Freelancing is great – the flexibility, freedom, autonomy and complete control over your own destiny… right?
That’s certainly what I believed when I started freelancing, and I still do to some degree. However I now realise that as freelancers, we only really simply swap one set of constraints for another.
Want to pay your bills? Make a decent living? Build your reputation? Well then you can’t do whatever you want, because there’s a relatively limited number of paths that you can conceivably follow to achieve these things.
You’re likely to swap your demanding boss for even more demanding clients. You may be even more at the mercy of random market forces. And getting things done in the absence of social pressure can be tricky, no matter how badly you want to.
I was reminded of this when I saw Julien Smith address on his blog how difficult it can be to get things done as a freelancer:
We’re like “Yeah, finally I have time to do what matters to ME,” but then we don’t do it because we think the freedom is what allows for progress. It isn’t.
He’s right. Sometimes the very things we find most constraining about our cubicles are the things that enable us to be most productive. Systems, social pressure and a routine that’s unforgiving of failure may just be what keeps us sharp.
Like everything it’s a trade-off. One set of constraints for another. And both bring freedoms too, in their own unique ways. The real question is, which set of constraints can you most easily live with?
For me there definitely is freedom in freelance. I worked for 15 years in a 9-5 job (well, not really 9-5; non-paid overtime linked to other people’s decisions was one thing I definitively disliked) and it did teach me a lot. I did struggle then with the lack of freedom but I also learnt a lot from great people I worked with. I think this first step was necessary for me to be able to really enjoy freelancing now. I moved country, I changed career, I’m a mum now, and I love being able to pick up my daughter from school everyday, pick her up if she is sick, or attend an important event at school, I’m the one making the decision. A few years as a full-time mum convinced me that I needed to work for my own (and my family’s) sake. What I love most is the freedom to make decisions and act on them. Sure there needs to be discipline, and routines help a lot (I do struggle with my rebellious side too) but they are part of the decision-making process and I can adapt them to my personality and needs of the moment. At the end of the day I feel so much more in charge of my life now.
I appreciate all these comments as a young “aspiring” translator. Most online blogs appear to be written by freelancers, and while I can see its benefits from posts such as these, I am glad you share the pros and cons. I personally think that in looking at the challenges of managing all of the business side of freelancing, the self-discipline necessary to set your own routine, etc. I would prefer starting out in-house or in another 9-5 job requiring translation-related skills, and consider freelancing later in life. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for weighing in with your experiences and thoughts, Corinne, Patricia and Philippa. Interesting distinction between liberty and freedom too, Patricia.
For me too, one of the most important freedom is being able to spend time pursuing non-work interests (or also, work-related interests that an employer wouldn’t consider profitable enough in monetary terms to pursue). In fact, I’d go so far as to say that these interests are the glue that hold my freelance life together.
Freelancing is such a thrill when you start out that I think it can be hard to really understand the downsides. But I feel like I truly “own” my career now I understand and take responsibility for managing them. I’m *so* bad at routine (my rebellious side?!) but its merits are clear to me – I think that will be one of the things I’ll be working on for the rest of my freelancing days!
Thanks for the post, you’ve put your finger on something which has been bugging me for a while.
Sometimes I think back to my in-house days when my working day was confined to specific hours, at a separate location away from my home. But that way of working had its own set of constraints which I would never want to trade the new ones associated with freelancing in for.
I do try to maintain ‘fixed’ office hours as much as a can, even going so far as to state ‘9-5.30pm’ on my email signature (although I’m rarely able to keep to these). As you say, routine can be the best motivator, and I find it easier to set myself a ‘finishing time’, if you like, even if I can’t meet it exactly. It sometimes seems that what I have done is try to bring the constraints I had previously into my new *free*lancing life, but without the luxury of ‘freedom’ away from my work. Then I start to indulge in feeling really sorry for myself.
But in reality, I now have the luxury of being able to manage my workload as I please, and can take some time out here and there without notice (the downside being that I’ll have to make up the time later if I’m in the middle of a project), simply taking my smartphone with me. Some days I’m feeling unmotivated at a particular time, or not as productive as I could be, and I may choose to take some time to regain my energy levels and start again later. True, there are so many things I thought I would have more time for but don’t (certain projects spring to mind…!). But gone are the days of trudging into an office whether or not there was work to do for the sake of putting in the hours, and being beholden to someone else’s decisions.
I think the idealism of *free*lancing is probably a bit of a myth, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, as you rightfully suggest.
Perhaps the nugget is that while independent professionals may have more freedom, that does not guarantee we have more liberty. But maybe I’m splitting word hairs – it’s a professional habit!
Between the two sets of opportunities and constraints, I’ll take freelancing’s in a New York minute. Day in, day out, we have the freedom to choose and to be responsible for our choices. Little is by default, by circumstance, as it can be in a salaried position where you do not necessarily have the capacity to make changes as you see fit. That pair – choice/responsibility – is empowering, because in the end, it is all up to you.
Great point, Sarah! I think that as you say, the key is to focus on the kinds of freedoms that matter to you and on the areas you really struggle with. For me, the most important freedom is being able to schedule my hours and working days so that I can spend time with my family and pursue my non-work interests. So I just accept (most of the time!) that that means checking e-mail from 7AM to 10 PM and rarely being completely out of work mode unless I’m on vacation. The alternative would be to be under someone else’s thumb and be required to go to work whether or not there was work to do, which would drive me nuts. Sometimes the “free” in freelance can get a little muddled, but I’d much rather make my own decisions than follow someone else’s plan of action.