Hi Friend,
If you find yourself nodding in agreement with the items on this list, you just might be a freelancer (or an aspiring freelancer).
1. You’re dressed for work if you put on flannel pajama pants and a hoodie sweatshirt. It’s fine if they don’t match.
2. The thought of office supply stores no longer carrying your favourite pens sends you into crying fits.
3. You tell people you signed up for Facebook, TikTok or any other social media for research purposes, and you can say it with a straight face.
4. You spend each day reading through 30 or so blogs about freelancing, then wonder where the day went.
5. You regularly turn on your tv during the afternoon, not to watch it but to pretend the voices are those of coworkers.
Don’t have time to read the list? Feel free to listen to me reading it.
6. You desperately want another pet just so there’s a new face to look at during the day.
7. You frequently come up with fascinating theories and opinions on abstract topics, only to have people roll their eyes at you and treat you as though you have the IQ of a pencil.
8. When family or friends stop by (or come home) you inundate them with trivia that you’ve learned during the day.
9. You sometimes feel compelled to ask if there’s still laughter in the outside world.
10. You don’t mind receiving rejection letters because it means someone in the world is communicating with you.
11. You’ve mastered the art of watching squirrels in your backyard for hours and calling it “inspiration time.”
12. You make list after list of things to get done and sometimes include tasks you’ve already completed just so you have a sense of accomplishment.
13. Every time you bring up the topic of current copyright laws, your friends pretend you’re no longer in the room.
14. When you leave your house you squint because you forgot how bright sunlight can be.
15. You’ve learned how to make grilled cheese sandwiches four different ways, so you don’t get bored of them during recessions.
16. Your email signature is longer than a Tolstoy novel because it’s filled with links to your portfolio, social media, and every article you’ve ever published.
17. You own more notebooks than there are trees in a forest, because you never know when inspiration will strike. You’re also never 100% sure where you wrote that note you’re looking for.
18. You can turn even the most mundane conversation into a potential article idea and get unfathomably excited about it.
19. Your ideal vacation is a quiet cabin somewhere with a Wi-Fi connection and no other distractions. Except maybe squirrels.
20. You can write a 500-word article on virtually any topic, even one you’re not familiar with, in a few hours. And you can make it readable.
21. Your browser history is a mix of research on the waste disposal systems in the Roman empire, the impacts of fast fashion on ocean levels, and the mating habits of the Vancouver Island marmot. Most of those searches are related to upcoming projects.
22. Your favourite pastime is eavesdropping on strangers’ conversations because you’re sure something they say will inspire your creativity. It’s not spying if you’re using it for good.
Have any others you’d add to the list? Feel free to share them in the comments.
Here’s to your continued freelance success,
Heidi
Thanks for sharing this delightful list. It's like you've captured the essence of the freelancer life with both humour and accuracy. I can relate to so many points.
Number 8 = I actually did last week. I bumped into someone from the school run whilst I was out for my "all these words are now just noise, I need to get out" walk and, as she was the first adult I'd seen all day, I somehow turned pleasantries into being able to share how Lego came about in its current form. (I haven't seen them on the walking route since.)
Thanks for this list. It's great to read so many points and know I'm not on my own in thinking them/owning so many notebooks. :-)