How To Keep The Freelancing Spark (Without Burning Out)
A freelancer’s life isn’t always as glamorous as it looks from the outside. Working in pajamas and bunny slippers may seem like a welcome break from a soul-crushing corporate job, but the pressures that freelancers face can cause stress levels as high (or higher) than your typical 9-to-5 employee. The rush and responsibilities of managing a freelance business cause more than a few rising stars to burn themselves out before their time, and it’s never pretty. If you’re not feeling the love you once had for your freelance freedom, use these tips to unwind before you implode.
Make Downtime Mandatory (And Stop Avoiding It)
It’s a given that you work hard – you push yourself to the limits to meet deadlines, create satisfied customers and spread the word about what you do – and you’ve reaped the rewards for your efforts. But have you gone too far? It’s easy to get so bogged down in client work that you never do anything for yourself anymore. But didn’t you get into freelancing in the first place so you could live life on your own terms?
Instead of working yourself to the bone, schedule time in each week for something you want to do, whether it’s an energizing yoga class, a long walk in the park or an early Thursday matinee. Knowing that you have some “you time” hard-scheduled into your week will help take the edge off of your work stress. And if you’re worried you don’t have the time for downtime, consider this – knowing you have a little less time to get everything done will help you stay more focused when it’s time to take care of business. Then you can concentrate on working hard with the knowledge that you’re going to be playing hard as well.
Find A “Venting Partner” (And Don’t Hold Back)
Everybody gets stressed to the point of meltdown sometimes – but society puts intense pressure on us to look like we’ve got it all together. After all, you’re living the life of a freelancer, bunny slippers and all, right? You’ve got that image to maintain every time you run into one of those people with “day jobs,” and you can’t let your guard down and show how hard-pressed some days can truly be. The last thing you want to hear is the dreaded “I told you so.”
But if you keep your stress to yourself (or pretend that everything’s okay) for too long, you’re going to implode. What you need is a “venting partner”,another freelancer who you can talk to about the crazy, stressful feelings that are a part of every freelancer’s life. Find someone you can trust to keep things just between the two of you, and let ‘er rip. You’ll feel much better not only getting things off your chest, but also discovering that other people have some of the same stressful issues that you do. And once that weight is off your shoulders, you can get back to work feeling a thousand pounds lighter.
Set Office Hours (And Stick To Them)
One of the blessings of freelancing is that you get to set your own hours – but that can become a curse as well. It’s a small step from having a flexible schedule to having an “always on” schedule, and far too many freelancers let themselves slip into a 24-hour work day that they can’t escape. If clients can always reach you by email or phone, or if you allow yourself to work all hours of the day (or night), your business will run your life, rather than the other way around.
Office hours are an absolute must for (almost) every type of freelancer. By setting a clearly defined work schedule, you give yourself pressure to focus and get the job done so you can get back to your life. Naturally, the hours you choose to work will shift from day to day (and that’s true freelance freedom), but you’ve got to guard those hours so they don’t get away from you. You won’t win the battle 100% of the time, but the fiercer you are about sticking to your office hours, the more time you’ll have to enjoy that life of yours – and that’s what it’s all about.
How Do You Keep From Burning Out?
What strategies do you use to decompress, unwind or recharge when your freelancing schedule gets to be more stressful than usual? Share your tips in the comments and learn from other freelancers so that you can keep the spark alive – without burning out.
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I use the simple strategy of stopping/avoiding/refusing to work with people who rile me, are idiots, are ungrateful. Sometimes it means sacrificing valuable work but int he long it leads to more of the right work with the right people. So my key anti-stress tool is to say no to the people who are too tiresome to bother with.
Great Tips. I will definitely try to incorporate them in my life. I would like to suggest a tip that makes me happier and more productive. I try to do fun stuff with my family during the day and work in the afternoon and in the evening. I get to have fun with my girls and then I have a good perspective and motivation to provide for them.
Great article. I thoroughly agree. I was trying to “get ahead” and work ridiculous hours, so much to the point that I did not pay enough attention to my family. Now I spend as much time as I can with them, but still manage to get the same amount done. When I’m fresh, I work better.
Like Nick, I won’t bother doing designs for people who are ungrateful. The best way is to have control over the deadlines. Convince your clients that their websites will take longer man hours to complete.
Try writing in a journal, going for a walk, or setting a day where you have fun all day.
-Luego.
