The tides of freelancing

This week, a colleague approached me with several questions about freelancing. He asked about contracts, taxes, and the usual practical details. As we talked, he explained that he was considering freelancing as a way to gain more control over the long hours and compensation at his startup.

I gave him a long answer. This article captures its central idea.

tides

Freelancing can provide a stronger position from which to negotiate time and money. That position only matters when you exercise it; otherwise, you can still end up in an arrangement that satisfies neither you nor your client.

For me, this is closely connected to one of the greatest strengths I bring to a project: a very high level of motivation.

Time is the most precious resource in my life. If all goes well, I may have about eighty years of it. I choose to participate in society and contribute to it, so work is naturally one of the things on which I want to spend that time.

Look at a day or a week and consider how much of it goes to work. Because I charge an hourly rate, I track my productive time meticulously and record it to the minute. I can proudly point to weeks in which I logged more than fifty hours. I can be equally proud of months containing weeks with fewer than fifteen working hours.

At times, a project urgently needs my skills and I feel deeply motivated by the challenge. I will happily contribute my time, skill, and energy. At other times, I am just as content to spend most of the day with my children, read books, and do nothing conventionally described as productive.

Over the years, I have grown accustomed to this tidal way of working. The intense, fast, and long sessions are closely related to the quiet periods. For me, neither can exist sustainably without the other.

I thrive in critical situations and enjoy difficult problems. When I can commit honestly to a challenge, my mind and body support the effort. I have learned how much energy I can bring to work when I balance it with enough downtime.

Someone may see me work more than fourteen hours a day, three times in one week, and conclude that I work at an unsustainable pace. In reality, I pay close attention to how much time I can devote to work and when I need to stop.

I need a strong position from which to negotiate my own time. I cannot let a company or client dictate without limit how much of my life I exchange for money. That control is one of the main reasons I choose freelancing over employment.

Set your terms before work starts

If someone is using your willingness to work against you, decide what you are prepared to offer before they decide for you.

How much of your time are you willing to invest in a cause other than your own?
How much can you contribute sustainably without risking your health?
What genuinely drives your motivation, and what do you expect from yourself at work?

Those answers should shape the terms under which you work.