Freelance world: the
juggling act of life
Get liberated! Feel
free! Be your own boss! Let us all become freelancers; fine if all will become
freelancers where will we find work? Who cares buddy? Hop on the bandwagon and
you won’t regret it! These were some of my feelings when I first quitted my
‘regular’ job and decided to become a freelancer. I had some deep rooted
notions about freelancing; for me it was some kind of glorious joy ride where I
will be free from criticism of my boss or superiors. My collar would be free
from the confinement of a ‘tie’. My dress will be according to my own
preferences. I will be free to take trips or dine out whenever I pleased. I
will be rewarded more with less input and above all I will be paid in ‘green
bills’.
Some of my notions turned
out to be misconceptions; ok fine I will rephrase most of them turned out to be
incorrect. Being a freelancer is no ‘joy ride’ though it definitely has its
perks and advantages. Do not for a moment assume that I am opposed to being a
freelancer; if I am doing freelance work then I cannot deny its utility or benefits but there are
headaches too, friends. Most of freelancing work revolves around the internet
therefore ‘time difference’ plays a crucial role in success or failure of an
individual.
I used to go to sleep at 2 a.m. in the night and loved to wakeup at
11 in the morning but alas! My first client lived in a totally different time
zone at 6 a.m. when I was dreaming about ‘quick bucks’ he gave me a call and
woke me up for at his end the clock showed 8 pm and he required the ‘work’ done
before midnight. Thus friends! My first task involved a lot of hot coffee and
drooping eye lids but I managed it. It was my first experience where I learned
to ‘juggle’ my sleep with free lance commitment.
This was the beginning
only; my family wanted to visit a close relative in one of the remotest areas
of India, luckily I could take my laptop with me while enjoying all the ‘bumps’
of roads but sadly I found out that there are places in my country where Wi-Fi
and internet connections sound like a far fetched dream. When I returned 3 days
later to the ‘global connectivity world’ I had to deal with whims of several
‘angry clients’ who were justified in their reactions.
So I modified my
strategy and started juggling tasks; even performing two or three functions at
the same time. Last month I was sitting in a Chinese restaurant with my family
devouring deep fried prawns while typing instant messages on my smart phone and
talking to my mother about how to make a chicken biryani. Reasons were simple;
messages were being sent to a regular client, knowing the recipe was essential
for I had to write an article about it and eating with my family at the
restaurant was mandatory for it happened to be my sister’s birthday.
Get the
picture; the secret of success for a freelancer is his or her ability to
‘juggle’!
Welcome to the blogosphere, buckle up! I started last year a little before you in June, but man was it a bumpy start. Freelance is not some joyride, it is HARD work and I am still trying to get where I want to be. I am one yr in and still a bit lost , but not as much as before. I love the convenience of making money at home, but with it comes it's own price. Great article!
ReplyDeleteYa that's true "it comes with it's own price". totally agree with you Brie, so lets juggle in our freelance life :)
ReplyDeletefreelance is such a promising thing... but to a girl like me who sometimes cant work without some structured order or sometimes I need some pushing cant I cant just push my self enough..
ReplyDelete