I know, it’s very ironic that months have passed since I said I’d make a post about art and time management. This still isn’t going to be that post, but I thought I’d say a bit on the subject anyway.
As it turns out, my time management skills aren’t as great as I thought they were. I’d been feeling pretty good about my ability to meet deadlines, whether self-imposed or not. And then I got thrown for a bit of a loop.
Freelancing is a very uncertain business. This is why every freelancer recommends that you don’t quit your day job right away, and make sure you have enough money saved up to support yourself during the time when the jobs just aren’t there. When I started serious freelancing this year, just after being allowed to work in the UK, I was very lucky in that I had (and still have) a client and a regular stream of work. What I did not have, though, was a “day job” or any savings – that had all gone into my move to the UK. I started to become uncomfortably aware of the fact that the burden of bills and shopping all fell to my husband, and of course this wasn’t fair. I would have to get a part-time job to supplement my freelancing job.
Five months later, I’m just starting to recover from that decision. While the part-time job has definitely helped us financially, it is demanding and increasingly stressful. Originally meant to be a supplement, it has become my primary source of work, leaving me with little time or energy to do the job I really love or to seek out more clients.
I have been struggling over the past few months to find a good work-more work-life balance. Part of the problem has been my way of thinking, which I plan to go over in another post, because I’m certain other artists must have the same issue. But fortunately, I do feel like I’m finally starting to get back on my feet. I’ve finished a book cover and two pieces for a client, going on three, and I think I might be ready to look for more work soon. We’ll see how it goes from here.
Vanessa Ellis 