Often at times, people talk about freedom and flexibility as one of the great perks that goes with being a freelancer. However, one aspect of freelancing that is often overlooked and hardly talked about is the impact the career tends to have on one’s mental health.
Running a freelancing career is a very exciting and highly rewarding business experience, although it can be scary and stressful at times. The hassle that comes with being a freelancer, alongside managing projects can be often challenging and stressful. Most often at times, the overwhelming responses and challenges can result in loneliness and depression as well as anxiety. This however, can be overcome as many freelancers have found a way out of the stress and depression associated with the business.
The essence of this guide is to provide you pathways on how one can overcome stress as a freelancer. Some of the ways to overcome stress and depression, as a freelancer are:
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Keep a journal
In a bid to eliminate or ameliorate the stress that comes with freelancing, it is often necessary that one tries to journal your work experience. The way out is to write about your work on paper, every time you are stressed or feeling anxious on issues related to work.
This you can do through the following ways; try to understand what exactly is making you feel anxious and break it down into processes. Thereafter write out the details of the problem and do well to reflect on what is happening, so as to discover any related stress causing issues. In the process, you would be able to discover what is causing the stress and spot how to overcome the stress.
Another reason why this is important is that it will help you keep journal of your past experiences and you can eventually be able to spot any pattern or trend around you responsible for the anxiety or causing the stress. This is the essence of keeping a journal of your work experience.
Exercise
Overtime, it has been discovered that exercise plays an incredible role in the release of stress, anxiety and depression. This can even be in form of small walks over large distances. You don’t really need to engage in a marathon or even weight lifting to ease off the stress. The key to becoming good at exercises is to make it a constant habit.
Doing something as little walking around the house block to get active can also play a major role in taking off those burdens of stress and anxiety. The good thing about exercises is that they help clear off your mind from the thoughts and cluster of much work and help you prioritize the important things that needs to be done. This invariably helps you clear up your mind and allows you prioritize things in their order of importance. And the good news is that the best of ideas often come as such time, away from one’s work desk, sweating it all out. So don’t hold back, create time for that run and also the fun that goes with it.
Focus on your one thing
The fact about life is that we all do best at what we do when it becomes our one thing. The one thig is that thing that you can do and when properly done, everything else will be easily done or unnecessary. As author, Gary Keller wrote in his book, “The One Thing”, we have to come to that point in our lives when we learn to ask ourselves one question which is “what really can I do, that by doing it, everything else will be easier?”.
When we begin to apply this Keller’s One Thing question to our lives, we would be able to ultimately discover what is important in our life and this will get us closer to our ultimate goal. So to take this further, take out an hour each weekend to find out that one thing that you need do, which will get you closer to your daily, weekly, monthly and eventually your goals for each year. By focusing on the one thing that really matters, we will eliminate stress at all levels of our to-do list. This is the secret to making the most of our time and moment each day.
One of the best ways to easily do this is to face one thing at a time until we arrive at our goals. The greatest of achievements and accomplishment of great men and woman in business and other areas of human endeavor is hinged on this fact. These feat are the results of people who have focused on their work over long period of time.
Find your community
Discover other freelancers around you who also have similar experiences in their line of work. By talking and discussing with these fellow freelancers, one would eventually be able to overcome the weight of anxiety and stress. Just knowing that you are not alone in your struggles, can greatly be a form of encouragement. Apart from just the feeling you get from being around these fellow freelancers, you can also benefit from their knowledge and experience, in areas related to business and client questions or work.
Take out time to find people you can share questions, experiences and stories with, in your community. By discovering people who can empathize with your experience, you would have found a really healthy way to overcome challenges and stress.
Take breaks
Another way to also reduce stress is to take short breaks after working for some time. This short break can be spent at the movies, visiting a friend or going out for coffee. This helps reduce burnout and burdensome stress. Even science shows that taking breaks is 100% necessary for your mental health. So create time today for rest, after you have worked for a while so you can have a clear and sound mind.
Find a creative outlet
Try and find something creative to do at your spare time, other than work. This provides inspiration for your brain and allows your body focus on something else other than work.
Finally, remember that life does not have to always be about work, do well to talk to people when you face challenges or feel stress at work.
