February 2022: The 24/7 of freelancing
Do we ever switch off - and do we really want to?
When you go freelance, you ditch the 9-5, right? You find freedom! Flexibility! You call the shots you name the hours…
Only, for me it’s become not even more than 9-5, it’s become 27/4.
If you’re opening and reading this on Feb 1st, then I’m preparing to go away for a week, to France, to see family. You might be reading it a day later, when I will be speeding through France on a train, to the Alps. My brother lives there with his family, and they are in the ski resorts of Les Arcs and La Rosiere. I haven’t been to see them for over three years (because, Covid) and I have been so excited. (If you’re a ski fan and in need of a break, then check them out www.slopetrek.com)
But the feelings of the 24/7 came to me even when booking. Yay, a train ride! I can spend all those hours on the train working. WORKING. ‘Or reading a book?’ said Geoff, my partner. Yes! A work book, I thought, ordering one forthwith. WTF. It became apparent that I couldn’t see the journey as downtime. I don’t think I do, now, as I’m on the journey - and I don’t think I want to right now when it comes to business time vs ‘me time’.
For me, journeys like this are a chance to plot, plan and create, and I know I won’t be able to fully relax and switch off while I’m away. Even reading a magazine or two will give me ideas, perhaps the odd headline will get torn out for the mood board.
Perhaps I’ll switch off a little, while navigating my mended broken ankle down some slopes behind my speed-demon niece… but otherwise, I’ll be checking things, writing in my notebook or seeing metaphors everywhere I go.
So the question is, do you have to be 24/7 with your freelance, and love it all the time to progress and survive? Is it OK if you are ‘all in’ and never stop thinking about your business? Is it normal?
Right now, I am very 24/7 because I am business building. I’m pivoting, moving into a new way of working that requires a lot of thought and planning. My business is my everything, more than it has ever been before, and that demands a lot of my mental energy, time and planning time. I want to spend some of that (this!) train journey working on ‘businessy’ stuff. I’m sure it’ll inspire me to plot new things or write some content. It’ll certainly be good for instagram stories!
I live and breathe Freelance Feels. I go to sleep pondering about it, and I wake up and check my emails and social media to see if anything has come in, anyone’s enquired or tagged me. I have wondered if I’m obsessed, if I’m over doing it, whether I need to try and take a break. It occupies so many of my waking thoughts, and I am at the mercy of the ideas that jump around in my head from new coaching course ideas to content or whether I should join TikTok. Even if I’m not at my desk 24/7, I am thinking about it every day of the week. I am planning, making notes, responding to shout outs, connecting, writing, posting…
If it sounds exhausting, then you’re right, it is. And if it feels familiar, then know that you are not alone! I feel exhausted writing it down. But I think that’s how things are for me right now. That’s how they have to be as the business grows. I will need to blend my ‘me time’ with ‘work time’ because I want work to grow and be successful.
But I hope I do begin to find balance. That I can be one of those people who raises their rates so they work less for more money. I hope things will be so successful I can be a ‘quality over quantity’ person when it comes to the work/life/work balance I have, and the time I spend working or thinking about something to do with work.
Is it a sense of FOMO? I think so, often. If I’m not online and I miss that one post I could have converted into a new client. If I don’t check my emails and an editor wants me to write something, or a new client wants to set up a potential meeting. I think we spend all this time on our businesses not just because of FOMO, but also because we care. And that can’t be a terrible thing.
Let me know what you do to find balance, if you’re in the 24/7 or if you are calling more of the shots when it comes to your freelance ‘timesheet’.
Read, Listen, Subscribe
Read: A love letter to freelance friendships
Listen: Friend of Freelance Feels, Helen Hill (AKA Unlikely Genius) has a new podcast, The Last Rung. I’m an upcoming guest, too!
Subscribe: The IPSE incubator is for those who are new on their self-employed journey, with lots of concrete expert step by step advice.
Relight Your Freelance Fire: There is still time to sign up to my February group coaching course. It begins on Feb 7th, with worksheets to your inbox. Group Zooms are every Friday at midday. You also get a one on one and a CV audit. The price is £250 (incl VAT). You can read more and testimonials at freelancefeels.com/relightyourfreelancefire
CV workshops: Do you have a freelance CV? Got an old one that needs dusting off? I’ve started running CV workshops specifically for freelancers and they’re proving popular! The next two are on Feb 10th and 11th. You can book via Eventbrite - we talk about everything from why I believe you need a one-page CV, more than one CV, and it should all link up with your social media.
And here’s my daredevil ‘Black runs are easy’ niece, Nancy. She’s ace. I’ll probably cry when I see her. I’m hoping she’ll let me watch Encanto on her Disney+ account.
