When running your own business as a freelancer it is easy to slip into burnout by overworking or neglecting some essential aspects of life. For sure, hard work is what makes success happen to freelancers. But you don’t want to be the richest and most successful freelancer in the graveyard! You want long and balanced life and career.
Therefore, some essential self-care practices are vital if you want to thrive in your freelancing life keeping high productivity, concentration, and sense of overall well-being at very high levels for the years to come.
Hayden Brown, the CEO of Upwork, one of the largest websites for freelancing has stated a principle that helps her and her team to stay balanced while giving their best:
“We have a mantra at work: take care of ourselves first. Because if we aren’t nourishing ourselves, how can we be expected to do our absolute best?”
So don’t let exhaustion or overwork take over, act now to make sure you are nourishing all aspects of your being. You can start by implementing these 5 essential and easy self-care practices.
1. Schedule Time for Live Connection with Other People
One aspect of life that freelancers often neglect is to cultivate nourishing relationships with their family and friends. As social beings, we need in-person human interaction and connection in order to thrive.
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A meaningful conversation with your spouse or your partner, a game with your children, or a heartfelt chat with a parent or a best friend is what will make a world of a difference not only for you but for your loved ones too!
Plan in advance to be social every once in a while, by going to a networking event where you can meet other freelancers and have a beneficial exchange of ideas on life and career.
Make human contact a priority as it will refresh your brain and make it more creative once you get back to work. It will give you a sense of connection and belonging to other humans and a society that is so therapeutic for our health and well-being.
Tips to maintain thriving relationships with your friends, loved ones, and society
- Make time every day for your spouse and children
- If you have pets, dedicate some time to play with them too
- Visit your parents every once in a while, and express your love and concern
- Schedule time for social or networking in-person events
- Connect with positive people in live conversations and activities like sports or recreation
2. Make Sure You Sleep Enough
Sleeping may seem to some as a waste of time, but this is a very narrow and short-sighted view! Sleeping is a time-saver, in the long run! The National Sleep Foundation recommends has proven that in order to maintain health and vitality, adults need from 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night.
During sleep time your brain and nervous system recover and rebuild their energy. This way you can carry on your freelancing activities with renewed creativity and efficiency.
So, schedule to go to sleep at a certain hour, and make your bedroom and surroundings as relaxing as possible during rest time. Keep this habit of self-care and you will see your freelancing career and the quality of your life improve dramatically!
Tips for improving your sleeping habits as a freelancer:
- Think of sleep as an investment in your health and productivity
- Schedule time for going to bed and stick to it
- Create a relaxing pre-sleep routine that aims to help your brain unwind and relax from the stress of the day
- Limit the exposure to electronic devices at least one 1 hour before sleeping
- Remove all work-related stuff from your bedroom and anything that relates to your job
- Avoid caffeine and stimulants
3. Build Healthy Eating Habits
Freelancers often fall short of properly taking care of their meals. When working at home and there are no children or a partner that demands to be fed, often freelancers forget to schedule and organize their meals in a healthy and sustainable way.
They reach for food once they feel the pangs of hunger, without making the best food choices. This model of compulsive eating is working against your health and career in the long run. You don’t want to spend your hard-earned freelancing money on costly medical bills.
To maintain this freelancing human machine of yours in excellent condition for a long time, you should supply it with first-class fuel – this means, nutrition-dense foods – a lot of fruit, greens, veggies, healthy grains, and enough water.
Tips to organize your healthy meals:
- Prepare a meal plan during the weekend for the week ahead
- Schedule time for shopping once a week and fill your fridge with healthy foods
- Ditch high carb and unwholesome foods, prepare some healthy snacks to grab in “desperate moments” – like fruit, wholegrain crackers, or a smoothie.
- Prepare the ingredients ahead of time and store them in plastic bags or food containers in the fridge, so it takes less time to take them and throw them in the oven
- Schedule your time for meals and for meal preparation and stick to it!
4. Move your Body!
Another essential element of your self-care routine as a freelancer is exercise. You should regularly add movement to your day in order to keep your blood circulation and energy levels high.
Be creative and choose your favourite form of movement – from walk in the park to biking and running. Find a gym buddy to make the moving time more enjoyable and interesting. Buy a yoga class or a swimming pool membership for a longer period, this financial commitment will make the good habit stick.
Freelancers working from home often sit at their computer desks for long hours, and this takes its toll on their back and hip joints’ mobility and flexibility. Taking a 5-minute break in-between your work sessions to make some quick cardio like jumping jacks, and then a few stretches will increase the blood flow, release the tightness in the muscles and boost your creativity and productivity as a freelancer. Try it to believe it!
In a nutshell: Plan a few longer workout sessions in the week, and several shorter energizing quick movement sessions throughout the day to keep your muscles, joints, and blood circulation at their best!
Ideas for implementing exercise into your day:
- Walk instead of ride to the supermarket or post office
- Bike riding
- Running or hiking
- Yoga or pilates online or offline class
- Swimming
- Martial Arts
- Gym training
- 5-minute short cardio sessions
- Stretching
5. Dedicate time for interests other than freelancing
While freelancing, it is essential to shift your focus from time to time from your work to things that matter to you outside the realm of jobs and clients.
Do you have a hobby you wish to develop? A creative craft or an art project? Do you want to treat yourself to a massage? Doing activities that are both relaxing and engaging will give you a well-deserved rest both mentally and emotionally.
Think of this time for recreation and rest as an investment in your health and well-being that will give you benefits in the long run.
Activities for a well-deserved “You time”
- Reading for pleasure
- Meditation and mindfulness practice
- Creative or active hobby
- Massage
- A game with a friend
- Art project
In conclusion
At the times we are living many freelancers had to drastically change their lifestyle due to the situation of Covid-19. Others had to adapt to freelancing or working from home because of the closure of some offices and companies. Often stress and tension build up when we are caught in the never-ending hustle of long and complex projects or over-demanding clients.
But being your own boss also means caring for the different aspects of your well-being. So, make your health, energy, and vitality a priority by creating a conscious, organized self-care routine. Cultivate meaningful relationships, build refreshing sleep habits, eat healthy food and exercise often, and spare time for recreation. This way you will enjoy a long and sustainable freelancing career!
Act now and fit into your day these important appointments with yourself and you will soon be experiencing the benefits!
