Freelancing to Freedom

I never realized just how much time I wasted until I started freelancing. Ah time. My favourite topic. Now, let’s get something straight right off the bat – I don’t think that doing nothing is wasting time. There’s a lot to be said for just sitting and vegging out (I posted about this back in July – “Active vs. Passive Time”). But this needs to be a conscious decision. I’m talking about the time that’s wasted while “in limbo.”

For example, if a friend is coming to pick me up for lunch in fifteen minutes and I’m ready to go, I have a tendency to simply let this time slide through my hands. “Fifteen minutes? What can I do in that time? Nothing. Guess I’ll just sit on the couch and wait impatiently.” As I’ve progressed in my freelance career, however, I’ve become much more aware of the value of fifteen, ten, and even five minutes. Various productivity experts have written about much work can be accomplished by concentrating your work efforts into short blocks of time.

And it’s true. I’ve finished several large projects in faster times than I could have imagined simply by spending the time I usually spend waiting on a project instead. Granted, I’m not saying all work should be done in fifteen-minute chunks. But being mindful of when you can squeeze in a few more minutes of work will pay off huge in the end.

The same holds true for life in general. Don’t let time slide through your hands waiting for the next big thing to come along. Make a conscious effort to do nothing, or use those five minutes you have free and call a friend to catch up, get some fresh air, and just live your life. Don’t listen to those minutes counting away – they add up quickly.

Namaste 🙂