What to Expect When You Finally Do Become a Freelancer
Posted October 31, 2011 in Lifestyle
Before you become a full-time freelancer, you tend to have a romanticized view of freelancing.
You imagine waking up at any time of the day, working blissfully in your pajamas, pumping iron at the gym in the middle of the day, and spending many happy hours with your family.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but freelancing isn’t exactly like that. Freelancing will change your life drastically, for better or worse. If you’re not prepared for these changes, you may find yourself regretting your decision to freelance.
Let me look into my crystal ball and show you what changes will happen in all the areas of your life.
Physical Changes
The problem with freelancing is, if you’re doing it right, it’s so much fun! Yup, you’ll probably get work you actually enjoy doing… and never want to get up from the computer.
Or you’ll have so much work, you’re forced to stay in front of the computer for hours on end. After all, the more work you do, the more money you make, right?
All this working leads to a phenomenon my mentor lovingly coined as “computer butt.” Your weight may remain the same (lucky you!), but your shape won’t. You’ll notice a spread towards the middle of your body. Then you’ll wonder, “Where has my waist gone?” And all your jeans will get too tight.
The bad news for freelancers is, sitting for hours is bad for our health. It can even undo the benefits of all the working out we do. According to this study, sitting for hours a day puts you at greater risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancers.
Granted, you probably also sat a lot when you had a traditional job. But I’ll bet you used every excuse to walk away from your desk and went home as soon as you could in the afternoons.
Also, as a freelancer, your schedule is so flexible, you may choose to play in the daytime and work at night–which means not getting enough sleep. You’ll also be tempted to eat your meals in front of the computer. Or totally forget to eat lunch and then grab a chocolate bar mid-afternoon when your stomach starts to complain (believe me, I know).
The bottom line is, when you become a freelancer, you’ll have more time to take care of yourself BUT the temptation will be great to neglect your health instead. Expect this and plan for it.
Mental Changes
I’m convinced successful freelancers are some of the smartest people around. For one thing, you need the proper mindset to succeed in freelancing. If you’re full of self-doubt, negative self-talk and pessimism, then you won’t make it. No matter how talented or skilled you are.
Furthermore, freelancers are forced to keep learning and growing. You’ve got to keep up or get left behind. When you become a freelancer, you’ll most likely read more books than you ever have since finishing school. You’ll also attend seminars, take home-study courses, and read materials in all sorts of different markets and industries.
You’ll also learn to be more disciplined mentally. You’ll be able to tune out distractions, focus mentally for longer periods of time, and be more organized. It’s tough, but freelancing gives you on-the-job training in all these areas.
Social Changes
Unless you’re freelancing from your client’s office, you’ll find yourself suddenly alone, most of the time. You’ll be working all by your lonesome self most days. Even if you work in a coffee shop, you won’t want to chat with others; chatting means no work gets done!
You’ll also find that the line between work and the-rest-of-your-life has gotten blurred. There is no office to leave behind at end of the day. If you have a home office door you can close, preferably lock, you’re one of the lucky few. For most of us mortal freelancers, work is always within arm’s reach. It doesn’t help that we can now check email from our smart phones.
Yes, it’s going to be pretty darn hard to get your mind and body away from work, much to the annoyance of your family and friends. The thing is, you’ll WANT to work, which complicates things even more.
Financial Changes
The financial changes are probably the ones you’ll expect. You already know you’re not getting a pay check every two weeks, right? Nope, money will come at all times of the month. Some months you’ll have more, some months less. This can be very stressful.
But if you already expect these financial changes, then you’re ahead of the game. That means you know you’ve got to be prepared for freelancing by having a healthy emergency fund.
All these financial fluctuations mean you’re going to become a better financial manager. You’ll become more disciplined about your budget. You’ll be a better planner, taking into account what you need not just to cover the bills, but also emergencies, insurance payments, vacations, sick days, and retirement.
Career Changes
When you become a freelancer, one of the first things that will strike you is the enormous weight of being entirely responsible for your success. You’ll have no more bosses, HR managers and co-workers to rely on or blame. It’s all on you!
You’ll find yourself juggling multiple roles: chief executive, financial manager, operations chief, marketer, salesperson, and human relations manager. And you thought you were in business as a ____ (fill in the blank). Wrong! You are now a business owner, and unless you’re planning to grow into an agency, you’re in charge of EVERYTHING.
Sound scary? It is. But when you overcome the initial shock and step up to the challenge, you’ll be a more confident person. You’ll look back and realize you’ve come a long way. And finally, you’ll understand that you really do create your own opportunities.
Parting Words
If you’re an aspiring freelancer, I hope this post didn’t scare you away from freelancing. My goal is to let you know what to expect so you can use the changes to your advantage. Brace and prepare yourself for them. They’ll be difficult to deal with at first. Some changes will be challenging for years. But in the end, I hope you’ll realize freelancing can make you a better person all around.