I maintain with my clients that I’m contactable from 11am to 3pm. If they try and call me or email outside of those hours, they know I won’t get back to them until the next day. It doesn’t mean I only work those hours, but it allows me to get started on work at 9 or 10 and have that time to work without interuptions, as well as a couple of hours after 3. I also only work 4 days a week, Friday is Me-Day and the weekend is whatever else I feel like.
I may be making less money than when I just worked until I was tired, but I feel so much better these days and that’s worth more than triple my profits, so who cares?
What I plan to do once I start getting enough work to be stressed about it, is to follow these tips. Especially the one where you plan ‘me’-activities into the weekly schedule. That is partly what I do now with university assignments. I don’t stress out about them, I just make sure I have time to do it all AND have time for fun stuff (and freelance stuff!).
For me there are two components.
1. Making sure I’m doing what I want to be doing.
2. A good listener to talk to.
If these are in place the time management side of thing looks after itself. But I have a pretty decision making attitude to life, so that may just be me.
Too funny. I’m browsing my reader, the title catches my eye (obviously I can relate), I read two paragraphs and say to Harry, “Huh, this is good, check it-…”
“What?”
“No friggin’ wonder. Dave Navarro.”
Alright, now to say something wise. Harry and I rarely take vacation and don’t often get time off. We declare Screw-Off Days. You know when nothing’s going right, it’s a crappy morning already, the day isn’t looking much better and you’re discouraged?
Quit. Seriously. Drop everything and walk away. You aren’t going to get jack done that day and even if you do, it’s going to be half-ass. So say, “Screw it,” and walk away. Come back at it tomorrow with a fresher head, a little deadline pressure and with way less resentment.
Betcha you’ll get things done.
I try to keep regular “office” hours and that really help me. Staying in a good routine and not working at odd hours will give you sanity.
As an extension of the “downtime” point, I’d like to add that even “work” can be downtime if it’s a personal project instead of client work. Taking a break from client work and doing a creative project for yourself is great break. And you don’t have to be guilty about doing work you’re not getting paid for! If you’re working on your own blog that should be driving more work to you, or you can find other ways to monetize it. Or, start some new personal internet venture that can turn into passive income. Whatever you do, make time for your own creative projects and it will go a long way to keep you from burning out.
I’ve made resolution for myself to try to spend 1/5 of the work week on personal endeavors. 1) to give me some (downtime) from work, and 2) passive income.
that photo is creeping me out. its like a combination of a woman looking sexy, vulnerable, exhausted and half dead. *shudder*.
she looks like shes been dragged from a lake in winter.
I really like James Chartrand’s idea about having Screw-Off Days. We all have days when you see in the morning that you won’t do anything that day – but I think it’s hard to let go; I always think that things will turn around, but they rarely do.
I also give my vote to keeping “office hours” (i.e. some kind of working hours), but that’s often hard to do if you are working from home. To fight that I rent an office (more precisely, sub-rent a part of the office) that I share with another web company. Alternatively, I like to go out and work “outside”.
Whatever I do I try to establish a habit of not working too much from my home. That creates work areas (rented office, “outside”) and personal space (home). That helps me limit my work hours.
use some of your hard earned money and get a personal trainer. i have a gym membership, but find that i’m a lot more motivated to get out of my chair (and out of the office) if someone is waiting for me to workout. that way, i stay in shape, get out of the office and feel energized when i return.
Wow, this was an incredible article. I can’t tell you how much I’ve been looking for something like this as a sign that people are struggling with freelance as much as I am. The stress of NEEDING to get money in order to survive on a day to day basis can be far more stressful than the typical business drama.
@Nick
You’re completely right. I learned that useful tool the hard way. When I first started freelancing full-time, I had a few customers who literally had me spend weeks (one took a month) to work on their projects. In the end, they not only had me change large elements of the original design and didn’t bother paying because they weren’t satisfied with the outcome. Yet, up until the very end they had no complaints about the work.
couple of things i have implemented in my work week is:
a. work out at least 3x a week – that helps alot with stress and helps me focus on what I have to do
b. i don’t take any client calls after 5.30 and focus on my family
c. finish by noon on fridays whenever possible (!!!!)
i have also found that meeting colleagues for lunch helps me as well since we can discuss our projects and help each other out with solutions and also to vent about stupid clients
I sound like a broken record, but: I refuse to multitask! Work time is work time and family time is family time and that’s IT.
