by Vivienne Pearson
30 August 2024
Forget work-life balance. I want to talk about work-work balance, especially for creative freelancers.
By mid-2023 after freelance writing for almost a decade, I found myself increasingly haunted by the spectres of AI and the cost of living crisis. So, I applied for — and was lucky to land — a two-day a week admin role in public health. I think of this new role as a ‘job-job’, which is my name for employment where I work hard but am not interested in career progression, and, though I might not earn a top hourly rate, I don’t need to give my workplace much thought between shifts.
While I was happy to have a new source of reliable income and more structure in my week, this non-freelance writing job wobbled my sense-of-self. Might my clients and other freelancers judge me for not maintaining full-time freelancing?
A year on, my self-doubt has vanished because working part-time has proven a total tonic for my work-work balance. So, writing this article therefore feels a little like a confessional: My name is Vivienne Pearson and I love being a part-time freelancer.
I shouldn’t be so surprised. I’ve always liked variety, I like getting out of the house and I’m a people-person. I also really like admin work (my dream childhood job was to work on an information desk so I could spend my days being helpful to people!).
My part-time job-job has proven to be a boon to (rather than a drag on) my freelancing. Having fewer days available for writing forces a degree of efficiency and limits my seeming endless capacity for procrastination. Plus, I’m earning about the same amount in three days as I was in five, which is then supplemented by my admin work pay.
Like many things in life, it’s heartening to hear from others who have similar experiences. Here’s what I found from speaking with three other Rachel’s List FB Gold Group members who have found an ideal work-work balance.
Anna Christensen is a Freemantle-based writer who started freelancing around 10 years ago, after working for magazines. But, after years of deadlines and churning out content, she felt burned out. “I was finding it super hard to concentrate and be productive,” she says. “I honestly felt like my brain was mush.”
So, Anna got in touch with a friend who’s a coordinator for a disability organisation. “I’ve been doing disability support work along with freelancing for the last few months,” she says. “Honestly, my mental health is so much better now, which I attribute to doing meaningful work, having more reliable income and not being hunched over my laptop all the damn time!”
Like me, Anna has found that her other work has helped rather than hindered her freelancing. “I’m clearer when I’m writing now,” she says. “I feel like I’ve had a refresher of my brain!”
Lisa Almond’s part-time job certainly doesn’t meet my criteria of a ‘job-job’. That’s because she combines freelance communications with working as a paramedic. “Yes, as in lights and sirens in an ambulance, do CPR on people kind of paramedic!” she laughs.
Lisa says she has a dual career, reflecting that if she was offered heaps of well-paid freelance writing, she’d ditch her one-day a week inhouse comms role but would keep her once-weekly paramedic shift.
“It keeps me grounded and puts life into perspective,” she says. “I’m invited into life’s best and worst moments and that is a true privilege.”
Trudie McConnochie is a journalist, content writer and editor who has a very different other part-time role. “I provide healing sessions to clients all around the world over video call,” she says. “I use a combination of angel cards, which shed light on what’s going on in a particular situation, and energy healing, where I work in the client’s energy field to shift deep traumas, fears and limiting beliefs.”
Trudie’s freelance writing occupies around 70 percent of her work time, with her spiritual healing the other 30 percent. “I have a short attention span and really need variety in my work,” she says. “Having two revenue streams also helps keep me afloat financially.”
Trudie’s healing work is also not a ‘job-job’ as she works for herself (she has a large social media and Substack following as One Grounded Angel). But the benefits run deep. “The healing work is so satisfying on a soul level,” she says. “That’s not to say that freelance writing and editing isn’t satisfying, it just invigorates me in a different way.”
“While it’s never been a secret, I never publicly spoke about my paramedic career until recently,” says Lisa (she first spoke about it on a Content Byte podcast episode). Lisa believes that if anyone doesn’t understand her need for variety that they’re likely not her ideal client anyway.
Trudie rarely – if ever – talks about her spiritual work with clients. “Lots of people are really resistant to spirituality so I suspect it could be off-putting,” she says. “But if clients ask me about it – perhaps because they’ve googled me – I’m happy to answer questions. Clients tend to trust me to manage my time and workload effectively, regardless of other commitments I may have.”
Anna is happy to shout loudly about her new other job. “I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to tell other freelancers,” she says. “It’s made a massive difference in my life so I’m happy to share a new perspective that might help someone make changes for the better if they’re struggling with income or mental health while freelancing full-time. Plus, I’m proud of the work I’m doing.”
I’m also proud of playing a small but significant part in our public health system. Not that freelance writing can’t be meaningful (I hope some of my words make a difference to readers) but, in comparison to some of my content writing that doesn’t offer much in terms of social impact, my admin role feels like ‘honest work’.
Sure, my admin job is not highly paid, is far from glamorous and there’s no way I’d want to work in it full-time, but I appreciate the fact that I turn up, work hard for 7.5 hours, then leave it largely behind. (I’m also aware I’m very fortunate to have found a good quality job with great colleagues).
So, if you’re someone who thinks that freelancing success = full-time, please know that working in another field part-time combined with freelancing can make for a very satisfying work-work balance. As Lisa says: “You can be serious about something and not dedicate every waking hour to it.”
Are you a fan of the work-work balance? Maybe you have another job alongside freelancing? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments.
