Where is the Free in Freelance?

“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Why I ended up as a freelancer

When I look back at my life, I wouldn’t be surprised I’d end up being a freelance writer. First of all, I’ve always wanted to write. Secondly, I’ve always craved for freedom. Even when I was working as an auditor, I believe I have enjoyed a lot of freedom.

I was able to go on field assignments where I had the independence to go about my work as I saw fit. I was able to manage my time in a flexible manner. I was able to create my own strategies to bring about the results necessary for my work.

Now that I’m a full-time freelancer, this freedom has also been magnified. I can wake up at any time I choose and do my work whenever I felt most motivated. I am also not supervised by anyone. I can choose my clients and I can decide on the variety of assignments I’d like to take.

The problem with freedom

It was supposed to be the ideal thing — having this much freedom. But I guess that there’s a corresponding responsibility to every gift that is given us.

The first problem with freedom is that it can be too much. When it is too much, it can make you fall into a certain trap, the trap of thinking you’re still free when you’re not!

What I meant to say is that even if in theory, I’m free to do anything I want whenever I want, I’m only free to do that for as long as I’m willing to take the consequences of my actions.

If, for example, I don’t write as much as I should, I won’t be earning the money that I need. And if I don’t earn enough, my financial freedom suffers. Soon I would have to resort to other jobs that can immediately take care of my needs. And when that happens, have I not lost my freedom?

The balancing act

I think true freedom exists in balance. It is being able to use the time and resources you have so you can have what you need. It is being able to make things work for you, not against you.

Even when you’re a freelance writer, you need to balance the work you’re accepting.

Would you prefer a diversity of clients? Or would you prefer one client that pays you well?

Would you work for forty hours a week so you can achieve financial security? Or would you rather work for only twenty hours so you can be free to do something else?

Would you accept every assignment even if you feel no passion about the topic you’re writing about? Or would you choose to stick with those that make you feel most alive?

Final thoughts

We are rarely as free as we think we are. Sometimes, the freedom we think we have exists only in our illusions, or in some magical world where the laws of reality are not as they are now.

But we are free to some extent. And to the extent that we are free, we have the power to choose how we’d use the freedom given us.

Are we going to waste our freedom by remaining idle as we let others choose for us? Or are we going to use our freedom as we strive to live the fullest life we can possibly have?

"Use wisely your power of choice." - Og Mandino