In November 2018, I quit my Salesforce developer job and began working as a freelance tech writer. I was still learning the ropes, excited about the flexibility and freedom freelancing promised. I’d read articles by seasoned freelance writers who were living it up! They were traveling the world, working from the beach, and wandering around their city on a Tuesday. I wanted that!
I’m sure you guessed… I quickly learned that freedom isn’t guaranteed in freelancing.
Right off the bat, I realized I’d traded one scramble for another. My new business demanded more of me than my 9-to-5. I stayed up late working, juggled a roster of many small clients, attended impromptu client calls… I even forgot to rest on the weekends.
While I enjoyed this hustle initially, over time I realized this wasn’t sustainable.
Slowly, I changed my ways.
Today, I work on projects that excite me, while also luxuriating in the freedom that isn’t promised but is possible with freelancing. Here’s how you, too, can reclaim your time, power, and energy, engage in work that fulfills you, and bake fun and rest into your daily routine.
Create Boundaries for Yourself
While it’s okay — even necessary — to work hard on your business when you’re trying to get it off the ground, you still need to set some boundaries, so your work doesn’t chew up valuable time needed for other areas of your life, such as family, hobbies, rest, and friends.
You can set boundaries around eating healthy, taking weekends off, spending evenings with family members, or being available for calls only during certain hours and days of the week.
If you allow it, your work can invade every aspect of your life.
What needs to be safeguarded? Create boundaries for yourself around those areas.
Create Boundaries for Clients
If you don’t occupy the driver’s seat of your business, you can find yourself feeling taken advantage of by clients with unreasonable expectations.
Although we’d like to work with clients who adhere to the codes of basic human and professional conduct, that’s not always the reality. So, you need boundaries to protect yourself and create mutually rewarding relationships with clients.
These boundaries could be:
- I’m unreachable on weekends.
- I need a 24-hour notice for calls.
- My project minimum is $1,000 per month.
- I charge extra for services outside the agreed-upon scope.
- If you cancel a project midway, a 70% kill fee will apply.
- I charge 50% of the invoice amount in advance.
- We will sign a contract that either party can provide.
- I communicate exclusively through email.
Not all these boundaries will be relevant to you. So, consider what boundaries you need to do your best work and protect your interests.
Boundaries are not barriers but the basis of healthy professional relationships.
Explore Business as a Personal-Development Arc
Here’s my thesis: Running a business is a personal-development journey.
After all, business life and personal life both involve relationships, assuming responsibility for yourself, being self-driven, and bringing value to those who trust you.
Being in therapy showed me how much my personal issues impacted my business.
Every struggle I had as a person reflected in my business — people pleasing, perfectionist tendencies, lack of self-trust and self-belief, analysis paralysis, and imposter syndrome.
As I began working on myself, my personal life and business both improved. So, this is your opportunity to take care of yourself, to work on yourself, and to continue your healing journey no matter how woo-woo it seems.
As you learn more about yourself and the world, you’ll opt out of the systems and relationships that are actively harming you and design a way of life that works for you.
Add Rest, Fun, and Exploration to Your Days
Once you’ve set boundaries for yourself and your clients and started working on yourself, you’ll feel like you’re doing a lot! And you are. So, remember, you need a break — every day and often.
Without breaks, stress can build up and lead to burnout, anxiety, depression, and autoimmune conditions that hinder your life.
The antidote? Add rest, fun, and exploration to your days like it’s part of your job description. This isn’t optional.
Here are a few ideas:
- Go for a walk and see the sunset.
- Go on a hike and explore a nature trail.
- Watch an international movie with subtitles.
- Host a themed community circle — like this “Celebrations Meet” I held IRL.
- Get a massage.
- Enjoy an afternoon picnic with friends and family.
- Play cards or a board game with loved ones.
- Visit a local museum.
- Take a short weekend trip.
- Spend 15 minutes in silence on the yoga mat.
- Practice yoga, breathwork, and meditation.
- Listen to an enriching podcast or ebook.
- Indulge in a sweet treat from a local café.
- Cook a simple, yet scrumptious, meal.
- Book a hotel for a short staycation.
- Solve a jigsaw puzzle.
- Draw something and color it.
- Create a photo album that highlights your best memories from last year.
- Have a dance party alone or with friends.
- Read a book for the enjoyment of reading.
When you were younger, freer, and more prone to pursuing reckless joy, what did you love to do then? Do it today. And don’t be precious about it. Incorporate it into your everyday life. Fill up on joy, every day.
Refusing hustle culture doesn’t mean giving up on your goals and dreams. It means you don’t postpone life. You want to chase your goals and build toward your dreams, but you aren’t bartering your joy today for the possibility of success tomorrow. You can have both — a successful, growing business, and a life that screams joy and rest.