This may not be a popular opinion, but it’s my opinion: I don’t think freelance writing should be looked at as a way to work with your kids underfoot. I think both your writing and your kids get the shaft that way. I think it should be looked at as a way to make a work schedule AROUND your kids, but NOT one that INVOLVES your kids constantly vying for attention with the computer.
I guess some do it, and I guess they do it “successfully”- but who knows what “successfully” means? I think it’s subjective, and for me, successful means that my kids never say “you’re a computer zombie” and my clients never say “you never meet deadlines and why is there juice on my brochure?”
I wish I could do this, but I can’t. I’m a storyboard artist in the ad world and although I set a regular work day schedule and stick to it, more often than not I get work anywhere from 3PM to 7PM with a next day turnaround. I wind up exhausted and useless for a couple of days then the cycle starts again. I don’t see a way around this, since I do want to maintain a normal schedule and be awake in the day to live a somewhat normal life!
PS_ Upon re reading my comment I guess I could see someone interpreting it as “all freelance writers who work with kids underfoot are computer zombies who ignore their kids.” I’m not sayng that, but I am saying I WAS, and it cost me a LOT of stress and burnout and now my kids can recite Ya Gabba Gabba line by line.Don’t make my mistakes! Set a schedule, get alone time, stick to it.
I think the biggest part about freelancing is what you are doing. I making art all day and I love it. I wish I had more hours in my days to work more. I do try to get up every hour and I do pushups, now that gets the blood pumping.
This post gave me an idea: what about creating a place where freelancers can share their problems and possibly get solutions for that?
I think it’s important to get a clear idea how much time you want to dedicate per week to which area, e.g. projects, marketing, akquistion, sports, family etc, and then to schedule your week on a high level considering these priorities.
You might not always be able to keep this balance, but at least you know the baseline.
And it has a lot to do with your personal goals: What do you want to reah, and which price are you willingto pay? Having a clear understanding here is pretty helpful to avoid burning out.
Klaus
(PS: on our website you’ll find a tool which helps you accomplishing that)
Great points, Dave.
I think the most important is office hours. Sticking to them (with some flexibility of course) is so so so important. If your work-day ends, and you’re not done with something, it can almost always wait till the next day. It your life, you need to control it.
Another few points I’d add (based on personal experience) are 1) Sleep. Get lots of it if you can. That means don’t stay up late watching shitty TV like The Hills even though your roommate might be and it will be tempting. 2) Get some exercise everyday. I don’t mean downtime from work. I mean every morning or every evening, make it more of a priority than work. It’s the only way to stay balanced when sitting at a desk all day. And you’ll have more energy and will be more focused when working too.
Great Tips. We probably all know these, but for my part a reminder always comes in handy. keep ‘em coming.
True confession: I don’t live to do this work. I live for the weekend. What’s on tap for the one coming up? Well, let’s see… I have to do a plumbing repair, make a bank deposit, and get mail and the groceries. Yeah, duty calls.
But then there’s the fun stuff: Going to the local photography meetup. Most of them aren’t pros, and they’re a lot more fun to be with than many of the pros I know. Sunday morn, it’s hanging out in neighbor Dave’s backyard with others who are interested in solar energy. One member of our group is going to show us how to solder photovoltaics. Sunday afternoon? I think I’ll check out that chess club at the library.
Note the absence of anything having to do with sitting in front of this freelance computer.
Get out there and live, people.
Just what I needed. I’ve been task-hopping like a freak the whole week. I think it’s important to schedule “me” time, but sometimes distractions get in the way of your work being done… and to be quite honest, I feel like I’m multi-tasking way too much sometimes that I’m at the risk of getting my work mixed up.
Maybe it’s time to hit the beach…
I have been keeing a nightmare of a schedule lfor the past three months and just gave myself this weekend off to do what I want. Very timely post, Dave Navarro. I was pretty close to burning out. I plan to use your tips to make changes in how I run my business.
In my first year as a freelance I struggled with all of the above – putting in far too many hours, ignoring family, not paying attention to things like my health. Then I got struck with a chronic illness, and the ability to freelance was what got me back on my feet… with a little discipline and learning to be more efficient
It took a long time but I now have the balance right… 1/3 work, 1/3 family, 1/3 me/rest time. The last one allows me to just be creative and re-energise, which is important for any freelancer. I still make very good money because of my contacts and clients being willing to continue working with me, but I think having a ’sanity mantra’ and some discipline about switching off is sooooo important.
