As freelancers, our workload can be very up and down. We can often get hyped up when we are busy with freelance projects. So when we have reduced workload, we can lean into seeing this as a bad thing.
But I’m here to tell you this doesn’t always have to be true. This post shares insight into how having fewer clients and workload as a freelancer can be good.
My experience
This summer, a few of my retainer clients let me know they would be on holiday, but at fairly short notice, so I hadn’t planned extra workload in advance for the time they would be away. This, therefore, left my schedule pretty open with more free time than I typically would have had if they were not on holiday.
Usually, I would see this as a negative thing and scramble to find work replacements. But this time, I found it pretty therapeutic to enjoy being present in my free time with less workload.
I took a dedicated one-week holiday in summer, completely away from work, and when returning from this break, I was pleased that I didn’t have a truckload of work that had to be done. It was almost like an extended holiday with the light workload I had returned to.
Lesson learnt
I share this to say that instead of looking at having fewer clients for a specific period of time as a bad thing, try to switch it around and see it as an opportunity to explore more things outside of work. Through my light workload in this period, I could explore more leisure activities. And not be so restricted as to how much time I can spend doing them. I could just enjoy them momentarily without thinking too much about deadlines.
Being a creative freelancer means that inspiration can come to you at any time. And even more so when you are outside exploring the beautiful world, God has gifted us with.
Inspiration can come from the most mundane everyday things to the most complex works of art.
Take your downtime with fewer clients to explore this as much as possible. If it helps, view it as a research project without the pressure of a deadline.
It will help you feel refreshed when your clients come flooding back in.
I hope this little note helps you find an alternative view of reducing workload.
