Ooooh October
How to balance being freelance
Hello friends,
How are you? Hope you’re well and happy and having a cosy day so far.
Does anyone read Anoosha Syed’s substack?
Her newsletter that dropped into my inbox this week resonated with me hard. Being self employed, what’s coming up next is always a worry! It’s hard to not be in control of your own life and finances when you’re in the business of having other people employ you for short periods of time.
Anoosha talks about the importance of having ‘multiple revenue streams so that you have a safety net if any of them dries up’, and she covers it very well so I’m not going to rewrite what she’s already said - because you can just read her post! Instead, I thought it would be more useful to talk about how I cope with balancing lots of projects and commissions and worries at once. It can sometimes be overwhelming to have lots of small revenue streams on the go simultaneously, and these are the things that work for me to help with that feeling. They won’t work for everyone - everyone’s different! yay! - but take from this what you want, and maybe it will spark a new idea for you.
1. Lists
I love a list. I find them especially helpful when I’m balancing lots of different little projects or commissions or ideas, because it can be tricky to remember what needs done and when it needs done for.
I have a double list situation on my desk. I have a To Do list, with a general overview of everything I have coming up right now, and I have a diary with all my deadlines and dates, and what needs to be done that week noted.
I find this super helpful for (at least) four reasons:
I have a visual reminder of what’s going on, and of what needs to be prioritised
I find that I work best if I can pick and choose what I want to work on in the moment. I don’t work through my To Do list in order by any means - I pick what I’m most excited to work on at that moment and go from there
It stops me putting off tasks that I don’t want to do. I can’t cross them off the list until they are done, so the list helps to hold me accountable
Lists are generally extremely satisfying (to me)
2. Work/Life Balance
If you have a lot going on - or equally if you feel like you have nothing going on - it can be very easy to get inside your head, overthink things and become stressed or anxious.
For me personally, having a routine that establishes a healthy work/life balance helps with this a huge amount! I have (rough) set ‘work hours’, with specified breaks for lunch and exercise, and I don’t work or check emails outside of that time. (There are always exceptions I guess - looming deadlines, a sudden strike of inspiration and an itch to draw, but as a general rule I stick to my hours.)
I know I’m very lucky that I have the option to have a set routine at the moment, lots of people aren’t as able to be as flexible with their work time, but there might be other ways to establish small routines within a busier schedule.
I find a structure helpful because it pre-establishes each day as a mini deadline - I’m always aiming to finish things off before the evening come around. It’s also helpful for switching off. It can be easy to become all-consumed by any kind of work, but I think especially for illustrators and artists because your work is all around you - on social media especially - so having that time boundary with yourself is important. Let yourself go meet those friends, drink that beer, play that game, read that book, watch that tv show without feeling guilty that you have stopped working. Creative breaks are important to the creative process!
3. Procrastination Station
We all suffer from distraction, but I find it harder as a self employed person to justify my procrastination because (lets face it) I’m literally not being paid while I’m being distracted. And I find procrastination can rear up more when I don’t have a tight deadline but rather a bunch of little things to be getting along with.
Half of helping procrastination for me is just acknowledging that I am beginning to procrastinate. It might sound counter-productive, but if I can feel a bout of staring into space or reaching for my phone coming on, the best way to stop it is actually just to let it happen.
If I get up, make a cup of tea, get some more water, walk around in another room for a second, it can help reset me. Or, maybe this procrastination feeling means I should work on something else for a little bit to feel a bit more fresh. Or, if it really is just a need to scroll mindlessly for a little bit - it’s ok to allow yourself that, but I find it useful to go do it somewhere else - standing in the kitchen or sitting on a different chair, just so I’m physically changing my location and not associating the feeling of being bored with the feeling of being at my desk.
4. Environment
The last little trick I have is creating an environment I want to work in. If you actually want to be at your desk (or wherever you work), you’re going to be more productive.
My tips for this are:
tasty things to drink - hot drinks, cold drinks, everyday drinks, exciting drinks
keeping your space tidy so you’re not feeling overcluttered, and make it look cute to you want to be hanging out there
scented candles - make your space feel like it’s a treat to be there!
making sure you’re physically comfortable. Are you too hot or too cold? Grab a blanket or open that window. Are you in jeans? Wrong! Get on trackies now. No one can ever see your legs on a zoom meeting anyway. Get comfy!
listen to something that keeps you engaged on your work. For me, podcasts are the thing just now. It used to be music, and before that it was audiobooks - I think I ‘trained’ myself to work at my desk for long hours alone through audiobooks. I played them off my laptop so it stopped me from wandering away, distracted, because if I left the vicinity I’d miss part of the story.
Let me know how you balance projects, work freelance and avoid getting overwhelmed!
A print of mine is featured in this year’s Bird Box Art Trail here in Cambridge! The trail goes around a local neighbourhood over the next month, with artworks in people’s front gardens. So sweet!
✱ Late to the Baked Feta Pasta TikTok trend, it’s a favourite in our house now! It’s so EASY and it works with so many vegetables. Tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, butternut squash…whatever you have in the fridge! Bake your vegetable(s) of choice with a whole block of feta, olive oil and seasoning; mix in some pasta water (from your pre-boiled pasta); squish and stir it all up - and it’s delicious every time!
✱ We moved! It’s been very exciting setting up my desk, arranging my books, picking where to hang pictures. Moving is also exhausting (moving our beloved six foot cactus was no mean feat for example), but lets gloss over that and focus on the positives.
✺ Autumn! I’m excited for orange leaves, hot drinks, cosy jumpers and generally feeling spooky.
Ok, that’s all from me. Have a sunny day!
Hugs, Anna x
