True story:
I once held 5 jobs at the same time.
2 of them are “full-time”, while the other 3 are freelance sideline gigs.
At first glance, it might seem like I’m living the dream.
For example, there are months where I’d earn in the range of 200k to 250k pesos per month.
But then I forgot what sleeping meant.
My project during the daytime was from 9 am to 6 pm, while my 2nd job was night shift – from 11 pm to 8 am.
This meant that after my night shift ends, I have only one hour left to sleep before the next shift starts!
Meanwhile, I did my freelance gigs between and after those shifts. And then I would try to get 2-3 hours of sleep, before gearing up for night shift again.
It’s exhausting!
That’s when I realized, “this is how zombies feel”.
Never ending work. Puro na lang laban, walang pahinga.
Eventually, after four months of gruelling work, I ended up quitting 4 out of those 5 jobs. Hindi na kinaya.
Now I only maintain one (1) major client and one (1) freelance side hustle at any given month.
That’s it.
The income is in the lower range of 100k per month, much lower than before, but I’m happier and no longer need to work long hours per day.
There is value in rest, in being contented.
Look, as a freelancer don’t make the mistake of taking more clients than you can handle.
The goal is not to find more work. Instead, what you want is to have financial freedom and more time for yourself and your family.
And that’s the kind of freelancer I hope you to become. Someone who realizes that we can’t have it all.
We can’t have too many projects and expect to have any work-life balance.
This is why I encourage aspiring freelancers to find just 1-2 stable clients that pay well.
Beyond that, pwede ka naman magkaroon ng iba pang one-time projects, but they shouldn’t take up too much of your time.
Aim for 3-6 hours of solid work per day or less. So you have more time with yourself and your family.
Anything more than that is a bit challenging and not sustainable for the long run.
If you want to get your first few stable clients (that pay you more money but doesn’t demand too many hours), I have a free podcast and newsletter where I teach you how to do all that.