Does anyone else make space in their week for creative stuff?
Thanks for the tips. I have luxury going to academy learn things I enjoy, so I don’t have to worry about going bad in my workflow. Excellent tips anyway..these are important to understand..
Take a 20 minute break in the middle of the day to close your eyes and rest (no magazines, internet, or television) has been shown to significantly reduce stress. I find it essential to keep from burning out. Otherwise, i’ll burn through nine hours straight without having once stopped to recharge.
Well all I can say is that for me right now is just way hard to keep up with my starting freelancing career, I just can’t find the right moment to work on my projects, we have a baby boy that is 8 months old, my wife works a full time job so as of now I do the babysitting with the help of my mother on law but somehow I just can’t concentrate in those few 3 hours I have to spent on my job, besides my wife expects me to help her out on the housekeeping tasks so that she doesn’t have to come from work to do some more, and I understand that, we have different points of view concerning my Graphic Design career, I just think she doesn’t believe in it as a long term job for our little family, so, have any of you guys gone through something like this? if so please feed me some advice.
It’s pretty hard to have set hours when I’m also working a full time job while trying to build up my free lance business to ultimately get out of the industry I am currently in. I do however agree that having a venting partner is very very important and I use one for my current full time job (non-design related).
Wow, talk about perfect timing. I have been struggling with work/life balance and forgot to add the me time. (I love my family but they are a bit high maintenance) I am totally at the fried burnout point. I am printing this out and posting it on the wall above the computer to make sure I see it everyday! Oh and take it to heart!
serpentemx: Somehow it’s tough for people to realize that working from home is also serious business, especially close family. i have had a very similar experience and both my work and my self respect had taken a big hit. i even tired working part time so that i was just out of the house and “working”, but i hated it and it just got me more depressed.
Ultimately. you will have to explain to your wife that this is serious and you have the potential it takes to make it on your own. This is most important, you have to align your support system with your vision. Make a business plan, set targets and strategies and sell the dream. This will also give you a clarity of thought. Working on your own is tough for the whole family and they will have to adapt, so their believing is very important.This was my strategy btw and it worked.
You can also change your work hours. Wake up really early in the morning and put in a couple of hours of work when your mind is fresh. Take several breaks during the day to recharge your batteries.
I would define my peak hours for work and plan my schedule around it, taking on limited work and growing slowly. Outsourcing whatever you can is also a good idea. Essentially the second challenge is about being extremely productive and if you can achieve a lot in limited hours and prove your business profitable, I think your family will not have any doubts.
Wow, this is a long post! Hope it helps.
I live in front of the computer essentially, and yes it can be very stressful at times. I like to do ocean free diving when once a week. Nothing more detaching then being 50 feet underwater. Or even going for a good long hike on the weekend.
If you cant do any of that and your stuck to your freelance obligations for a while then good music always helps.
Also avoiding problematic people is a good thing, make sure other contractors you choose to work with have it together.
How do I keep from burning out? I get rip-roaring drunk once a week.
Seriously, though – I think my dog (aka my VP of Health and Wellness) is my best (and worst) distraction. He makes me to go for a walk at least once a day, and always has a furry ear to lend when I’m ticked off.
I’ve also found that joining random social groups (like WAKA: http://www.kickball.com) force me to get out of the house and interact with other humanoids. I also volunteer at the local animal shelter every few weeks.
I do better when something is scheduled and people (or critters) are counting on me to be somewhere at a certain time. I haven’t gotten to the point where I can get myself to take a break willingly.
My days can get real hectic with three children and a husband. Honestly, I don’t know how I manage not not bust a blood vessel or two. What I do know is that its important to take down time to just….do nothing. I take two weekends off a month for down time. During that time, I take at least an hour to sit in a dimly lit room of my house with a cold glass of fruit juice and I rest my mind. I allow myself to not think about work, bills or children. Sometimes I veg out for a day, catching up on movies with my family. Other times I hang out with friends and rediscover nightlife. The important thing is to do what makes you feel human again after working like a drone hour after hour.
Great tips here. Especially doing something for yourself. Non work related. I find when I take time out I feel so much better and am more focused and productive. Cuz I want to keep having time for myself:)
This is one of my biggest issues as a freelancer – it’s a holiday weekend and I’ve worked through half of it. Thanks for this post – I’m going to put it into practice, especially the part about finding someone to vent to.