What’s on the iPod: Bats (Acoustic Version) by Dispatch
Today starts a marathon of work and personal details that will probably level me by Friday. Next weekend we’re heading to Boothbay Harbor for my stepdaughter’s wedding (the wedding is in two weeks), and the place we’re staying doesn’t seem to have WiFi. It’s advertising that it does, but all reports point to no. That means I have to have my projects done (in two cases) and nearly done (in another case). Plus hair, errands, personal stuff are all colliding per usual when I’m about to head out of town.
I’ll be working while away, but obviously the connectivity will be limited, as will the time. Hence my marathon.
One thing I’ve removed from my thought process this month is earnings. I know I won’t be earning my targeted amount. I’m okay with that because I’d much rather be able to cover the bills with a little left over than kill myself trying to get six projects done while in a car driving to Maine. In fact, I can thank the retainers I’ve had and lost for the attitude of not relying on anything.
That’s not to say retainers aren’t great — they are absolutely great. But they do have a tendency to lull you into this belief that you’re set for life. You’re not. Freelance earnings are transitional and always, always temporary. So when I lost a retainer last month, I wasn’t too shook up. It happens. It’s happened before. It will certainly happen again.
But we put that pressure on ourselves, don’t we? We allow ourselves to believe that the clients and money in front of us now are our salvation for life. How ridiculous a notion, yet we buy it. Every. Time. It creates this pressure that builds and builds until we have meltdowns over how unsuccessful/talentless/hateful/useless we are. It’s all nonsense, and it’s a huge source of stress.
So how do you remove the pressure?
Stop relying on the pipe dream. I’ve seen good writers implode because those dreams they have aren’t happening or are taking longer than they expect. Instead of bemoaning what isn’t working, why not examine why it isn’t working? What do you need to do in order to make that dream a reality?
Stop wrapping everything in deadlines. I don’t mean your client deadlines (you have to meet those without fail). I mean stop saying “I’ll be earning $100,000 by next June” or “I want to have my first book published by…” It’s great to have goals, but I’ve seen more writers melt into pools of despair when their personal timelines aren’t met. So what if it takes you a few more years to get that book out or earn that money? You could (and should) be using your time to build a plan for making it happen and above all, learning the ins and outs of the process you’re about to undertake.
Stop reveling in the salvation-of-the-moment. I remember the first time I had (and lost) a retainer. I lost two clients in a matter of two weeks, both paying me retainer fees. I had banked on them for the long haul, but their budgets (and needs) disappeared overnight. That taught me a huge lesson — think of even the sure thing as nothing more than transitional cash.
Stop putting all those eggs into one basket. Show of hands — how many writers have relied heavily on the income from one client and have seen that income disappear when the client disappears? Or how many writers have started a project and expect, with minimal input, for it to have taken off and provided huge surpluses of cash? Align reality with your efforts. Diversify.
Don’t stop marketing. Just because you’re making enough money now doesn’t mean you can relax. Tomorrow isn’t now, and it could be the day the bottom drops out of your income. While that may seem like it adds stress to your life, it doesn’t. Marketing every day makes your life easier in the long run and keeps that income stream steady.
Readjust or let go of what isn’t working. If you can’t make that dream work, or if you can’t get that project you’ve had so much passion for launch, why are you letting it stress you? Either adjust your expectations or let it go entirely. Not everything you do will be a raging success.Why let it consume all your energy with the stress of it? Make that project a secondary source of income or let it go as that thing that didn’t quite gel for you. It’s not a failure — it’s a good business decision.
Writers, how do you remove stress and pressure from your life? Have you ever had to adjust your expectations or realign your efforts?
7 responses to “Taking the Pressure Off Your Freelance Life”
I'm in the process of realigning right now. Why? One of my main clients changed it's payment process, and the "new, more efficient" system takes nearly three times as long as their previous one.
While I like knowing I'll have a nice check at the end of the summer, it doesn't pay my immediate bills. So I'm actively seeking more clients to try to balance out the uneven revenue stream.
The last week or so I've been targeting custom publishers – that seems like a good way to transition from features to more corporate type assignments.
I try never to take it for granted that an existing client will supply me with a given amount of work every month, quarter or year.
I'd love to land a retainer type situation, but right now I'll be happy to add a semi-steady client to help even the flow.
Awesome advice, Lori. I tend to become overwhelmed quite easily these days, and what helps me is to prioritize. I focus on where my attention absolutely needs to be at that moment and push through until the task is complete. Then I move on to the next item on the list, and so on.
I also assess my goals constantly and shift focus and goals accordingly. I mix up my marketing tactics and am currently trying out some new things. Keeps things interesting which is essential when earnings dip.
I have been like a pit bull on a bone about committing time and energy to my personal writing/entrepreneurial pursuits, and it's paying off. Investing in yourself is always a good decision.
Like you and Paula, I don't depend too much on one client supplying me with enough work to exist on. Learned that lesson early on. Diversify those eggs!
Paula, sounds familiar. My own situation is the same — lots coming in sometime in July and August, but in the immediate, less so.
Kim, you're one of the smartest freelancers I know. I've seen you doing the reassessments regularly. It really does help, doesn't it?
Love the image of your guarding your personal time. 🙂
I'm all for personal deadlines actually. I'm a firm believer that goals should be both specific and measurable. But that doesn't mean they're written in stone.
I try to do a quarterly evaluation and re-assess my long-term goals, changing them when necessary. I do the same with my 3-year publishing plan. And I look at smaller goals monthly. So far, so good.
The key, for me at least, is just being able and willing to reassess your situation from time to time and not tie your self-worth to self-imposed rules or deadlines that won't always make sense down the road. In my case I feel far more pressure without deadlines because it's easier to let things slide. As I watch time pass me by and things aren't getting finished, that's where a lot of the stress comes from for me. Then I feel like I don't know where to start or how to get things on track… because I never laid that track in the first place.
Just my $.02. 🙂
Jenn, maybe I should have added a caveat to my statement: If you're the type of person who gets stuck a lot on why something hasn't happened by a certain milestone (and you're not one to necessarily move on it), then you should drop the deadline.
I'm with you — I'm someone who puts a deadline on something and moves toward it. But I've seen so many people never really go beyond wishing for something. And you know too that plenty of people don't bother to reassess, even their own earnings. They take a passive approach — march on and wait for something to happen. How the devil do you get anywhere that way?
You should definitely teach people how to assess and build a plan. You've done an exceptional job of that.
Great advice, Lori. The hardest lesson for me to learn was to be constantly marketing. It took a while but I'm finally starting to understand that I should market before I need money in the bank. 🙂
Amen, Savannah! It was my toughest lesson, too. 🙂