Importance of wellbeing for freelancers – lessons from a real-life experience
It’s an article where I draw on my recent life experience when I almost became immobile due to a health issue. I also draw on the lessons I learned when things get too overwhelming and how to approach burnout in the future. As freelancers, we are constantly faced with dilemmas. Some of these, such as job security, might have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic for some of us. After the first lockdown was announced, my regular workload had changed and I found myself receiving more job offers from IT and gastronomy sectors – I guess that kind of sums up the pandemic economics: a lot of tech and food!
The summer was fairly quiet but I don’t mind that as I use that time to exercise, socialise and be outdoors in general. It wasn’t until autumn arrived that things began to get busy again. I don’t know how you approach this, but with my regular clients I strive to fulfil their requests as often as possible – of course there is also a limit to your productivity and one needs to draw a line between being a productivity junky that has no limits and an organising your productivity. In order to prevent burnout and maintain a work-life balance, I normally avoid working evenings and weekends. Having said this, I felt that recently I might have taken on a lot of work which led to multiple burnouts and eventually a health issue. As I mentioned, I try to exercise regularly. This time, I found myself working and exercising too much. Due to lockdown, I took up running again and I used every opportunity to get out and run especially after a long day’s work. In one month I clocked up more than 150 miles of running. One day, I found myself in intense pain and it lasted for days on end. I won’t go into too much detail but I was not able to walk or sit properly for a good week. In my opinion, this was due to sitting for extended periods of time. This was for the purpose of getting the work done and going on to the next project. I sometimes start working at 6am and finish at 6pm or even later.
Now I try and take a break at least every 25 minutes. I take a break and use the pomodoro technique described below. I also purchased a coccyx cushion and am looking forward to trying out a kneeling chair next time. I stopped using the cushion after pain in my lower back went away. I never bought a kneeling chair as I wasn’t convinced that I could work comfortably seated in it. Instead I bought a fairly expensive Secret Lab gaming chair after extensive research into what chair to purchase. So far, I have been happy with it. It’s a very well built chair with a lot of support.
“The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that encourages people to work with the time they have—rather than against it. Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks. These intervals are referred to as pomodoros. After about four pomodoros, you take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes.” You can read more about it here: https://bit.ly/2N7B9gk
I have just finished reading Sarah Townsend’s “Survival Skills for Freelancers: Tried and Tested Tips to Help You Ace Self-Employment Without Burnout” which has so much valuable information on how to prevent burnout. I will be writing a separate review about this invaluable resource that every freelancer should read.
As freelancers, we might have our worries about financial security but our wellbeing should be the biggest priority. We cannot benefit from our hard work if we are not healthy and well. It’s imperative to manage your day and not let the day manage you. This can include making your workload more manageable. You can also work with clients that you enjoy working with the most. Find ways of working smarter, taking regular breaks away from work and screens, moving as much as you can and not neglecting your biggest asset, your own wellbeing!
Just to recap, some of the things that we can do to improve our wellbeing can include:
✅ manage your day and not let the day manage you
✅ make your workload more manageable
✅ work with clients that you enjoy working with the most
✅ find ways of working smarter
✅ take regular breaks away from work and screens
✅ consider using the Pomodoro Technique where you focus on a task at hand for 25 minutes and take a 5 minute break (see the article)
✅ move as much as you can throughout the day including walking outside
About the author:
My name is Ali Yildirim. I originally studied Classical Archaeology at the University of Istanbul, before coming to the UK in 2001 and working as an archaeologist for 2 years.
I have worked in the language services industry in various roles including as a teacher of Turkish, interpreter and bilingual teaching assistant before setting out as a freelance Turkish translator in 2005. I obtained a diploma in translation in 2012 and became a member of the Institute of Chartered Linguists in the same year and obtained a Chartered Translator status in 2019. I am also a qualified member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting and ISO 17100:2015 Qualified Translator.
