How I Handle Freelancer Anxiety

Freelancing is a way of life for a growing number of people in the world economy, whether you are a virtual assistant, writer, business manager, consultant, coach, or artists. In a recent article from Zippier, freelancers in the United States alone numbered 70.4 million, and that number is expected to increase. Sites like Upwork and Fiverr list millions of freelancing gigs on their sites, companies like Belay and Talentify try to recruit more freelancers every day to support their own growing client bases.

Freelancing isn’t always what it says on the package, however. You can be a freelancer on any of the platforms mentioned above and still be out of work or underemployed. If you don’t have a second income in your household, then the primary burden falls on your ability to get clients and delivery consistently. 

You may not have the anxiety that comes from working in an office 9 to 5 or the middle managers breathing down your neck, but there’s no shortage of anxiety in freelancing. I’ve been doing it now for over a year and here are five of my own techniques for dealing with it. 

Remember why you’re freelancing.

We’ve all heard this advice before. Thought leaders all over LinkedIn and Instagram always yell “remember your ‘why'” so often you’d think it was tired out advice. It’s not. 

Many freelancers have very strong reasons for wanting to freelance. Some come from very harmful employment situations. Others turn to it for extra income. Still more turn to it because it’s the only way they can make their family situations work.

I started not long after my family circumstances changed. I lost one parent a few years ago, which still has me slightly off balance. My remaining parent is still at home, but is at a stage of life where there are more doctor’s appointments and, yes, hospitalizations. My one sibling is on the autism spectrum and has a very limited skill set. He’s able to hold down a couple of jobs himself, but he still needs that safety net. And he’s a darn good researcher if it’s a subject he’s interested in. 

So, for me, freelancing was a way not only to work that valued my time, talent, and effort; it was a way of giving me the time flexibility to be the daughter and sister I needed to be for my family. 

Because your employer isn’t your family, however much they may claim otherwise. If you have a good family, which mine is, then no employer on earth is going to match it. Or understand why you need to do whatever it is you do. If you think about it, most employers don’t pay enough for childcare, let alone home healthcare, anyway. 

Take the break. 

Anxiety has many causes, but one major cause you can mitigate is giving yourself permission to take a break. If you work from home as a freelancer, give yourself permission to take that mid-afternoon nap or spend a few minutes reading a book. Not a self-improvement book, either. Read something that completely takes your mind off of your work for a little while.

I am a workaholic by nature. I’ll work straight through the day, not get anything done because I haven’t rested, and then collapse hungry, cranky, and stiff because I didn’t take the time to take care of myself during the day. You may have the ability to work uninterrupted as a freelancer, but that doesn’t mean you should.

Taking breaks is essential for anyone. But when you’re tied to your computer and can spend most of your day in extreme concentration mode, you can forget to provide for your most basic human needs. Like eating, stretching, etc.

Or simply finishing the cup of coffee from that morning. Yes, that is a thing. And it’s on my goal list almost consistently because if it’s not, I’ll just work through it and end up throwing it away. It’s my gift to myself daily. So, even if I have to take a break and read a book to get my coffee in, I’ll do it.

Not to mention, it’s one of the most basic forms of self-respect out there. 

Learn a new skill

We’ve all heard the buzzword “continuous learning” but I doubt anyone has looked into the benefits of learning something new to deal with your anxiety. It helps. One challenge in freelancing is keeping your skills updated to match the market and to keep yourself relevant in a rapidly changing workforce. 

But the good news is that if you are feeling the pressure, learning one new skill, even if it’s a single badge on Trailblazer, makes you feel back in control of the situation. One of my tips on dealing with loneliness in starting your business is actually to do something that makes you feel in control. Well, this is one of those things you can do to feel in control. 

And you don’t always have to pay for it either. 

More companies than ever before provide free resources and tutorials for how to use their products. I regularly work on ClickUp University and Salesforce Trailblazer and if you receive another rejection from another client, it’s a quick boost to your ego to add another course or badge to your belt. 

Coursera is another resource I use regularly to take classes and learn new skills. Even if you learn the basics, without a certification, it can help give you that extra boost of confidence you need. 

Change your work location

Whether that’s taking your work to the beach, to your backyard, or to your local library, chasing where you do your work can help diffuse some of the tension of being a freelancer. It’s a shake to your system and sometimes, looking at your work in a new location helps you see the problems in a new light. 

Now, when I change locations, I move to a different room in the house. 

I have a home office. The previous owners of the house I live in converted a storage room in the garage into a library. It’s about the size of a large closet. There’s only one window, and the single air vent doesn’t pump out enough air to keep the room cool in summer and warm in winter, but I love it. It’s my refuge, and where I go when I need absolute quiet. 

But, when I need a change, I move to the place where I always used to do my schoolwork: the dining room table. Sometimes, it’s the kitchen table, but mostly it’s the dining room table. The big advantage of this location is it’s my parrot’s main hangout, and she’s taken a fancy to being my “office assistant.” 

Max is a female Quaker parrot who’s entering her twilight years at this point. She’s small, but loud and very bossy. As in, “I will bite you if you disobey me” bossy. Having a little fluff ball snuggle you while you work is one of life’s unadvertised joys. And before you ask, yes, she’s quiet when I’m on the phone or if I have to be in a meeting. 

It’s one of the best anxiety meds out there and she reminds me to take breaks. If I’ve been still too long, she’ll try to distract me. Sometimes, she’ll just find a comfortable spot and nap while I work. Other times, she’ll invite herself into my work space and throw all my pens on the floor. So, yes, I’ll work at my dining room table on days when I know interruptions will be few. 

Don’t neglect your spiritual well-being. 

You’re a freelancer, you’re free to take a prayer or meditation break. Use your freedom wisely. 

There’s no boss or client that’s going to barge into your work schedule and say it’s inappropriate for you to pray during working hours. With the Supreme Court’s most recent ruling regarding religion in the workplace, even if you work for a boss, they can’t do that, anyway. 

Connecting with your spiritual well-being is critical. Even if you follow no faith, then at least practicing consciousness or meditation can have its benefits too. You are taking care of something that goes beyond your body and stretches deep into what it means to be you and it goes beyond the physical. 

Islam has prayer five times a day. Monastic Christian prayer is every three hours, give or take and even for working catholics, the Angelus is every day at 12 pm. Every major religion or spirituality has a process to give you the chance to rest and reconnect the divine throughout the day. Don’t leave it by the wayside. Embrace it and express it. 

I am catholic. Anglican-Catholic, if you’re wondering, and I lean more heavily towards Catholicism for a variety of reasons. The main one is Catholic Christianity in its traditional form, whether Roman, Polish, or high church Anglican, is highly structured in a way no one has matched before or since. When I pray the rosary, for example, the repetitiveness of the Ave Marias allows me to have a moment of quiet so that I can focus on something other than myself, or where my next client is coming from. 

Freelancing requires grit and determination

Freelancing isn’t for the faint-hearted. Nor is it for the desperate, even if you really are feeling desperate. The good news is that even if you haven’t found a new client yet, even if you’re still getting rejection after rejection, you at least have some control over how you handle the rough spots.

What are your tips for handling freelancing anxiety? Drop your tips in the comments below!

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