Your Turn
Which of these changes will be most difficult for you? How do you plan to cope?
If you’re an experienced freelancer, what other changes did you go through?
Image by Outdated Productions
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About the author: Lexi Rodrigo is the creator of The Savvy Freelancer, a blog that's all about achieving creative and financial freedom through freelancing. Check out Lexi's free guide, 31 Days to Start Your Freelancing Business (or Make Yours A Better One).
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14 Comments
Mandy Barrington
October 31st, 2011 at 10:08 amI’ve discovered one of the great benefits of working from home is being able to take off for a jog or bike ride in the middle of the afternoon. This is great for the wintertime, when it’s better to run in the (relative) heat and light of the afternoon rather than the dark, frigid morning. Plus, I gain about 45 minutes from not commuting each day, so I can put that time towards exercise. I find that I have LESS excuses to avoid working out than when I worked at an office—but it doesn’t make it any easier!
Another great article, Lexi!
Nina
October 31st, 2011 at 10:14 amGreat post! I currently own a graphic and consulting business and want to officially go out on my own by mid 2012. This is a great way to help people put things into perspective!
Lauren
October 31st, 2011 at 4:11 pmFantastic post! I’ve experienced ALL of the above.
I was especially tickled that you mentioned the “body” changes. haha. That doesn’t get mentioned very often. I spoke candidly about my own weight gain since I became a freelance writer on my Blog a few months ago: http://littlezotz.com/2011/07/an-expected-side-effect/ I’ve gained 30 pounds!! (But, oh, the writing I’ve gotten done in all that time sitting around in front of my laptop… I regret nothing!)
Again, brilliant post. Keep up the great work! I love your articles.
Maria
October 31st, 2011 at 6:45 pmJust want to say your article is as surprising. The clearness in your post is simply cool and i could assume you’re an expert on this subject.
Catena Creations
October 31st, 2011 at 8:51 pmBeen there, done that with all these changes. But it’s definitely worth it! My “commute” is 12 steps down to my basement, I get to work in my jammies, my schedule is as flexible as it needs to be, and I never have to worry about some boss type swooping in at the last minute and making me give up vacation plans to work. Yes, this is a challenging lifestyle. I hope I never have to give it up!
Josh Bedo
November 1st, 2011 at 3:49 amAwesome and very true post I’ve also experiences all of these. I do love having the opportunity to take a break whenever and go do something to get your mind off of work. The hardest part is time management figuring out when to wake up and when the best time it is to work certain jobs if you have multiple jobs or companies your working for. All in all the more you work the easier it becomes to manage time and sit down and actually enjoy what you do. I like probably many others find myself working for a lot of extra hours just because I want to.
Caitlin Kelly
November 1st, 2011 at 9:03 amGreat post…I just put it up on one of my FB walls.
I’ve been freelance much of my (writing) career and managing these emotional issues is much more challenging than people might imagine. One of the hardest pieces, for me, is leaving my desk to go be with other people — or see a movie or go to a museum. It’s too tempting to just stay attached to the computer and phone, either working or looking for work, instead of recharging and reconnecting with others. I like the relative freedom, but it demands tremendous self-discipline, especially financially, to make it work.
Dimitris
November 1st, 2011 at 12:29 pmExcellent post! I’ve been working as a freelance translator for about 5 years, and I never thought things would be this way at the beginning. Nevertheless, If you ask me now, I do not want to quit being a freelancer, because I still believe being your own boss and creating your own balanced schedule will always save you much more free time to spend with your friends and family!!!
Buchete
November 2nd, 2011 at 10:30 amI’m thinking more and more to become a freelancer, but i have some cons. I have experience in my domain (SEO) but i think it’s hard to get clients for different tasks if you have a new account. Any suggestions?
Debra Stang
November 2nd, 2011 at 5:28 pmHi Lexi,
I went from being a part-time freelancer to a full-time freelancer in August of this year. I handle the physical issues by working for 50 minutes and then getting up and doing something physical like putting away the laundry or scrubbing the sink. My apartment is cleaner and I’ve been able to stay on my diet.
The hardest part for me is to overcome days when I’m depressed or “just don’t feel like” working. I have to be an inner drill sergeant and remind myself that what I feel doesn’t matter; I am going to work!
In spite of some of the challenges I’ve faced, though, I love freelancing from my home. I can’t imagine every going back to a cubicle or even to field work.
Debra
Christina
November 3rd, 2011 at 7:09 pmI’ve been freelancing since 1989 part-time and full-time since 2001/2002. I have a hard time imagining myself working for anyone else except all of my various clients. Although I have been fortunate enough to pay a full-time accountant and office manager, she gave me her one year notice……so I guess I’ll be taking a raise and that part of my freelance work back.
My commute is 13 steps….and I love the lake view I have from my office.
Great reminder in your article Lexi about what we endure. :)
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