As creatives, we tend not to be very good at looking after ourselves, whether that is financially, socially or from a health and wellbeing perspective. In this article Mike Thornton, who has been a freelancer for over 30 years shares some tips and advice for you to consider.

1 - Book Holidays At The Beginning Of The Year

Just because you work for yourself doesn’t mean that you don’t need to create an annual leave planner. I learnt very early in my 30 years as a freelancer that booking a summer holiday at the beginning of the year was very important. It took courage to book not one week, but two weeks off because I also quickly found that one week wasn’t long enough to wind down and then relax, so it needed to be 2 weeks to be an effective holiday.

What was interesting is that when clients came to book me and I had to explain that it would not be possible to work on those dates because I would be on holiday, most, if not all my clients, rearranged things around my holiday, so that they could still get the job done.

Clients are people and they appreciate the need for a holiday and so I found them to be very understanding and flexible when it comes to holidays.

Of course, in a post-pandemic world where travel restrictions apply, it is easy to think that vacation time is not necessary as you can’t go anywhere. However, it’s still important to book time off, even if it’s a staycation and during difficult times taking a break is even more essential.

2 - Do Not Work Long Days - It’s Not Worth It

As well as taking regular holidays to recharge the batteries, it is really important that you do not overwork. Try and aim for 7 to 8 hours a day maximum, with a decent break partway through the day. Note I am not suggesting 9-5 with an hour for lunch between 1 and 2pm. Set your working hours to suit you and your family.

It may be that it suits you better to work early and then be able to stop at 4pm when your young family comes home from school or nursery or it’s you that goes and picks them up. Then you can spend quality time with them until its time for them to go to bed. Be there at bathtime and read them a story. These were special times when my girls were growing up and I am so glad I made space for them in my working life.

You may be a night bird and your family has grown up, in which case moving your work-time to later may be better for you. But make sure you consider your partner too. Just as it was important to spend time with my children as they were growing up, it is important to carve out time to spend together with your partner.

3 - The Weekends Are For Resting Not More Working

Ideally, you should not be working at weekends as well, especially if your work and clients mean that you are working more like 10 or even 12 hours a day.

Hopefully, you will see an emerging trend from the tips we have covered so far. Burning the candle at both ends, then snapping it in two and burning it in the middle, will eventually come back to bite you. We have all done it to get a job done that has overrun but it should not become the norm. It will have consequences on you, your health, your relationships with those you love, the quality of your work, your reliability and so on.

When we are tired, we get grumpy, we are not nice people to be around, we start to make mistakes and the quality of our works suffers. That impacts on our reputations. We don’t spend enough time with our partners and our children and those relationships suffer and get damaged.

It’s not worth it

Use the weekends to rest, spend time with friends and family.

4 - It Is OK To Say No

Setting boundaries is really important. It’s OK to say this can wait until tomorrow. The chances are, no one will die. Its also OK to say to the client, “this can’t be done until tomorrow”.

As freelancers, we are scared to say no. we worry that saying no will mean that the client won’t come back. If a client is that fickle then they probably haggle about the price, give you unrealistic deadlines to work to and you should ask yourself if that kind of client is really worth killing yourself for. Yes, there will be times where you will need to work over to get a job done, but this should be from a good relationship with your client, one of mutual understanding and respect and not one built on a master-slave model.

The curse of saying 'yes' is real. People hate saying no, but try practising saying, 'no thank you' to jobs that don't suit you.

5 - Be Kind To Yourself

As freelancers, we often take the least care over ourselves. Remember that we are our own boss, so be a good boss and be kind to yourself! Are you tired? Give yourself a break. Do you need to clear your head? Give yourself permission to go out and take a walk in the park.

Summer holidays are only one part of the annual leave planner. I have found it to be very important to take days off throughout the year. Typically one day a month, spread across the year. Again plan these in at the beginning of the year and block them out with the same level of importance as you would if a client had booked you to work with them that day. In this case, you are the client and you are every bit as important as your clients. It is important not as capitulate and take on work instead of taking the time off. There will be times when you will need to rearrange these days off but reschedule, do not cancel them.

One person’s solution is to take mini-vacations on the 5th week of every month. Some months this is one day and others it creates entire 5-6 day 'weekends.'

6 - Make Sure What You Charge Is Right For You

As creatives, we are rarely good business people. When it comes to rates and what to charge clients, we are even worse. If we charge too little all we do is devalue ourselves, literally! Know your worth and make sure you are charging enough.

With regard to a day rate, first, work out how many days a month you need to bill to get the money you need/want.

When setting your pricing also remember it isn’t just about your time, how much you want to get paid per hour, it is also about putting a value on what you know, what you can do and how fast and well you can do it.

Establish what others charge for doing similar work, basically what is the going rate for the kind of work you do.

Now you have the data put it all together. If the amount we want/need to earn in a day is more than we can charge, because of what other's charge, then you will need to reconsider what work you are doing.

Maybe you need to move to a different skill set, one that will enable you to charge more. Maybe you could find a better or quicker way of doing what you do so you can charge more.

Whatever you decide you will need to square this circle so that you end up earning the amount of money you want/need without having to work excessive hours to bring in enough.

One last thing whilst we are on the subject of money is tax. Don’t forget that unlike someone in a paid job, where the tax is taken from your salary by your employer, so what lands in your bank account is yours to spend. As a freelancer, you need to set aside money to pay your tax bill.

In order to avoid future problems and stress, consider having a dedicated bank account and transfer 20% of your income from being a freelancer into that account, every month, or even better do it as the money arrives into your business account. Then forget its there and certainly do not dip into it. That way when it comes to settling your tax bill you will have the money available to do it.

7 - Make Friends With Other Freelancers

As freelancers we are often working alone in our own studios, often at home and working alone can be isolating. Find yourself a support system to help navigate some of the emotional/psychological stuff. People with a job, in a similar area, can help with support for the type of work you do but they are unlikely to be able to provide much support when it comes to all the things a freelancer needs to do that someone in a job doesn’t have to worry about. Things that relate to running a business, like accounts, tax, setting prices and so on. Try and build a network of friends who are also freelancers. Meet regularly, preferably face to face once a month. The aim is to effectively replace the ‘water-cooler’ moment, or the chats in the tea-room, that people in jobs working in larger facilities get, where you can discuss techniques, challenges and difficult people.

8 - Pat Yourself On The Back

Well done, you are doing it! Not everyone is cut out for self-employment but you are giving it a go and are doing a great job.

Remember not everyone can work for themselves. Some need the security of a paid job. Some need the structure of a paid job. Some can’t handle the freedom and flexibility you enjoy.

How many people have you seen who were in senior roles go freelance and then you have watched their confidence crumble. It’s hard not having a team around you or a boss to guide and direct you and it is very easy to underestimate that.

Don’t forget that those freelancers who seem like they’ve got a handle on it, they often learnt all of this the hard way.  I love working for myself and have managed to achieve a good balance but it’s taken years of practice.