"Wow! It must be so great to work from home and be your own boss!"
Because in the real world jobs have "stress". I've got news for you the Freelance Lifestyle has two levels of stress-- intense and out of control.
There are basically TWO modes for being a freelancer
1. Overworked and stressed about deadlines.
2. Looking for work and stressed about money.
I'm making it sound scarier than it is, but that's essentially what you'll feel the first year or so doing this. As you get along further and further you'll develop a pattern where you learn how to schedule jobs several months out in advance, and if you're doing good work the clients will come to you.
You'll stop making rookie mistakes like taking jobs that aren't right for you, ensuring that each and every project you do is in your wheelhouse, and will be reflected in the final product. Learning how to say no is a big part of this.
One trap many freelancers fall into is the work of compliments. Someone reaches out to you expressing how much they like your work and that they'd love to work with you-- but a tell here is when they hire you they want to tweak everything you're doing-- do they REALLY love your work? If they did they should pretty much step back and let you do your thing.
Bottom line on that is a compliment doesn't earn anything more than a thank you-- make sure this project is right for you.
Stress is created when we feel like we don't have control.
Use the financial equation I gave you a few lessons back to figure your base price and make sure this new project fits that. Make sure you can "see" what it is they want in your head, if the vision is clear you'll have an easier go of it than you would if it's hazy.
Control your projects, not the other way around. Organization goes a long way towards getting things under control. Don't obsess, better observe. Look realistically at your calendar when a new job comes in.
Look realistically at your calendar as to when this current work runs out. If it's a week, a month, a year, it's better to have a plan in place to find new work than it is to realize it two weeks into a drought.
DIVERSIFY YOUR CLIENTS
It's great having a big client, but keep your eyes open and spread your workload around. If that big client suddenly has a cutback you could be struggling to find work.
Working with clients big and small will make you a better freelancer and virtually guarantee work will continue to come in regardless of current economic or political climates.
Don't put your eggs in one basket are words to live by.
EXERCISE & TAKE BREAKS
Walk, run, bike, do yoga-- just get yourself out and move your muscles around. Nothing is worse than sitting at your drawing table 12 hours a day with no sunshine. Even though I work for myself you'll find me on my morning walk or run with my dog and every sunny afternoon around four you would find me outside on my deck with my afternoon coffee and muffin. Taking some time for yourself is important even if you're on deadline. Fifteen minutes here and there payoff in spades.
CONTROL YOUR DESTINY
If whatever you've chosen to do as a freelancer is not paying the bills you need to step back and take a good hard look at your choices. Is this work as good as it could be? Take a class to hone your skills. Find a mentor to help guide you. If the bills are still piling up put on your big boy pants and get another job at night to offset expenses while you work on what is holding you back.
FACE YOUR FEARS OR LOCK THEM AWAY
Try to visualize what you are stressing over and then do one of two things with it:
FACE IT head on--attack it-- defeat it or be defeated by it. But get it out of the way. Better to open up that checkbook and discover you are out of money than to have the bank call you to let you know checks are bouncing. At least that way you can prepare a plan.
LOCK THEM AWAY - And by this I mean put them in a box labeled tomorrow. I hereby grant you permission to take a 24 hour extension on anything you are worrying about and you can face it tomorrow. This is a one time offer though-- you must FACE IT tomorrow.
90% of the time the thing you were afraid of is not as bad as you imagined.
PREPARE A PLAN
Stress is the enemy of productivity-- how can you get anything done when you're stressed out? Picture this-- you walk into your friends home and they are trying to study a new language, but they are so STRESSED out because they can't concentrate. You can see the problem pretty clearly: They have the TV on at full volume. They have the radio on at full volume, Pandora is blaring out DMB and an alarm clock is going off while the dog barks at it.
HOW can they NOT be stressed in that environment? Seems simple to us, but they didn't notice all of these things. The easy answer here is to turn off all the extra stuff and give the dog a treat, right? Same thing when you have stress all around you. It might be quiet as the grave but what's it like inside your head?
That's where a plan solves this.
Stress is the enemy of productivity, but planning is the destroyer of stress.
If you have a plan stress goes away. Each time you think of that which is stressing you out you calmly put your hand up and say "Nope-- I have a plan for that." and you move on.
Peter Gabriel has a song with the great line "let it go and move on"-- truer words were never spoken. Stop clinging to stressful things start dealing with them.
NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY? Find more clients.
CAN'T FIND CLIENTS? Look outside your usual circles. It's a global economy now, the internet has brought us all onto the same playing field.
BILLS PILING UP? Bring in extra money. Yard sale, part time job, eBay, Craigs list there are SO many resources for making money now. Do a budget, then freeze your spending. Stop eating out. Stop impulse buys. Every penny in goes towards paying down your debt.
MISSING YOUR FRIENDS? Schedule some time to see them. Better two hours of quality time than none at all, and you can find two hours no matter how tight your schedule is.
Every problem has a counter. That's the way the world works.
Not sure what's stressing you out? Try taking a walk. Try working with your favorite music on. Try changing the chair you sit in. Try a new blend of coffee or tea. Try switching your usual routine and see if that makes any difference.
Stress can be harmful, it can be crippling. You don't have to let it.
Next up— MEETING DEADLINES
Andy Fish is a freelance artist and writer who has been living the lifestyle longer than there has been an iPhone on this planet. The advice given has worked for him, it might work for you, he hopes it does. But like all advice, take it with your own situation in mind. If you want to contact him shoot him an email andy@andytfish.com