Freelance Fatigue: 5 Ways to Stay Motivated
Work from home fatigue is REAL! It can be, undoubtedly, very difficult to continue staying motivated when you’ve been working from home or staying self-employed for many years. During year six myself, I’ve felt this more than ever. Here are some ways I’m combatting the slump:
Evolve your offerings. After many years of self-sustaining in the same industry as a freelancer or small business owner, it might be time to think about expanding or evolving the services you offer. Consider giving yourself a 1,000 ft. view of the work you do each day. This can be writing it down or just looking at your inbox to see what your activity looks like. Looking at your week from far away is helpful in identifying which aspects of it are boring you or bringing you down. Make concrete plans to phase of this work or task while broadening your horizons and looking for the next new exciting project.
Let work be slow when it’s slow. Being self-employed or operating on a freelance basis can become frustrating when times are slow. If you’ve been in business a while, you know you will continuing booking projects - you’ve proved yourself. So, relish in the slow times and let yourself breathe. Before you know it, projects will come flowing back and you’ll be busy again, wishing for another break.
Engage in creativity to spark new ideas. Get out of your routine every once in a while to be creative! One of my recent favorites is watercolor painting. Getting unplugged and exercising your brain can be very productive and you’ll return feeling refreshed and revived.
Stay social. This is SO important! During the pandemic, it was easy to pull away - but now that in-person meetings and events are picking back up again, it’s important to get yourself back out there. Make sure you’re connecting with other peers who are self-employed or in similar situations as yourself to join in motivating each other. Friends and family are great to meet with, but their level of understanding is only so deep.
Continue learning. Learn something new, attend a workshop or look for free webinars to help spark your interest in other avenues of business. Even if you don’t end up offering your new skill as a service, you’ll still find intrigue in expanding your knowledge base.
