If you’re feeling less motivated day after day, you could be staring at burnout as the scale tips toward more work than life.
And that doesn’t bode well for freelancers. The boundary determining how and where freelancers work has blurred, leading to a potential mix between work and personal life. Like it or not, a good work-life balance is key for freelancers to thrive (work and personal life) in a modern-day world.
That’s what this guide is all about — to re-balance your life as a freelancer.
Why do Freelancers Struggle to Achieve Work-Life Balance?
Work-life balance is personal. For some, it means work hours only. For others, it means a flexible schedule for jobs, leisure, exercise, meals, and breaks.
Whichever defines yours, the key is to set a routine that helps you meet your goals. Doing so strikes a balance that helps you get the most done in your life.
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance as a freelancer should never be underestimated, especially for those who are self-employed. It promotes
- higher productiveness
- less stress
- far better mental and physical health.
Those who take care and create time for themselves report that they are more satisfied with their professional life.
Personally, ‘work-life balance’ is more about creating a healthy blend of work and personal time that lets in self-care and breathing space. It means defining clear boundaries to prevent burning out.
Of course, that’s easier said than done because I’ve lost count of the times when I woke up feeling drained and heading into a massive burnout. Still, let’s do our best to balance or integrate our work and life so we can consistently excel in our jobs.
8 Effective Strategies for Balancing Work and Life
1. Create a structured schedule
Establishing a plan is essential and helpful for freelancers to create a life in which they can have a holistic way of working and living. This routine gives space for hobbies and personal care, as you know exactly when to work and when to let go of your work.
In addition, setting a schedule lets you prioritize urgent tasks, which allows you to effectively meet deadlines while still maintaining a life beyond your work. This balance between work and life leads to increased productivity and improved physical and mental health.
2. Incorporate regular breaks
Including pauses in your workday can help save your life as a freelancer. Taking a break can even help recharge you (mentally and physically), lowering your chances for burnout. Breaks also let you do something physical, think about something else, or just psych off.
And because of the productivity benefits – bundled approaches to breaks are particularly useful in this context. For example, I take a 10 minutes break every hour of writing. The small break helps to rest my mind, and also get my body moving.
If you struggle to take breaks, use a Pomodoro timer. Just set it, and you’ll be reminded when it’s time for a breather.
3. Delegate tasks to enhance efficiency
Delegation is essential to increase efficiency for freelancers working on productivity and life balance. This reduces stress, which improves their quality of life by allowing them to consider their priorities.
That said, not all tasks can or should be delegated. For example, if your client contracted you as a graphic designer, they expect you to be the one performing the task. If you delegate, the deliverables might not be on par with the client’s expectations.
Rather, delegate tasks that do not directly influence the deliverables but take up substantial time. For example, you can delegate accounting and tax management to another freelancer instead of tending to them on your own.
4. Set boundaries between personal and professional life
Creating a healthy separation between work and life is important if you’re a freelancer. Be sure to define your work hours and personal time, which will help you avoid spending too much work time on non-work activities (and vice versa).
By sharing these details with your clients you can get some personal rest or enjoyment in a time without disturbances. Let’s say you don’t take calls or answer emails after 6 PM; communicate that with your clients.
Note: This is hard to practice in certain industries. For example, freelance interpreters may operate in their client’s time zone, which might mean working through the night.
5. Utilize tools and apps for time management
Freelancers can use apps to balance life and work better. Some send reminders, some help choose the order in which tasks need to be completed in. This approach makes being well-organized easier, which translates into more time for family, pets, and personal leisure.
I use three tools to get things done on time.
- ClickUp lets me schedule my workload weeks or months ahead.
- NotePlan allows me to jot my thoughts down and turn them into a time-based plan.
- The Sticky Notes app is where I create my daily to-do list.
6. Engage with online communities for support (e.g., Reddit, LinkedIn)
Participate in niche communities on social media like Reddit and LinkedIn, and you may find many other freelancers who echo these sentiments. A freelancer community can offer a constant flow of new ideas and feedback that helps you improve. There’s even room to share experiences and constructive criticism.
Trust me, many freelancers share the same ordeal as you. We’re humans, and we get burned out if we don’t keep life and work apart. Or if we don’t know when to call it a day. So, get out there, put yourself in the community, and make friends with fellow freelancers.
That’s what I did this year — by hopping onto LinkedIn. And that’s where I connected with fellow freelancers in different countries. You can find me on LinkedIn here.
7. Implement daily self-sare practices
Take care of yourself. Self-care is a win for freelancers who regularly need to ensure they are comfortable and productive. That’s an important way to stay balanced. Listen to what your body and mind need, and nourish them.
For example, it’s easy to overlook our diet when we’re busy with our work life. Or we’re not aware of our stress level and give in to the crushing weight of the negative emotions.
At times, take a break, I mean, a true break. And this means no checking emails, no taking calls, and no ‘thinking’ about work. Instead, take a walk, treat yourself to something fancy, or meet up with friends you’ve never seen for ages.
These little things, which might not seem significant, can help you stay on the narrow path of work-life balance, especially if you work from home.
8. Identify signs of burnout and take action
Be aware of early signs of burnout, such as fatigue, frustration, and lower productivity, which often indicate a problem that needs to be fixed immediately. Heed these internal warnings before it’s too late. This way, you can more readily decide to eliminate work, set firmer boundaries, or increase self-care practices.
Final thoughts
Freelancing can be a rewarding lifestyle, but you can get burned out without realizing it if you don’t balance your work and life. It takes discipline and consistency to prioritize well-being, take breaks, and organize your workflow so you can get enough breaks.
I’ve shared tips to help you craft a more healthy freelancing lifestyle. I hope they help you in staying productive while enjoying the flexibility that freelancing offers.
What other work-life balance tips and strategies do you have for fellow freelancers? Share them in the comment below.
FAQ
How do freelancers maintain work-life balance?
Freelancers draw that line between the work and at-home part of their day. They get something that puts them in the zone, then build a committed schedule. For example, t they get away from that computer screen at least once every hour. When they take the day off, they don’t work or answer emails. They also have an evening routine so their brain is aware it’s time to stop working.
How many hours a day should a freelancer work?
Freelancers should try to work six to eight hours daily. This can change based on the task and your productivity. Concentrate on working efficiently, not working longer hours. Be sure to take breaks so that you don’t work too hard and get tired.
Can I be a freelancer and have a full-time job?
Yes, you can freelance and work full time. You will need to be careful with how you spend your time. Make sure you have good boundaries to protect yourself. You will also need to balance both jobs in a way that is healthy.
Accordingly, it is important for you to ensure that your freelance work does not interfere with your primary job responsibilities. Something else that you can do is to manage your workload in a way that you do not become exhausted.
