by Megan Blandford
20 April 2018
Freelancing is hard – but you knew that.
It’s very difficult to admit to, though. People see your byline, without seeing the blood, sweat and tears that go behind it. They assume that success comes fairly easily. I’ve probably fed that illusion; I’ve talked about how fortunate I feel to support my family by doing what I love, and I downplay the effort it takes.
But here I am, humbly admitting that it’s been a hard slog.
For years, I’ve started every month, every week, at zero, and turned that nothingness into thousands of words and an income. I’ve cold called and pitched countless times, found enough courage every day to send my ideas out with the potential for rejection. I’ve built up solid relationships, watched some of those disintegrate outside my control (the day a great editor leaves a publication is a sad day in the life of a freelancer), ridden the highs and lows of it all. And when I’m not at my desk, I’ve been thinking about all the things I should be writing.
And I’m exhausted.
I’ve recently made a decision, one that I’ve been tossing around for a year: I’m taking my foot off the pedal that’s had me at full pelt freelancing speed for years now.
What that looks like is yet to make itself apparent, because I’m not known for taking things easy. The idea, though, is to continue freelancing, but with less pressure on myself.
I intend to do less chasing and less worrying about coming up with idea after idea. Instead, I need to refresh myself after years of the ups and downs of freelancing.
But my main motivation for taking the foot of the pedal is to focus on writing manuscripts. With an agent by my side and an impending sense that this is where I’m supposed to head, I’m going to do exactly what I did when I started writing in the first place: throw out the rule book and give myself a shot at succeeding.
After all, success requires time.
If the constant hustle has you feeling as tired as me, here are some ideas for easing back a bit.
Take a mini-break. A break doesn’t have to mean shutting shop, or even taking a big chunk of time off. If you’re exhausted, maybe aim to take a week off to start with, and see if that helps you hit refresh on your energy levels.
Have financial back-up. Unfortunately, my electricity provider and house insurer (and all the rest) don’t understand that I won’t be earning as much, so the bills keep flying in. Sigh. You’re going to need some money saved up before you can ease back; it might be worth putting a little aside now, just in case you need a break in the near future.
Have a purpose. What’s your break for? It’s a good idea to have some direction in mind, whether it’s taking a break to reignite your passion for the job, to relax and recharge, or to work on other projects.
What are you doing with your clients? If you have current regular clients, you might choose to keep some so you still have a little income flowing in. If you’re keen to give away some of your clients, have a conversation with the client so you don’t burn any bridges and prepare some recommended colleagues you can refer them to.
Keep the doors wide open. I’m still freelancing, just with less intensity than I have been, so it’s important for me to keep the doors to job opportunities wide open. No matter what you’re doing with your break, consider keeping your business doors open – even just a little ajar – so you can come back whenever you need to.
Freelancing is hard, we all know that (even if we do find it hard to admit). What I’ve learnt is that we all need to take a foot off the pedal sometimes, whether it’s to recharge a little or to create space to follow other passions.
Have you taken a break from freelancing? We’d love to hear your experiences.
