01/02/2022
Being a freelancer or working online doesn't mean you won't face challenges and struggles, no hard work is stress-free, and Freelancers or those who work online usually face these challenges:
-Social isolation or feeling lonely.
-Job insecurity especially when not getting clients consistently.
-Giving more attention to work than the home, which is a negative thing for freelancers who already has a family.
-Poor diet; a common trend to us busy people when we don't have time or energy to cook is when we get our meals delivered for lunch and dinner!
-And the most common is the "Lack of sleep" especially for those who do graveyard shifts and still do daily chores in the morning.
Now all of these challenges are normal and they do tend to give us negative side effects such as unhappiness and will surely make us unhealthy!
So here are some tips to face those struggles:
1. Fix your work schedule!
One great advantage of freelancing is that you can work on your own time, or like any business, they make their business hours. Manage your schedule and don't work too long.
2. Work hard by working smart!
Improve your skills to build your portfolio by taking courses, this will help elevate your value and pay grade. Decline and don't look for low-paying jobs and keep your network big, and make it bigger, online platforms such as Facebook will help you with this and for advanced stuff, Linkedin will surely help you.
Who you know is just as important as what you know.
3. Sleep regularly, eat healthily, and exercise regularly
Please make sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep, and eat healthy food which is done mostly by cooking for yourself and by avoiding sweets and junk foods as snacks. And simple stretching and light exercise (best done in the morning under the sun) that won't take much out of your day will do to keep your circulation and happy hormones flowing. Prioritize your health and yourself more than anything else. If you don't take care of yourself you will lose money when a doctor needs to step in and do it for you.
4. Reward yourself
Having a treat for yourself every now is the cure to feeling depleted, burned out, and resentful, all negative emotions freelancers undergo. Reward yourself with small stuff as you go towards your goal whether halfway or quarterly and most importantly, don't forget to reward yourself after reaching a goal and only when you reach the goal. ( and don't celebrate too early as this might encourage procrastination)
5. Make an effort to socialize and Cut off toxic individuals
Take care of your relationship with your family and friends make time off of your busy schedule by seeing them once or twice a week. Countless studies have linked a healthy social circle with increased happiness, health, and overall well-being.
But surround yourself only with people who support and care for you those who help you grow because they accept your flaws and weaknesses. Never deal with and cut your ties off immediately with jealous people who are happy to see you fall or people leeching off of you, but would never give anything in return.
6. Have multiple sources of income
Having more than one way of earning money will relieve you from job uncertainty as you have something to fall back on when you don't have a client. Making a small business whether locally or online would help out, you can try blog posting or Vlogging, dropshipping or selling art as NFT's and jumping on trends will give you base ideas on what to make a business out of, But most importantly, consider your skills and interests and the demand for the skills or its output.
While freelancing like any job is not gonna be a gold rush every day and storms will come in and get frequent, there is always a way to battle the storms of one's life. Breathe and step back, remember why you started this in the first place, remember who you're doing this for.
