
“Now that I am working for myself, I have discovered yet another schedule that needs to be updated regularly… mine! The assurance of picking up the phone to ask a co-worker for assistance is no longer an option.
The upside? I actually feel I’ve become more adept at multitasking than when I was working as a full-time employee. However, I am still trying to figure out the matrix — How many projects I can take on at once? Can I commit to additional work when a current job is “tentatively” on hold? Can I still work, effectively, while on vacation? I assume the answers will come more easily with time, but I admit it can be a struggle right now.
With my first holiday as a contract employee behind me, I found the most important part of keeping my schedule organized was persistence, perhaps bordering on annoying. It wasn’t long ago I would lose patience with multiple calls from a photographer’s rep to inform me another client was prepared to book. Now I’m an empathetic freelance Art Buyer on the rep’s side. There is definitely a strategy in making sure clients maintain project schedules while getting others to commit to actual start dates.
I wish I were able to provide a perfect summation, especially because I know I’m hardly alone in this freelancer’s dilemma. Don’t get me wrong, I’m quite content being self-employed; I just hope I’ll eventually discover the perfect balance.”