When you are into the la-la land of freelancing, you dream of days when you need not work on more stuff, when you can chill out and have more calm and composed days. But it is not always like how you imagined it.
When you are a full-time employee, you have a huge team standing behind you to take care of your day-to-day chores like handling your reimbursement, taxation, snacks, food and much more. When you are a freelancer, you are literally a one-man army. You don’t have a team to manage you or look into what you have been up to. You need to manage everything by yourself, right from sending invoices to your client to looking after your pending tasks.
I too have faced all the ordeals that a freelancer would face. I practised a few steps that helped me wake up my inner buddha. It proved to be extremely helpful. Let me share them with you:
Try following the Pomodoro technique
All you need to do is work for 25 minutes on anything with full focus. Then take a short break. Resume your work. After every 4 25-minute time slot, you need to take a long break of 15-20 minutes. This is going to improve your focus level like never before. You can set a hawk-eye on your task and finish it without any delay.
Embrace stress and deadlines
“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.”
Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth and Being Free
Stress is a factor that doesn’t work as per our control. It is nothing but external energy for which we should not pay much heed to. You don’t need to stress much when you are following your deadlines. All you need to do is understand that stress is a part of your life. You should take it lightly and move on with your life with full fervour. When your hands are full, you should know when to say “No”. Statistics state that nearly 4 out of 5 freelancers would be focusing on only 1 to 3 projects at a time. It is always advised to take limited number of projects and work on it with full concentration.
Relearn time management
Being a freelancer is all about managing your time efficiently. If you can manage your time well, you can conquer anything and everything at your own pace. Have you got to submit your article to the client? Make sure that you deliver it on time. You need not stress much about that. You should discipline yourself to avoid procrastinating. Try to make a To-do list and stick on to it religiously. Stick to your routine. All these would ensure that you are on the right track to accomplish your goal.
Believe in yourself
With a lack of security and support, many freelancers get disillusioned from their freelancing world. Instead, they should try to understand their strength and weakness and embrace themselves for what they are. As a freelancer, you need to accept yourself, laugh over your flaws and ensure that you take care of your physical and mental well-being.
And finally, do not compare yourself with others
Being a freelancer takes every dent of your courage. It is important that you understand how unique you are from your contemporaries. If you are a freelancer, do not compare yourself with your friend who is working as an HR Manager in the corporate world. Cherish each day of your freelance life for what it actually is.
To conclude it finally on a heartfelt note…
When you are a freelancer, you need to stay calm and embrace the freedom you get to work on your own. You should also stay responsible and stick to your schedule and routine. You should stop looking at the other side of the fence and understand your full potential. These traits would make your freelance life less stressful.