Brand Design Photography & Styling Clarity Consulting

Lesson Learned: Perks & Pits

Its been almost 3 weeks since I’ve set off on my own to start my own business. I’ll have to say that I’m still loving it 🙂 I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting to fully appreciate aspects of my new day to day life and made a little list of  “perks & pits” so far. I’m sure this list will keep growing, but my “perks” list is longer than my “pits” lists…so that must be a good sign right?

Perks:
1. Being REALLY inspired and energized to create…constantly
2. Sundays don’t suck. No more dreading the upcoming work week.
3. Gained Flexibility in my Schedule. Last week I decided to have a last minute meet up with a friend to eat cupcakes and spent my Friday afternoon at the St. Louis Art Museum.
4. Making my own rules as I go and trying to forget some I’ve acquired in my Agency years.
5. Taking baths in the middle of the day while taking an ecourse on my ipad…multitasking relaxing/learning.
6. Getting to be home all day with my pup. I can tell he really likes it too!
7. Being less tired at night because I’m not pushing myself to the limits all day.
8. Making healthy dinners because I actually have time to cook!
9. Cleaning can happen throughout the week instead of piling up for the weekend.

Pits:
1. I have a hard time remembering to eat lunch and STOP to breath. I’m exploring the idea of making a morning and afternoon “to-do” list to keep me on track.
2. Being so inspired you feel a little lost as to which project to tackle first.
3. When you’re feeling lazy…it’s SOOOO easy to turn on Netflix and get sucked into the unproductive zone.
4. The hours of the day just FLY by and before you know it, it’s time to make dinner. Ahhh!!!

 

I actually had a hard time creating that “pits” list and this gives me more confidence that my new work/life balance is a really good change for me. I’m still very thankful I’ve had this opportunity to give it a try.

Freelancers out there….I’m curious what “pits” you’ve found along the way?

30 comments on “Lesson Learned: Perks & Pits

  1. I can pretty much agree with everything you said…..for the pits I totally know the feeling of getting so overwhelmed with sooo many ideas you don’t even know where to get started….which is silly!!!!!
    Like you said, I think it’s really important to keep lists of what you plan on doing and sticking with it. I would sometimes work so much in the morning non-stop that in the afternoon I was exhausted and useless, which sometimes is ok…You need to schedule breaks too.
    I’m most productive in the morning so I’ll go make some tea, grab a bite and work for a good two hours. Then I take a break and shower (so refreshing!) and get back to work for a few more hours before lunch. I leave all my “easy stuff” for the afternoon when my brain is more useless.

    1. I love your idea of leaving your easier stuff for the afternoon. I find I’m more productive in the morning as well and pretty useless afternoon. Thanks for stopping by Alicia!

  2. Your schedule sounds wonderful! We just moved to a new place that gets tons of natural light during the day. It kills me to leave home for work every morning! It sounds challenging to manage your time well, though. Can’t wait to hear your tips on how to balance it all!

    1. I imagine it will be just take some time to figure everything out. I’ll keep you all updated on how I figure out how to manage my time better 🙂

  3. One of my only consistent ‘pits’ is when I fail to schedule properly. At times I am either too optimistic and don’t leave enough time for the creative process or the client throws me a curve ball that bumps the schedule off. That and the occasional afternoon I wouldn’t mind having a team sitting with me while are work are really the only downsides I can point out. So glad you’re experiencing success already in your solo journey!

    1. Thanks Megan. I think the scheduling thing is tricky and most likely will figure itself out over time. With time, we’ll figure out what works and what doesn’t and adjust from there. Happy Thursday!

  4. This is what I’m aiming towards! Working for myself isn’t all about the money (of course it has an importance though), but it’s all that other stuff. Being able to down tools for an hour to spend it with a friend, not living by others rules (especially when they just seem crazy!). I can’t wait to one day create my own “peaks and pits”, and wish you tones of good luck as you continue 🙂

  5. Love this post, and so glad it’s all working out for you so well. Working for myself is something I’d love to do one day, those perks just sound so so good!

  6. Oh my gosh! The pits are SO TRUE. I used to be diligent about taking a full hour for lunch during my agency days – but now that I work for myself I just suck down a green smoothie at my desk.

    Also – the days DO fly by! I’ve noticed that not just the days but the weeks and months in general flies by. I can usually get about half of what I expected to get done complete by the end of the day / week. I thought maybe that was just a symptom of getting old.

    1. It’s a tricky thing…those escaping hours are baffling. I hope to find a little better balance. Recently it was suggested to me to make Morning “To-Do” lists and afternoon lists..seems to be helping me a little bit as far as getting done what I expected.

  7. This is really interesting, You are a very skilled blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look forward to seeking more of your magnificent post. Also, I have shared your site in my social networks!

    1. Hi Jessica,
      I’m glad you’re liking the freelance updates. Making pros and cons lists can always be helpful is visually seeing what you have in front of you. Good luck with following your dreams 🙂

    1. Thanks Anh. I hope to be able to share more of my day to day life as I discover how to do things myself. I’ll keep everyone updated 🙂

  8. Great post. So many perks! I love working freelance.
    Major perks: being able to work on something in the middle of the night if that is when the inspiration hits. And not feeling obliged to work on a specific creative task at a specific time. One of the frustrations working in an office is the perception that creativity and inspiration can be turned on and off like a tap.
    For me though, doing housework during the day is one of the pits – it’s so easy to get distracted by dishes or laundry. Also, charging correctly can be really tricky, as is managing all that paperwork…

    Good luck!

    Elly

    1. Thanks for stopping by Elly. I totally agree with you that being inspired and creative isn’t something you can just turn on and off and that by working from home, you get the option to work when that inspiration arises. I actually really love breaking up tasks throughout the day with housework. I used to dread doing laundry on the weekends and now I can tackle it throughout the week 🙂

  9. Well done for taking the leap!

    Ahhhh answering the call to be free! So proud of all of us who work like this. I have been freelancing for almost 5 years and it certainly has both perks and pits!

    Reflecting on my experience of doing what I love and designing for a living, I think a very important thing to do is make sure to take regular holidays, time for yourself to exercise, eat properly and have fun doing completely different things away from your work. Make weekends sacred ‘no work’ time too. I would never work for anyone else again but there are definitely times when you are working day AND night more often than not… (you are probably familiar with this already given all you have been doing).

    All in all I imagine it to be like a baby – it grows and changes and demands more of you than you could never imagine, it thrives on routine and despite the lonely and sometimes desperate lows the highs are incredible and you develop within your self a deep resilience and love for this rewarding mode of working! Or more simply it’s sink or swim and sinking not being and option as the bills need to be paid – you swim for your life in the best possible way!

    Congratulations Cassie! Enjoy finding your very own balance and watching your talents inspire and be inspired by more new people x

    1. Thanks so much Kylie. I absolutely love your comparison to having a baby. I’m not a mom, so I haven’t experienced that part yet, but its a really interesting way to look at things!

    2. @Kylie, I don’t have a baby either but most of my friends are in various states of parenthood and thinking about a reply to your post, the similarities became apparent!

  10. My brother suggested I might like this blog. He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine simply how much time I had spent for this info! Thanks!

  11. Wait…you live in St. Louis? I used to work at Moose but I’ve been freelancing for two years now. Eating is probably the hardest part for me. I’m actually writing a blog post about taking breaks. We should meet up…for lunch! ha.

    1. Hi Laura! Yes, I’m in St. Louis living in the Lafayette Square Neighborhood 🙂 Just took a look at your blog and portfolio/shop and just love it! We should meet up soon….for lunch..hehe

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