The things I do to get off my freelance island
Freelancing doesn't have to be a lonely affair - not even now ðŸ‘
This might sound counter-intuitive, but one of the reasons I went the solo route a couple of years ago was that I wanted to work with more people. As a freelancer, I can choose the places I work for and with whom I work – it was precisely this freedom that appealed to me in the first place.
Now that our freedoms have been curtailed for the foreseeable future, all these benefits have somewhat evaporated. Day in, day out, I find myself working at the same desk in the same room ( a room that also happens to be my kitchen). I work with more clients than I ever have (yay!), but I never see them. As for my fellow freelancers, I don’t see their faces at all any more 💔 That’s begun to weigh on me more and more, and my conversations with other freelancers tell me I’m not the only one.
The fewer Zoom meetings, the better – that was my motto during the past months. Because ‘this Zoom meeting could have been a call’ is definitely the new ‘this meeting could have been an email.’ But today I no longer feel so strongly. I’ve accepted that Zoom, Skype, Teams, WhatsApp etc. are bound to be my only window on the world for an unforeseeable period of time. That means it’s better to make the most out of this situation, no?
A video connection doesn’t necessarily make everything more fun or useful, but here are the activities that help me feel part of the wider freelancing community at the moment:
1) Online writing hours
Every day between the hours of 9 and 10, I try to write in silence with a group of other writers during a Zoom meeting. How much or how little I write isn’t important, the only thing that matters is that I get started. When working on longer writing projects, I invariably begin asking myself questions like: Why do I even do this? Who in their right mind willingly spends countless hours writing words, only to scrap half of them and knowing that the other half might never be read by anyone. Thanks to the daily writing hour sessions, I know the answer: a lot of people. It gives me courage to crack open my laptop and to see 200 other writers appear from around the world.
An added, fun benefit is that I get to see what the houses of other people look like on the inside, what books they have in their closets, how they drink their coffee. It’s made this Zoom writers’ hour my favourite way to start the day.
You can find a lot of writers’ groups and even book clubs online. No matter what industry you’re working in, your peers are probably meeting up online somewhere. And if they aren’t, you could always start your own meetup!
2) Work online with friends
I don’t like to admit it, but I really need a babysitter to make sure I get anything done on some days. Take yesterday. I woke up feeling tired and even after a couple of coffees, I hadn’t gotten anything done beyond creating a to-do list. I had already sort of given up on work and started watching a series when I received a message from friend and TFF supporter Elisabeth: do you want to work together online?
We chatted a little on Skype and then got started on our assignments for that day with our cameras on. And that’s how my least productive day turned into my most focused day. I don’t know why, but the thought that someone else can see me while I’m working – and conversely, that I can watch someone else at work – greatly increases my productivity. I try to regularly plan these kinds of online work sessions. (Pro tip: be careful that your phone doesn’t melt when you video call people all day. Ask me how I know 😬).
3) Digital workshops
Last week, I gave an online lecture to some 50 women aged 60 and over. For some of the participants, it was the first time they were using Zoom. (And they did a superb job!) They said that their need for new experiences and encounters was now much greater than their fear of Zoom. Ladies, I feel you. During these uncertain times, my need to connect with other freelancers and to develop new ideas is greater than ever. Thanks to Freelance Journalism Assembly and Making Magazine Magic, I attended a couple of really interesting journalism workshops. I would have never taken the time out to attend these events during ‘normal’ times. (What was normal like again?) I didn’t network during these events, but I did feel connected to other freelancers, many of whom proved to be struggling with the same questions as me.
But there’s one thing that I’m still missing in spite of all my Zoom activity – a Friday afterwork drink. Every week is different when you’re freelancing, which makes it extra nice to be able to debrief at the end of the week. It’s why Linda and I decided to have an afterwork drink over Zoom as an experiment of sorts. Which led us to wonder whether you might like to join? The plan is to sit down with a drink of your choosing, to catch up over Zoom, discuss what your week has looked like and exchange experiences for 45 minutes. Would you like to give this a try with us? Shoot us an email and we’ll send you a date and Zoom meeting link!
Speak soon,
Selma
What I’m listening to, reading and watching this week:
How much did you make in 2020? A lot of freelancers offered insight into their finances on Twitter.
A useful list here: five lessons about saying no to poorly paid assignments.
This newsletter was written by Selma Franssen, a Dutch author, journalist and presenter living in Brussels. In two weeks, you’ll hear from Linda A. Thompson, a Belgian journalist, content writer and translator.