As a freelancer is it:
- selfish to put yourself first?
- rude to say no to more work?
- wrong to want more flexibility so you can do the things that really matter to you?
One of our most popular podcasts, “Looking after number one,” with performance and mindset coach Michala Leyland, looked at how freelancers need to put themselves first to have a successful and healthy freelancing career.
However, this is often easier said than done, as we all know. So, to help get you started, we’ve pulled together five of our top takeaways from the podcast.
1. There is only one you.
You are everything to your business and the people around you. Yes, we can set goals, targets, and make plans, but you are the person who is responsible for achieving all of these things and more, so you need to get yourself in the best place to tackle everything head-on.
If you are experiencing burnout, take this as an opportunity to reassess. Take a step back and look at what you need to do to turn things around for you. Burnout can signal that things are out of alignment, so it’s important that you listen and respond accordingly to what’s going on.
Getting yourself well, feeling back on top of the world and looking after number one is the main priority. It’s important to know how important you are.
2. We’re still human.
For all at Freelance Heroes, we like to believe that all freelancers have superpowers (and we do); it’s also important to realise that we’re still human. We have to set goals for what we want to achieve, and we have to be realistic.
We need a destination, a business plan with a focus. However, we must be in the right mindset and understand what we want out of our freelance journey. How do we incorporate work-life balance? What strategies are we going to put in place to achieve our vision?
3. Self-care is vital.
If your self-care and mindset feel out of sync, and you feel like you’re all over the place, then the chances are that your business goal, strategy, and vision will also become part of that confusion. Therefore, it’s essential that you take care of yourself and ask yourself some tough questions with honest answers.
How are you? How are you performing? Are you enjoying the experience and living in a way that makes you happy and thrive? Or are you burning out and pushing too hard?
4. Imposter syndrome’s a b*tch.
The more we become self-aware and understand that it is our own selves that don’t allow us to enjoy our successes, the more we can channel these feelings and move on.
Imposter syndrome can lead to burnout as we put an immense amount of pressure on ourselves, especially if you’re just starting your freelancing journey.
Michala talks on the Podcast about the Positive Intelligence framework and how using the framework allows you to believe in and realise your dreams and aspirations.
That’s why having a clear picture of your aims and objectives and a clear vision of how you want your life and business to grow is key.
That and you’ve got to show up as if you mean it, showing that you genuinely want it. We’ve got to fight the urge to procrastinate, doing things that aren’t actually going to help you bring your vision to life, saying yes to everyone, and being a people pleaser.
5. Create a clear vision.
We all have different views and definitions of success, and this definition will change and evolve as years move on and we go through different phases in our business. And this is perfectly normal. It’s about focusing on the now and making sure you take the right steps towards your vision now.
In conclusion….
The freelance journey is exhilarating, but we’ll be honest and say that it can also test your self-confidence and resilience to the limit.
Our key takeaway is that you need to take care of your biggest business asset.
You.
Looking after number one is important: Putting yourself first, having clarity on your business vision, and then living your vision can help avoid burnout and ensure you stay on track and on a track that you want to be on!
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