Lessons learned

As I'm getting more involved with freelancing, I'm starting to learn a few things that aren't in the textbook, mainly because there is no textbook:

There's no such thing as leaving work at the office, or issues at home. Everything bleeds into each other, and it's darn hard to try and keep anything separate. Because I work from home, work becomes my home life, and vice versa.

Unpaid work still happens. Although I "clock" in" with some clients, there's still research I conduct, events to see, travel time, talking and connecting with prospective clients, finding and editing photos (I spent over 2h choosing/deleting/cropping/uploading/exporting/resizing photos from the P!nk show last night!), and more.

Reading needs to be scheduled in. I love reading, like really love reading. When I was a kid, I'd check out a stack of books from the library down the street and plough through them in a night. Now? Now, I find the only time I have to read is when I'm on the subway.

Having no boss, punch clock, uniform and name tag is more awesome than I ever imagined. I can't remember the last time I was so relaxed, with not having to wake up at a certain time good for my blood pressure...which I immediately undo with pizza.

Life happens on a whim. It's a good thing I have an impulsive streak deep within me because my days have a mind of their own. As much as I try and plan my week, it never turns out the way I want...but I like that.

I've learned am learning the art of compromise. Because of my free time, I'm learning what it means to give and take when others have obligations, and I'm liking this process, too.

It feels like home. For the first time, freelance writing doesn't feel like a job. At times, it definitely feels like work, but not where the cons come anywhere close to outweighing the pros.

But the downside of spending so much time inside is that I'm not feeling the Christmas vibe very much. Gotta change that!