Go and become a freelancer, they said. It will be fun, they said. You can work in your underwear and go out for a cup of coffee whenever you like, they said.
Yeah, right.
Some people strongly believe that being your own boss is awesome. It is, if you either honestly enjoy working, or if you're capable of bossing yourself around in order to meet the deadlines, advertise your business, and get stuff done.
And that's just work; let's see what my last Friday looked like.
Woke up at 6:30 in the morning, read a book for an hour because I work better if I start my day like that and because I'll be writing about it on one of my blogs (and because I'm interested in that book, of course).
Then, the morning routine, then putting the laundry in the washing machine and starting the machine.
Making coffee, then checking out Fiverr. A client wanted some changes in the script, so I did them. There was no more work, so I took care of the social accounts stuff.
Got the laundry out of the machine, placed it to dry. The client loved the revised script. Yay!
Went to the Post Office to send a book I sold via the local version of eBay, then to the bank to pay the electricity bill (the payment line in the Post Office was too long). Went to the green market, got potatoes, went back home to drop potatoes, went to the supermarket to buy groceries. Washed the dishes, started preparing lunch/dinner (we think about it as lunch, but considering when we eat it, it's closer to dinner). Cleaned the bathroom (cleaning toilet bowl included), vacuumed, watched over the lunch/dinner. During the breaks, participated on the Fiverr forum and a bit on the social accounts. Also answered some questions some prospects had and sketched some blog posts.
Lunch/dinner time, ate, kept checking the Forum and social stuff.
And that's what it looks like when there's very little work (one script only); I still have to take care of the housework (being a freelancer doesn't make housework and all the mundane tasks magically go away), send sold books, pay the bills, cook, and so on. Now imagine there were also a few scripts, book blurbs, and book titles to write.
Sometimes the business is slow (often on a Friday or during the weekend), so I take care of other stuff. Sometimes it's writing all day, and still not finishing it all. Sometimes it's attending book promotions or festivals and then writing about it, plus writing for clients. Sometimes it's networking (online, RL, or both), and then writing for clients. Or a combination of it all.
There's always work, in its various forms, and I like it. Glamorous life, on the other hand? Or spending all day in my pajamas, and only working when/if I feel like it? Not going to happen.
P.S. And today? I couldn't do the laundry because the valve for the washing machine broke (hopefully I'll manage to have it fixed within a somewhat reasonable time-frame), and I couldn't deliver the work because Fiverr was first down for 8+ hours, and then the messaging and the delivery didn't work for some time. Glamorous.
