Take Care of Yourself: Invest in Yourself as a Freelancer

As a freelancer, you’ve got a limited resource you need to protect, nurture and invest in—you. You must invest in yourself if you’re going to succeed. We’ve talked about the need to rest and relax, but you also need to recharge. Taking regular breaks and even vacations is important to keep you sane. But you need more than rest. You need to be re-energized, find new excitement and focus in your work. You need to learn and grow. You can’t just stagnate and think what you learned in the past is going to carry you forward forever. Vacations and breaks are good. But you also need to invest in yourself, recharge and grow as a freelancer.

“If you keep doing the same thing you’re going to slowly get left behind. The market keeps moving and you need to move with it.” –Bill Erickson

So how can you invest in yourself as a freelancer?

Know Yourself

Just as you need to know yourself to know how to rest and relax, you also need to know yourself to know how best to recharge.

• Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Your basic nature is going to have a big impact on how you recharge.
• Does thinking web design 24/7 fire you up, or do you need to find something outside the industry? Some people love to marinate in their niche, and they can’t get enough. Others need to do something different and come back with fresh eyes.
• How often do you need to recharge? Do your creative batteries last all year long or only a few weeks?
• Do you need a long-term investment or short-term recharge breaks? Or a combination of both? A long-term investment might be a class or a degree. A short-term recharge might be an article or a book.
• Where do you need to grow? What are your strengths that you can build on? What are your weaknesses that you can minimize?

Much of this is going to come down to what works for you. Not everybody is the same.

Stay Healthy

A big way to invest in yourself is to stay healthy. It’s also an important part of resting and relaxing. It’s just an important part of being a person. So get some exercise and eat healthy foods. Our list of 99 productivity tips for working at home includes a lot of advice on how to develop healthy habits. Sometimes just getting away from the computer to get some exercise on a regular basis can do wonders. You don’t need a vacation, you just need to be more active.

Learn Something New

If you’re not learning, you’re dying. A major way to invest in yourself is to learn a new skill. Explore a new facet of coding or learn a new language—a spoken language, not a coding language. Take a class. Push yourself. Try something different.

“Never stop learning and never stop trying new things.” –Brian Casel

The best learners read. That could be a simple way to begin. We can recommend a few good books to get you started. Maybe it’s as simple as investing in some ongoing training.

Interact With Others

One of the hazards of freelancing is loneliness. Freelance relationships are vital to staying in business. It’s how you find clients and how you find partners. And it’s how you’re going to get better. Leave the office behind and go get some human interaction. Rub some elbows with actual people. Have a lunch meeting. Check out a WordPress meetup. Go to a conference.

Side Project

A big way to invest in yourself is to start a side project. This can be a good way to give yourself a creative outlet and something that isn’t driven by clients. There are certainly drawbacks to having a side project. You need to make sure it doesn’t overcome your paying work. It’s fine if a side project becomes a regular project, as long as it’s paying your bills and it fits with the direction you’re going. You want your side project to be an investment in yourself, not a distraction. Maybe what you really need is a distraction, and that’s OK. Sometimes a hobby is a good way to get reenergized and come back to work with a new eagerness. Just don’t mistake a side project for a hobby. It can be a fine line to walk. Cataloging your favorite books is a hobby. Building a plugin to rate and review those books could be a side project. Both might offer a good break from your work and a chance to recharge your batteries. But only one has the potential to fuel your career.

Pass It On

Another way to invest in yourself is to invest in others. That sounds counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? But it works. For a lot of people, pouring into others can really inspire us and spur us on in our work. That’s why some people become coaches or teachers. For others it’s simply a way to reflect on what they’ve learned, what helped them when they were starting out and then sharing that insight. Sometimes you’ll remember lessons that seem so important to share, but you’ll realize you’re not applying them anymore, and it’s time to start.It can be a way to get back in the groove. Maybe you want to share your knowledge at a local WordPress meetup, or maybe you should think about hiring an intern.

Invest in You

Whatever it takes, you owe it to yourself to find ways to invest in you. Your clients will thank you, your friends and family will notice a difference, and, most of all, you’ll find new joy in your work.

More:

In our book The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Freelance Web Design Business there’s an entire chapter dedicated to Taking Care of Yourself. Check it out for even more insights.