Everyone is unique, and everyone’s way of dealing with the things which life throws at us will be different too.
For some, they’ll need structure to manage their day when stressed; others might want alone time to focus; others might cope with things like late payments slide by without concern; whereas for some, it could be devestating.
So whilst there’s no single answer to taking care of your mental health when you’re a freelancer, in our almost ten years of work, we have managed to boil down our advice in to three simple points - we call this the ABC of mental health for freelancers.
It’s a good place to start putting together a plan for your wellbeing.
A - Active Awareness
Many of us forget to put ourselves on the todo list. Work can get busy, life can get in the way, and often we might not think about our wellbeing, until something goes wrong.
So putting a bit of time aside regularly to help ourselves be more actively aware of our mental health is the first time.
Just 15 minutes each week, take a step back, and ask yourself two questions:
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How did I feel this week?
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What made me feel that way?
Reflecting on the week helps you be more aware of when you’ve faced challenges, or felt like things were going great; and understanding what things contributed to that helps you understand some of the influences of your mental health.
Consider keeping a little notebook or making notes in a document. Over time, you’ll gather useful evidence to see any changes in your wellbeing over time (rather than just the odd bad week here and there); and what impacts your wellbeing.
Maybe you’ll see that when you’ve had a frustrating call with a client, you feel a little lower. Or perhaps when you’ve not sleeping more consistently you’re feeling better.
Even if you’re not taking notes - just 15 minutes a week to check-in with yourself really helps.
Action: Set a time in your calendar now, go on! I suggest Friday 2pm. Block out 30 minutes, set a reminder, and include the two questions in the calendar description. Then after you’ve spent 15 minutes, give yourself another 15 to just take a breather.
B - Boundaries and Behaviours
Once you’ve started to build a little awareness of what’s influencing your mental health at work, you can start to put small changes in place to take care of yourself.
These might be behaviour changes for the things you’re in control over, like making sure you’re switching off the laptop at the end of the day, or going for a walk in the morning. They could be boundary setting to protect yourself from the impact of others, such as not taking a project below a certain day rate or refusing to work without a contract.
Every person will have different boundaries and behaviours which help to protect them - and they compound to have a greater effect.
Lots of our resources are focused on helping you find the behaviours you can put in place to ensure you’re working well, and to mitigate the actions of others.
You’re not going to figure this one out overnight, your behaviours and boundaries will develop and change over time - so it’s a continual part of growing as a freelancer.
Action: Think now on a few things that you’ve been putting off. What one change might you want to make in how you’re working? You don’t have to make the change just yet, but even identifying it means you’re taking a step forward.
C - Community and Connection
The last (but arguably most important) piece is ensuring you’re not doing it alone.
The risk of feeling isolated is 2-3 times higher when you’re working as a freelancer, the learning curve is steep, and we can find it easy to take all of the responsibility on our own shoulders.
Whilst no-one is going to put the things in place to support you, but you - that doesn’t have to mean you need to feel like no-one else is around to help. We are. Fellow freelancers who have been there done that, new freelancers who are figuring it out too, there’s loads of us out here.
That’s why community is so important - not only to feel a sense of belonging, but to find others who understand the experience. You’ll discover quickly that so many things you’re experiencing are not a “you” problem, but part of freelancing.
Sharing in a group, asking about concerns, celebrating the little wins, and building your own support network, makes the lows easier, and the highs more enjoyable.
Action: Ask yourself - what’s missing from your support network? Do you have fellow freelancers to speak to? Do you have someone who you trust to share concerns with? Do you have someone who has been doing this for a while that can share their wisdom with you?
In summary
Remember, The ABC isn’t meant to be the answer - but rather a few things to immediately think about and work upon, and all of our resources are here to build upon this starting point.