The Freelance Life

There’ll probably be more than one entry on the freelance life since it’s … well, my life, for nearly 10 years now. Like any job, it has its good and bad points, but overall, I wouldn’t go back to a regular 9 to 5.
If you’re a social person, freelancing may not be for you. Some days the only person I talk to is the doorman in my apartment building when I go to get the mail. And occasionally I don’t even get downstairs to do that. It can be a solitary life working from home, but I’ve always enjoyed being by myself.
A few general perks:
Working in sweats, T-shirts, shorts… Basically whatever’s clean. No shoes, no makeup, no putting on gloves, hat, scarf, coat, boots in the winter. (Yes, there are times I stand at my window on a snowy, blowy Monday morning and give a superior smile to the huddled masses waiting for the bus.)
You can adjust the thermostat to the temperature YOU want, and there’s always good coffee in the break room.
No managers hover over your shoulder. If you don’t have enough work to keep you busy, you don’t have to sit at your desk and hope you don’t get caught playing Free Cell.
Want to leave at 3:00? Go ahead. No paperwork, no permission needed.
On the other hand, if you like weekends and holidays off and a predictable schedule, you may not be cut out for freelancing. I often have more than one project going, which generally means working in the evenings and on the weekends. I’ve been known to work on Christmas and other major holidays. However, I can do grocery shopping and run errands on weekdays instead of having to wait until the weekend when places are crowded.
Some of my friends have said they admire my discipline in working from home. They claim they could never get up and start working in the morning. Being lazy was never really an option for me if I wanted to eat and pay rent! Besides, there’s really not that much discipline involved when you do something you love. Not to say that every day I wake up and dance down the hall to start working, but for the most part—unless I get a huge inheritance from some mysterious rich relative—I’m happy doing what I do.
LH