How much should you work?

Recently, I had the chance to stumble upon this great article, which confirmed something I have been thinking for quite a while.

"We are not here to work to work to work to die.

We aren’t.

There was a stage in building my business where I hustled and built connections with publications that had large followings and an audience so that when my work went viral, said audience followed me which now leads to revenue with cultural influencer jobs, clients, public speaking opportunities etc. etc. however, I truly believe that I chose to struggle unnecessarily for a few years of that.

I chose that because I grew up wired to believe that good people couldn’t have lots of money, and that artists had to starve and work a second job."

I actually found this article while Googling "tired of hustling"... and for good reason, it seems. I think this lady is insanely lucky, and things certainly don't work this way for everyone, but there is still a lot of truth in what she says.

I work as a freelance editor, proofreader, and copywriter, besides authoring and publishing my own books. When I first started freelancing, I was unfamiliar with the platforms, didn’t know anybody, had no experience, and had to hunt and hustle for every project. Thankfully, I am not in that place anymore, and usually have more incoming work than I can reasonably commit to, so I have to be choosy and know when and how to say no.

It isn’t always easy when a client asks specifically for you and you value that professional relationship, but I do have one principle to guide me: I chose to freelance and work from home, rather than opt for more traditional employment, because I wanted the freedom and flexibility to be with my children. I wanted to be there to teach them, take care of them when they are sick or need me for other reasons, and to have a flexible schedule that would enable me to set work aside for a while and just go out to enjoy the sunshine on a nice day.

The problem is, when you are an independent entrepreneur, you don’t have set hours. You don’t just punch a card and you’re done for the day. There are always new projects to check out, books to work on, clients to communicate with, emails to send, research to do… And it’s quite easy to get caught in all that, so that you get annoyed with life for getting in the way of work – which is not very reasonable.

My top tips for maintaining a healthy balance are as follows:

1. Know and accept you will never be able to do it all or to please everyone. There will always be projects and clients you miss – but the good news is, life is dynamic, and there will also be new ones.

2. Be realistic. How many hours a day can you reasonably commit to? Without overworking and compromising the quality of your work? Without snapping at your children? Without pulling half- or all-nighters?

3. Be your own boss, but as if you were the boss of someone else. I mean it this way: if you were employing someone, and that someone had no time for lunch break or recreation or adequate sleep hours, would you consider yourself a very good employer? Would you expect high productivity and quality work from a harassed, overwhelmed employee? You see my point. Treat your body and mind with kindness and respect, and you will enjoy a routine that is both more peaceful and more productive.