Two health professionals recently asked me whether I experience a lot of stress as part of a medical check-up (I’m fine). The first time I was asked the question, I said no without giving the question much thought.
The second time, I was a little bit more hesitant and said that I honestly never knew how to answer that question. “What is stress?” I asked my doctor. “How do I know if I’m stressed?”
She said that stress manifests differently for everyone but that most people feel overwhelmed, like they can’t shut off their brains and that they feel like they can never really take a breath.
In that case, well, yes, I am stressed.
But the thing is, I don’t feel stressed. I would say actually that I feel pretty damn good on a day-to-day basis, though I do often wish I had colleagues.
The reason I don’t feel stressed even though I apparently am is 100% related to the fact that I’m a freelancer.
Being a freelancer has allowed me to be picky with the work I take on and though I have a tremendous amount of work at the moment, I enjoy all that work. It’s not work I have to do because no-one else in the office wants to do it, or because my boss has ordered me to cover for a sick colleague. I don’t want to say no the assignments that have been coming in because I want to say … ehm … yes to the assignments that have been coming in.
The second reason I don’t feel stressed is that the action-reaction cycle of my hard work is clear and satisfying. The result of my more or less working six days a week for the last two months is obvious from my bank account. Moneywise, the last two months have been my best ever in nine years of freelancing.
That is such a different situation from being salaried, where the financial reward of working longer hours is not as immediate or straightforward, unless you work in a competitive sector where performance-based bonuses are common. Most of the salaried friends I have – many of them are public servants or work for non-profits – usually take a day or two off after doing overtime. Whether they work seven, eight or ten hours a day doesn’t make a iota of difference to the sum that is deposited into their bank account at the end of the month.
Thirdly, I have a tremendous amount of control over my time even though I am juggling a lot at the moment. A week or two ago, I could for instance feel that my battery was running empty. I know that as a woman and as a perfectionist, I’m statistically more likely to develop burnout. Which I don’t want to. So I took a Tuesday afternoon off when the weather was glorious. I spent it in a park close to my house, mostly people-watching and reading one of my favourite magazines.
Of course, I still had deadlines to meet but I made up for that time by working a few hours on Sunday, when I knew the weather would be dreadful.
That’s really one of the most important things I do that helps me be a freelancer in a sustainable, durable way. I take time off as soon as I feel I need to. I take time off when I feel like it because rest is restorative and I don’t need to “earn” it.
So if my last newsletter focused on the challenges associated with freelancing and got you a bit down, consider this my love letter to the liberating power of freelancing. Remember that you are at the wheel of your own career, dear readers. There are so many things that are in your control as a freelancer and you should fully and always take advantage of that to make your freelancing career work for you.
As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on all the above. You can get in touch by emailing us at freelancerthefriendly@gmail.com or commenting on this newsletter on our website.
Take care and remember to take a break – whether you need it or not.
Linda
What our readers are saying:
“I think you've just highlighted a frustration that I hadn't realised was a frustration – the inability to collaborate with someone on solving a problem or delivering on a project. In a strange quirk of fate, I ended up working on a project with my other half. Completely different roles but it's so cool to be able to discuss project things with him!” – Response from reader Jen Sutherland to Do I actually want to be a freelancer?
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What I’m reading, listening to, watching this week:
This article on how being a perfectionist is not just stressful, but also contributes to burnout.
This article on why women are more likely to experience burnout than men.