How Do I Decide If I Should Freelance and Quit My 9-5?
Should I stay or should I go? Not only was this an overplayed hit song from the early 1980’s by the Clash, but it could very much sum up where you may be in your decision to jump into that freelance life. Maybe you feel somewhat committed to making the leap. A bit lukewarm like eating a room temperature paella. It seems kinda good, but also like it could just as likely be a pretty bad idea that could mess you up for days.
Maybe you’re still wiggling and hopping back and forth in indecision, like Justin Timberlake trying to dance in khakis in 2022. Or maybe you can’t wait to get the f*** out of that way-too-heavy office door and leave behind the smell of stale non-dairy creamer in the mini-fridge.
Wherever you may be on the commitment scale, we’re here to help you kick it up a notch (ya know, only if you want to). Getting to the promised land will take some hard work, street smarts, a steady dose of resolve, and many, many submarine sandwiches.
Luckily, this lesson can help you with that last one. Um, we mean the second to last one. Note: We know we said we don’t like the whole “I’m an expert” thing, but we do happen to be experts on submarine sandwiches. So, if you need a list of recs for your tri-state area, hit us up.
Anyway, believe it or not, there are some techniques you can use to maintain the determination and focus you’ll need to make the leap into full-time freelancedom. Just know this: the more committed you are, the smoother your transition will be. Sort of like learning to do any one of those X-Games sports. Have you ever seen someone half-ass dropping into a half-pipe? It ain’t pretty. Onward and forward!
Quit playin’ (mini) games and start setting mini goals.
We know that your goal is shedding your “normal” 9-5 and going freelance. That’s a big goal! It’s a doable one…but big. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by such a goal, tbh. To save your brain from exploding, we recommend breaking down your Moby-Dick-sized goal into smaller, more manageable, goldfish-sized pieces.
Make sure that your mini-goals are specific!
Specific goals will tell you what you need to do to consider it complete. They are kinda like learning objectives, right? (You know all about those!). Unspecific goals can be very overwhelming and confusing. They’re also more likely to discourage you or make you think “I can just do that later.” Incorrect, young padawan. The time is now!
Let’s say, for example, you set out a goal to “get your finances in order.” A brilliant idea. Knowing how much money is going in and out of your bank account every month. The problem is that this goal is vague and nonspecific.
To some, getting your finances in order would mean creating a budget and tracking your spending, while to others, it could be making a pretty collage out of your credit cards.
“Getting your finances in order” needs to be specific and measurable. Let’s rework this good idea into something specific. Something like, “Create a Google Sheet that tracks my income & expenditures for the last six months to come up with an estimated monthly budget.” This is a specific and measurable goal because you are:
Write your goals on paper.
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Have you ever tried to do a small DIY project at home? Anyone who has taken up the task knows that any project, no matter how large or small, will involve at least three trips to the hardware store and at least one additional trip to their competitor when they are out of that thing-a-majig. And probably at least 14 minutes each trip spent looking at plant babies and/or holiday decorations.
One of the reasons it may take us multiple trips is that we make a list in our heads of everything we need to complete the project. Inevitably, we see a bright, shiny object and forget the one or two important things on our list. If we had written it down, we could have checked or crossed off each item as we got it and saved ourselves a trip or two. The same logic applies to writing your goals on paper.
Writing your mini-goals down is an explicit, intentional action. The process helps you articulate exactly what you intend to do AND it plays a part in motivating you to complete the tasks to achieve it. Doing this also gives you the opportunity to strategize, ask questions about your current progress, and brainstorm your plan of attack.
There was a fancy study done that suggests you’re almost 50% more likely to achieve a goal if you write it down. Talk about a life hack!
Share your goals.
Humans are social creatures, and peer pressure and vanity are real. So use them to your advantage (for once)! No one wants to feel like a failure (or an @ss).
Here’s the problem, though. You might not want your current employer to find out about your grand plans at this point, right? So, how do you share your big picture goal or mini-goals if you don’t take this public on social media (or behind the podium at the White House Rose Garden)?
We have the solution.
Call us old-fashioned, but talking (offline) with your most trusted friends and/or family can do the trick! You might want to skip that one weird uncle who’s golf buddies with the CFO of your company, tho. However, the rest of your peeps probably won’t tattle to your boss. Heck, they probably don’t even know your boss’ name!
Even if you talk with only one other person about your goals, your commitment will be much stronger than if you keep it to yourself.
So, if you’re nervous, just start with one person. When you’re more comfortable, keep sharing the news with more trusted friends, siblings, cousins, shamans, ferrets, cashiers, and milkmen. You’d be surprised just how much one of the co-head honchos has shared with her local Publix’s and Michaels’ cashiers. They’re so friendly, encouraging…and efficient!
After you share your goals, you will feel the need to be seen by those others as a “responsible” person. If you say that you will do something, there is a higher probability that you will really do it. Yay for shame and responsibility and commitment tactics and psychologically tricking ourselves!
Sorry folks, this is all we can give away for free! We have babies and puppies to feed! You want us to feed our babies and puppies, don’t ya?!