I used to hear about freelance designers being ultra-busy and scratch my head in mild puzzlement. After all, isn’t part of the appeal of self-employment the freedom to set your own schedule and work at your own pace? But now, three weeks in, I see what they’re talking about. I am positively booked solid through the end of the year, with no time to take on any new projects until January at the earliest, and barely enough time to divide amongst the projects already on my plate.
A McSweeneyesque unordered list of things I was intending to catch up on in all my newfound spare leisure time before I found out I’d have no leisure time to spare:
- Reading.
- Cleaning.
- Sleeping.
- Watching movies.
- Playing video games.
- Redesigning my website.
- Blogging.
But even so, I’m not the least bit stressed by this workload. My overextended freelance workload is so much more soothing and gratifying than the thankless toil I did as a corporate cog. The projects I’m working on are ones that actually interest me and that I genuinely care about, though I’m not quite ready to reveal what they are just yet. Perhaps soon.
Meanwhile, going freelance is turning out to be the single best career decision I’ve ever made. Granted, it’s only been three weeks and it could all turn to guano in the very near future. But right now everything’s coming up Milhouse.
You are braver than I. I keep thinking about freelance.. but then I decide.. for now. A “steady” paycheck.. is ok.