will give me assignments, how do I cope with periods of no income, and the 'loneliness' likely to be experienced after daily interactions with colleagues. It's been a roller-coaster ride, but the problem is that any lean periods will make one less inclined to be strict about rates, especially if a bunch of new journalists are happy to jostle you out. I have not found a happy solution, I confess.
A comfort to read, thank you! I'm a year into being freelance and I'm still navigating boundaries! For me it's more boundaries with myself and making sure I prioritise my health and general life things alongside my work.
Glad it resonated and it’s tricky work, setting boundaries esp with ourselves but so worth it isn’t it
I enjoyed this so much. Especially the point on boundaries. I worked on my actual wedding day - pushy emails came despite the fact that I’d taken leave to elope and checked in with everyone to remind them I’d be MIA for one day (but obviously hadn’t told clients and editors why I was unavailable)! Boundaries are certainly tough when you’re freelance. I guard them now like a lion!
Gah your wedding day! I remember doing edits in my parents' garden when my sister was getting married and that felt bananas enough. I do think we develop the strongest boundaries when we've gone through bin-fires like this...
Absolutely! Working on staff as an editor also exposed me to how freelancers are talked about and treated more widely. Illuminating, to say the least!
This was a great read!! I laughed so much while reading it. I can't believe i found someone online who i can relate with so so much! AH! More power to you girl 💪🏽 Keep writing!!
Haha thanks, glad you liked it
Just thinking about going freelance, but up until now I was working in academia. "Anyone working in science or politics seems to treat weekends like working days" this is so painfully true.
It’s such hard work isn’t it!
Great post! All of this resonates.
Very insightful post! Thank you for sharing.
Touché Priya! ;-) And thanks!
Really great post - thanks for sharing. I’ve been freelancing for a couple of years now and all of this resonates.
Ah so glad to hear that, thanks
I went freelance for the first time (designer) in March, and I'm very much guilty of letting people pay less than my skills are worth because I think "they'll never pay that!" when I look at the total. It's a mixture of imposter syndrome and (to be honest) working with the wrong clients who don't appreciate the value in an intangible skill like design. It's a really difficult habit to break!
I’ve definitely had that feeling- sometimes gathering up evidence for new clients if you’ve previously been paid better can help swing things
That's a good strategy, I'll bear it in mind! ☺️
Great post. I am taking note of every single bit of it--preparation for my next chapter!
I loved the point about freelancers being like hired helps (the whole piece, but this point me give a wry smile). That pretty much sums it up, sometimes. :)
In my case, I took to freelancing as a break after three solid jobs, as a break that I changed to long and permanent one. :) I approached it with dread -- who will give me assignments, how do I cope with periods of no income, and the 'loneliness' likely to be experienced after daily interactions with colleagues. It's been a roller-coaster ride, but the problem is that any lean periods will make one less inclined to be strict about rates, especially if a bunch of new journalists are happy to jostle you out. I have not found a happy solution, I confess.
Very true and younger journalists happy to undercut can they challenging too