by Leo Wiles
08 March 2017
HI Rachel and Leo. I wanted to write in about kind of a weird topic – basically, that working on my own stresses me out. I’ve never been good at it, but going in-house at the moment is not an option for me due to family situations that require me at home more. What are your tips to help stressed out freelancers? T
Freelancing can mean working crazy, often very long hours, dealing with instability and late payments, and the ever-present isolation. Add a demanding home life, and bingo – stress is never far away. I know it well being a mum of three young kids and freelancing around them, but over the years I’ve worked out some strategies that help me keep stress at bay. I hope they help you, too!
Schedule everything. While I may not strictly adhere to 9-5pm, I ensure that a bulk of my home office hours are between post school drop off till pick up to fit in with normal business schedules. I make up some hours in the evening when the kids are in bed, but I try and down tools by 10pm to ensure I am more productive the next day rather than more stressed out and resentful. I also write a to-do list for the next day and power down.
Ban procrastination. We’re all guilty of falling down rabbit holes – be it going deeper into online research than you have to, zipping off on tangents (hey, a video of a bunny eating a flower!), having the ‘news’ on, scanning your Facebook feed, enabling alerts to pop up from social media or your email constantly. If you let them, such distractions just cause more stress as well as halving your potential working hours.
Take regular breaks. Walking the dog at lunchtime or getting up to hang washing can be a good reset. So too is sitting on the front porch to eat your lunch or a ten minute stretch, a walk around the block picking up a quick coffee from your local café or completing a quick household chore like unpacking the dishwasher or folding laundry. Take a break and you’ll be less stressed and more productive when you sit at your keyboard again.
Carve out a workspace that’s yours. It helps you mentally shift into work mode, and you’ll sidestep stress automatically knowing that you have a clean and inspiring workstation, reliable Internet connection and phone to rely on. For those emergency power outs, I also keep a back-up dongle and a key to my folks’ house if things really get bad or the neighbours decide today is the day to jackhammer their concrete driveway.
Create routines to follow during your day. Carving out quiet hours to craft pitches or answer emails, do transcripts or simply bunker down and write can really help you feel like you’re accomplishing something by the time 5pm rolls around.
Catch up with colleagues. Regular communication via the right channels at the right times is essential. Whether that’s a monthly face-to-face lunch with colleagues or planning a regular day to work together or have a brainstorm, this can go a long way towards warding off isolation and stress.
Get a change of scenery. If you’re really struggling with the whole work at home thing, think about using a local café as your coffice, opt for the local library or contemplate renting a shared work space nearby.
Do you suffer from stress? What are your tips for dealing with it?
