Top tips for a stress free freelance life

Freelancing is great but it’s not always a walk in the park. In fact, it often isn’t.

That said I’ve found that as long as you follow a number of steps and take precautions, it should be a lot less stressful.

Freelancing affords an enviable level of flexibility and autonomy.

It’s a big win in my eyes but it does come with a trade off or two. For one, you don’t get the security and protections you get working for an employer. You have to fend for yourself.

Most of the problems freelancers face are as a result of either being taken for a ride or not taking seriously enough the responsibility they hold.

Here’s some things I’ve learnt already in my freelance life that help to alleviate potential stress and ensure my business works for me.

Get a contract

You’ll see this advice everywhere. It’s an absolute must.

Having some sort of agreement in writing makes everything else a lot more stress free.

I’ve been pretty fortunate so far. I’ve not worked for any dodgy clients and the majority have been great and have paid on time. Quite a few pay straight away and for that I am eternally grateful.

You can never be too careful though. And it’s not just for your own financial protection.

A good contract should reassure your client that you are going to undertake the task you’ve said you will do and provide details about what you are actually going to provide.

By putting this in writing you should hopefully be on the same page about what it is exactly you’re going to do, therefore covering your back, should any future misunderstanding occur.

I built mine from a template I found on the ProCopywriters website. Obviously, it’s wording largely concerns copywriting specifically but you could use it to give you a general idea of what to include in yours.

Here’s some things to make sure you include in your contract:

-       Project summary and agreements

-       Changes and revisions

-       Copyright

-       Deadlines

-       How much you expect to be paid and when

-       Cancelling the contract

-       Further details about the job

-       Sign on the dotted line…

Give yourself deadlines and margin

I’ve definitely done projects where no deadline was agreed and I’ve done some where I’ve agreed too many deadlines in too short a time frame.

In the first instance, there’s no sense of urgency and the work just sits there not being completed but at the same time taking up mental real estate that I could be using for other things (I mean getting paid is obviously a pretty good motivator so there’s no danger of it not getting done).

However, if you have multiple things to complete, setting a deadline allows you to schedule work and put everything in its own box. You can tackle one thing at a time and not have to worry about completing everything at once.

On the flipside, it can be very difficult to work out exactly how long something can take so sometimes you give yourself too tight of a margin.

Even if you technically have enough time to finish something, you’re not accounting for anything else life throws at you. Life often doesn’t go to schedule and new, more urgent things can pop up, so it’s important to give yourself a buffer.

I sometimes feel uneasy giving a client a deadline that seems like a long way off but every time I don’t, I kick myself for not giving myself enough time to think, plan, write, think some more, write, edit, proof…

You may get it done much sooner. Great. It’s always better to under promise and over deliver.

But, you can only do that with a healthy margin. Otherwise you put yourself in a position where you end up doing the opposite.

Talk money, fast

Whenever talking to a new potential client I get the money talk out of the way early on.

It’s kind of crazy how uncomfortable people are talking about money. I sort of get it and I sort of don’t.

When you walk past an item in the shop, the price is right there in front of you. You know what it is, even when you have a look at the box, turn it over, mull over the benefits and weigh them against said price.

But you always know the price. If it’s completely out of your budget you’re unlikely to consider the purchase any further.

As much as it’s a little deflating when a promising lead switches off when the price is mentioned, I’d much rather it happens early doors than getting an hour or 5 emails deep into a conversation before they realise what it’s going to cost.

It’s much more awkward and is time wasted for both parties. Price is rarely, if ever not going to be a factor or important piece of information in somebody’s decision. And that’s fine, so it’s our responsibility to give that information.

Even if price isn’t going to be an issue at all, I’d rather be open and honest about what it will cost.

I don’t like the idea of being cagey about cost as if it’s something to be ashamed of. Because it isn’t. Imposter syndrome can make it feel like it is but that’s all that is. Imposter syndrome.

These are 3 big things that I thought it was worth pointing out but there’s obviously lots of other things that make working life less stressful.

Some practical in-work things: get a down payment/deposit // use accounting software.

And some outside work things – rest // take breaks and holidays // plan // plan rest.