It’s been over three years since I took up freelance editing and quit my office job – and I’ve never regretted it. I certainly couldn’t countenance going back to 9 to 5 working now.

 

However, the hardest thing I still have to deal with is the uncertainty of it all. I’ve been very lucky in that I’ve pretty much always had work and it’s been a rare month when I’ve been truly worried about not making enough money.

 

The month of September this year was always going to be a busy one. We had a weekend away for a friend’s birthday party, a weekend away for a family wedding, and then a 12-day trip across Europe for a Mediterranean cruise!

 

So, when it looked like I wasn’t going to have any paid editing work at all for the whole month, it didn’t take me all that long to persuade myself that might not be terrible. It still took a bit of mental wrangling, though – since the idea of not making any money for a whole month is still very scary to me, despite having completed a lot of work in August and having a fair amount already set up for October.

 

By the time the first weekend away rolled around, I was quite pleased about having plenty of time to rest between trips, plan for the big holiday and generally have a relaxed time of it. Then, while we were away, a huge project that had already been delayed by three months suddenly got signed off, my contract was agreed and the client paid 50% of the fee up front. And then it was all systems go, with very little preparation time!

 

And away I went, launching into a fairly packed work schedule, when my brain had been all set up for chilling out and doing very little.

 

Then, during the second weekend away, another paid editing project that I thought wasn’t going to happen until October suddenly got signed off, the client sent me the files and actually paid the whole fee up front!

 

Which meant, in the week leading up to the big holiday, I had a lot of unexpected work to do, trying to pack it in before packing to leave for the trip.

 

And I got pretty stressed out, feeling very overwhelmed, experiencing anxiety about fitting everything in and doing a good job, resenting the fact that I was incredibly busy all of a sudden, and worrying about all sorts of things to do with the holiday that I felt unprepared for.

 

After an excellent coaching session with Sean from A Write and a Pint, and a great meditation class with Hannah from Within Meditation, I reminded myself of three things.

 

One – I love my work.

Two – it’s great to get paid.

Three – holidays are meant to be fun.

 

I managed what I like to call the ‘freelance mindset pivot’, realising that it’s awesome to have interesting work to do that provided a financial boost just before going away – and also that it would be nice to look forward to what would likely be a fantastic holiday.

 

I love my freelance life and I wouldn’t change it – but sometimes it does require some mental gymnastics to navigate the unpredictable ups and downs!

 

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