Finding work/life balance
while freelancing. Is it possible?
My evolving journey to find
balance in life, work, and fun.
for freelancers
for clients
Written by Kirsty Ryan, July 17, 2024
I’ve always worked a lot. I take pride in my work and am willing to put in the extra time when it’s needed.
When I was an employee, my time felt a little out of my own hands; it was controlled by my employer. If a project needed more from me, I’d have no choice but to push my personal life to the side and jump into action.
So when I started freelancing, I thought that would end. I’d finally have control over my time and could achieve the work/life balance we all aspire to.
No more late nights or weekend projects for me!
Spoiler alert: That’s not at all how it went down.
Turns out I was my worst boss as a creative freelancer. I was working far too much, saying yes to every job in fear of never being asked to return, and burning the candle at both ends. And somehow a bonus third end. Ya girl burned herself out in record time.
Knowing I couldn’t maintain this speed forever, I committed to working a little less, not burning myself out again. There’d be no more 17 hour days (I wish this was a joke… at the peak of my burnout my Mac told me I was averaging 17 hour days of screentime), and there’d be more time for activities.
The work slowed down (a blessing in disguise!), but I didn’t get to the second part: adding more fun in. Even though I’d managed to carve out more spare time for myself, I wasn’t allowing myself to enjoy it.
Cue flashbacks to uni when I would decline social plans to study, but didn’t study either. The ADHD trait to just sit there, frozen, is so real.
So what now?
Now that I’ve caught myself in old habits, I’m working on adding more fun back into my life and forcing myself to do things I enjoy on weekdays.
I’ve been paddleboarding before work, to the movies in the middle of the day, and to weekday brunches and lunches with friends.
I even started my notes for this post in my apartment complex pool during an early morning dip! Highly recommend.
My paddleboard buddy, Theo, at Porteau Cove, BC.
So is that it? Have I found the balance I was looking for?
Sadly, even while out enjoying life, I do find myself experiencing feelings of guilt that I should be working.
What if someone is sending me a Slack message right now and are disappointed I’m not responding right away? Will I still hit my deadlines?
I’m hoping this guilt will dissipate as I add more fun into my work week and my brain realizes that the earth continues to spin if I start the day in the ocean or eating a delicious meal.
The Slack messages will be there when I get back to my laptop, my deadlines are still achievable, and I’ll actually be more productive if I give myself this time. Repeat to self over and over.
It’s safe for us to have fun AND still deliver work at a level we’re proud of.
Although I understand that this balance is possible in theory, I’m still working on it in practice.
Once I have this conquered, I’m hoping to carve out weekends (I work far more weekends now than I ever did as an employee!) and maybe even entertain Summer Fridays. More on that later!
How are you adding more fun into your freelance life?