Balancing Full Time Work, Freelancing, and Life

As I finally kicked off my socks after a nearly 14-hour work day, I thought to myself, WOW. Where did all the time go? I can’t believe it’s already 8:30 at night. I worked for HOW LONG today? And I feel GOOD about it? People think I’m crazy.

I have so many thoughts on this, and I get a lot of questions, such as how do I do it, why do I do it, when will it stop, and what’s next? I’m sharing a little look inside my world so you read about what it’s like to work both full time and freelance.

 

 

The intention of this post:

• Give you an inside look at balancing a busy schedule.
• Offer a new perspective on working both in an office and for myself.
• Share why I do what I do.

This post is NOT intended to:

• Make you feel like you’re not doing enough.
• Make you feel like you’re insufficient.
• Pity me.
• Toot my horn (too loudly).

How did this start?

I graduated college 4 years ago with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Spanish. Growing up, I LOVED school.

I loved school because the classes were amazing, I met so many people, connected with professors, and I was involved in many different activities: yearbook, newspaper, photography, honors societies, ultimate Frisbee.

 

After college, I worked as a copywriter for what turned out to be a shady company. I had to get outta there!

Once I fulfilled my dream of working in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (yep, that happened), I started working at a digital publishing company. What?? A print girl working for a DIGITAL company? Pshhh. OK.

Fast-forward to almost four years later, and I am still working there! However, in year two, I realized I wasn’t writing. I wasn’t editing, or taking photos. I didn’t have any hobbies. What the heck was I doing??

So I started this blog as a just-for-fun venture. Little did I know I would love it so much that it would open so many doors, professionally and socially.

Two…years…later.

I started out with a goal to write one blog post once a month. That lasted for maybe three months. I’d pick up the blog again, and then forget about it.

I went through stages of depression on and off, so I didn’t always feel like working on something that was just…there. I told friends about the blog, but I didn’t hear much from them after that. Maybe I didn’t believe in the blog, so other people didn’t either.

 

Finally, in 2017, I got serious about this little ole thing! Instead of writing -barely- once a month, I set a goal to write a post once a WEEK. With some early mornings, late nights, and weekends, I made it happen. I started writing better, reaching more people who connected with the posts, and grew an email list, little by little.

I still can’t believe it looking back…but I am always full of ideas and love love love to take photos. It feels more like fun than work to me.

Full Time Footwork

Working full time means I devote about 12 hours of my day to an 8-hour job. I take about 45 minutes to get ready, the office is located nearly 50 minutes away, we work for 8 hours, we get 1 hour for lunch (woo!), and then I drive home for 50 minutes. That’s a lot of time spent on things not even related to work!

Working full time and completing freelance work really helps me prioritize my time. I have limited time to work on projects, so I make every minute count. Don’t misunderstand that either – limited time does NOT mean the quality of my work suffers. I still deliver high-quality work, and exceed client expectations.

 

 

Sometimes I carve out chunks of my full time workday to devote time to freelance. I might spend my lunch break editing photos, read freelance-related emails on 10-minute breaks, and even schedule quick conference calls in the morning during the 25 minutes I have before clocking in. Every minute counts.

When I come home, I usually eat, work for an hour on my consistent, hourly freelance work, and then either watch Friends (I am finishing the entire series for the first time), or work in some blog time. No matter what it is, I am always planning, prioritizing, and staying organized.

Balancing Work + Freelance + Community.

It’s tough. I have to admit, some days I am SO tired. Other days, I feel like I’m on the ball, and I feel great!

Hitting that “Publish” button on the blog feels amazing because I give a little piece of myself and my mind to the world.

 

I know I’m not the only person in the world doing this – there’s a whole community of passionate people out there balancing everything in their own lives! When I think I’m the only one, or I feel lonely, I reach out and realize there’s a ton of people out there who are going through the same situation.

Whether it be another blogger, a business owner, or just someone in the elevator, we’re all on our own journey, trying to figure things out. Reaching out to each other and sharing information is so valuable! “Change your expectations for appreciation,” and “choose compassion, not competition.”