Freelance work is a great challenge for any professional in search of personal and intellectual development in the activity he carries out independently. Many self-employed workers find the liberty of time schedules organized for oneself among the advantages of this type of work as a professional free of strict timetables.
In general, freelancers work with specific jobs and goals. However, in some professions, this seemingly positive aspect can turn into one of the most important challenges to overcome.
Indiscipline
Many workers, specially those involved in areas like computer systems, software, programming and graphic design, make the mistake of not incorporating an organized work discipline. Far from not completing their tasks or working less hours than specified in the contract, the reality is that they transform into work slaves without even realizing it, and they do not obtain more economic benefits or retribution for their work because of it.
A good example is a freelance web developer. Usually, if he worked with a normal relationship of dependency, he would fulfill his work and, later on, when his shift were finished, he would go home or to the movies, do sports or recreational activities, or even study. However, without any fixed timetables, most of the developers keep on working to improve their current projects, changing them or reinventing them even moments before they deliver their work to their client.
During a job interview for an advertising company, a computer programmer expressed clear signs of exhaustion. The interviewer asked if he felt alright and the interviewee explained his situation: for several days he had been developing a tourism web page. Once he had completed the task, he thought that perhaps the navigation tools and the pictures of the ad banners would look better in black and white, more in accordance with the site’s style. He immediately starting working again, late into the night, getting only a few hours of sleep before the interview.
Times and commitments
Sooner or later, our own organism will feel the exhaustion of excessive work. Spending to much time with one project, we lose the opportunity to open new horizons and get more clients. It is not easy to organize our working time, but without a doubt, if a freelance worker manages to achieve that kind of discipline, he or she will find a great personal development, translating his or her efforts in his or her own wellbeing.