Your Most Important Asset as a Freelancer? Your Health

The world of the side hustler is at best an amazing one, and at worst, a precarious one. Still, balancing your health and freelance work isn’t easy.

Freelancing and side hustles have become very popular in the modern gig economy, and it’s easy to see why they are so intriguing and enticing because of the flexibility and autonomy they offer.

But despite the unique benefits they bring, they can provide a number of unique challenges, especially when it comes to something like your health. We all know that we need to look after ourselves, but we’ve all let something go for the sake of pursuing our freelance dreams.

So, let’s show you exactly how to balance your health and freelance work.

Make Time for Health and Freelance Work

We’ve all been in that mindset where we feel there is no time to do something, but when there is no time to do the things that should provide a base level of health, this becomes a habit that will work wonders for us. This means we’ve got to prioritize those things like doctors and dentist appointments. 

Ultimately, if you have a problem with your teeth or oral health, you don’t just need to know the options to replace your teeth but actually be able to get the problem sorted as soon as possible. But we can’t do this until we view ourselves as more important than the job we are doing.

One of the big problems so many freelancers make is that they prioritize the work over anything else, so when we look at how we are neglecting ourselves, (which is, 9 times out of 10, to do with our health) prioritizing this gives us a far better foundation to work with.

The Importance of Physical Health

A freelance existence is an irregular one. Therefore, without any structure, it can take a toll on our mental and physical health. If you spend a lot of time seated at a desk trying to solve problems, you can invariably run yourself down.

This means that you’ve got to be very strict with how you look after yourself, and this is not just about incorporating exercise but about preventing those issues that can have a negative impact on your ability to work at your best. You should never skip meals, but you should also look at making your workspace ergonomic to prevent neck and back pain. 

Also, think about something like your eye care, because if you spend so long staring at a computer screen without regular breaks, you can slowly run the risk of developing problems over time. Eye exercises are a good idea here, but you can also reduce strain by a simple rule known as 20-20-20, where every 20 minutes you look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds.

Navigating the Mental Health Challenges of Freelancing

Running any side hustle or freelance position can be mentally challenging because of the uncertainty of the role and the pressures, not to mention the constant thinking about what you could do better to earn more money.

A common misconception at the very outset of the freelance existence is the freedom to do what you want when you want, but it becomes apparent pretty quickly that there’s a lot more workload dispersed over the weeks and months in comparison to a regular job, and this also includes the time spent thinking about it. It becomes so important to understand when you’re feeling overwhelmed. 

A side hustle can consume our lives, but we also need to remember that as much as we’re passionate about it, we can benefit from spending more time during our working days (and nights) with a greater structure that can help us to take regular breaks. So, we also need to set realistic goals. We all think that we need to get more money, but when we feel that we’ve got to get something extra because we’ve had a slow month, the mental energy that we’re wasting will cause burnout over time. 

It is easy to say that we all need a healthy work-life balance, but as a freelancer, it can feel almost impossible, and this is why we need to stay organized but also not hesitate to reach out to people when we’re feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes talking about challenges can be therapeutic, especially if we feel we have nobody to talk to about it. Reach out to freelancer networks, and you will soon see there are many people in your emotional position.

Tackle the Finances

The financial concerns and fluctuations are the clouds that loom over us every single time we sit down to do any work as a freelancer, and this is why it’s so important to manage our finances wisely. Side hustles should be enjoyable, and this is why many people do it on the side of their main job. But if you have been considering taking the leap into a full-time freelancer role and expanding this side hustle, you need to organize your finances properly. 

You should look, in addition to budgeting and creating an emergency fund into setting up insurance. Health insurance and any disabilities or liability insurance could give you peace of mind if you are unable to earn for whatever reason. It’s also worth considering long-term financial planning, for example, investments and retirement accounts. Sometimes we feel like we can’t invest in these things because we have very limited money, but consulting with a financial advisor is worth its weight in gold.

Balancing Health and Freelance Work

We can all get into bad habits, especially when it comes to our health, and being a freelancer can add more pressure that negatively contributes to our health and our happiness. It is critical that we look after our health because we only have one life, and as much as we think that freelancing gives us freedom in so many areas of our lives, if it takes a toll on our health, is it worth it? Looking after your health is the greatest investment of all, and if you are not happy doing it, you will need to reassess this as a priority.