"Passion projects are the cherry on top of my work life" 🎂
Heleen freelances to cover the cost of her passion projects
In a previous newsletter, I discussed how I combine paid assignments with my passion projects, i.e. projects that are highly gratifying but that don’t make me any money. Heleen Westerman, a reader of this newsletter and freelancer, has a similar but slightly different approach – she balances temporary, well-paid assignments with periods in which she fully immerses herself in her own projects. I gave her a call to find out how she manages this, and walked away very inspired.
Hi Heleen, you emailed us that you “buy” time for your passion projects, so to speak. How do you do this exactly?
"I’ve calculated how much 'living money' I need per year. I then start working on all kinds of freelance projects, or one big project, until I have earned my living money for the following year. So this year, I’m working to cover my basic expenses for 2024. I deposit all this money in a separate savings account on my business savings account. When I have earned the target amount I’ve set for myself, I’m allowed to turn down jobs, or to not pursue new ones for a while. This way of working gives me peace of mind, as a result of which I allow myself to carve out time for my passion projects. At the moment, I’ve been working on a big gig since last spring. It’s allowed me to cover my living expenses for 2024, as well as two-thirds of my living expenses for 2025. This means I have little time for my passion projects at the moment, but once this assignment ends in mid-2023, I’ll start focusing on my passion projects. That’s a promise I’ve made to myself."
What an incredible approach. How do you manage to keep this up?
"Of course, it's not very easy to keep it up. I often end up working a few hours per week on paid assignments, but I do feel a lot freer to work on my passion projects when I know I’ve already earned my income for the following year. This also means that I'm not trying to earn the highest possible income; I want to have an income off which I can joyfully live. In my previous life, I had a full-time salaried job for ten years, which allowed me to save for an apartment, which I consider my pension provision. This, too, provides a solid foundation as well as the peace of mind needed to be able to work in this way."
What are your passion projects?
"My biggest passion project to date more or less began by accident. My partner is a cameraman and we’re both very interested in local stories. When life came to a standstill during Covid, the idea developed to hike from the Dutch village of Kampen, to Moscow in Russia, always taking historical travel and trade routes. Along the way, we’d document traces of ancient trade and international influences at the local level. Together, we learned about everything that goes into making a documentary: research, collecting stories, writing scripts, editing ... To date, we have published 10 documentary episodes of Van Kampen naar Moskou, as well as an accompanying podcast.
I’ve also embarked upon an investigation into the lives of my own grand-parents and those of my partner. They lived in two completely different worlds, but during the same time period. This project is still in a research phase and I am not yet sure what form it will take; it could be a book, a theatre show or a podcast. I see these kinds of passion projects as the cherries on top of the cake that is my work life. Thanks to these projects, I continue to grow as a person, as a professional and, more than anything else, I have a lot of fun. For me, that’s quality of life."
With what kinds of paid assignments do you save together your living expenses?
“I have explored different ways to find a balance between work that brings in money and work that doesn’t yet. I used to work as a journalist, but the rates in journalism are too low to be able to build up a savings buffer. I’ve also combined part-time salaried work with passion projects, but this combination didn't leave enough mental space to do my own work. I felt guilty whenever I hadn’t managed to complete my to-do list at the end of my part-time week. Today I work as a freelance project manager on communication projects. This allows me to take on temporary projects that pay well and to save up, and once they’re done, I can focus on my own projects again. For me, this type of variety is ideal: I don't like routine.”
What do you do once you’ve saved up your living expenses and are ready to start working on your passion project?
"I embrace the unknown: if I have an idea that I just can’t shake, I explore it further. It's okay if I don't exactly know yet what the end product will look like or how I will make money off it. You can't completely plan a creative process; this requires time and space. Once I have found the best form to tell my story, I develop the project until I have enough material to look for a stipend or publisher. My goal, after all, isn’t to do my passion projects for free. For example, we are now finalising the documentary series Van Kampen naar Moskou with grant money. And if we were to do a second series, I would want to secure funding for it beforehand. At the same time, you can only apply for grants once you have a portfolio and a clear picture of how much time your project will require. I now have both, thanks to the time I gave myself to let my creativity run loose."
I love this concept of working now to save up for living expenses for next year--and for leaving time for passion projects. So much of our culture encourages always chasing more and there never being enough + I love how clear this model makes “enough”. Thank you for sharing Heleen!