Look back and you would seldom wish to be in the shoes of your granny or even your doting mother. The new woman is the bold and beautiful partner in every aspect of life. She is self reliant and vibrant, always in search of a better her. Thanks to the modern world which extended its arms to uplift her from inside the four walls of the home or a corporate office room. She was fortunate enough to have a congenial atmosphere.
A career woman and a home maker, both are faces of the same coin, a dual role with equal responsibilities. Perfecting both the demanding roles is a tough climb uphill. Many reasons urged her to search for a better option. For many, the search ended up in working at home, or better known as freelancing.
Why I chose freelancing
The attraction of working from home lies in the freedom that it offers on different fronts like flexible working hours, choice to work from your favourite cocoon, be in your comfortable dress and even attend to pressing needs like an ailing in-law in between the work
Flexible working hours:
I had worked in the 9 to 5 schedules for many years. But, what I feel now, when I drive my son to school with his project work, when my nerves are not wound taut at the ticking of the clock— that is something that freelancing has been able to give me. I can be with my ailing and aged parents whenever they need me or even to take them out for a surprise lunch. I am the boss of my schedules. That is a great feeling.
Safe in my niche:
I cherish the sense of freedom that I enjoy while working in my night pajamas, sipping my hot coffee and listening to my favorite music after seeing off my tiny tot and corporate hubby. I can muse on my topics, while watering the green area, or cooking rice and sambar. A free mind can think more deeply and calmly. I feel privileged and enjoy doing my work this way.
Planning your sabbatical:
My leisure time is at my will and wish and not in the scribbling sanction of a hesitant boss. Many times, I’ve had to postpone or even cancel the much planned pleasure trips and visits to relatives, as part of the corporate rat races. Pre-planned trips were like dreams that would never come true. But these days, I book tickets months before, and avail all the offers and benefits that tour packages can give you. Wonderful, isn’t it?
Journeys I despise:
I am spared of those tedious journeys up and down in all weather, in unkempt and unsafe public transport systems. I abhor those aggravated co-passengers who stamp your feet to get past you in their soaked dress and heavy bags. Fights with frowning rickshaw walas were my daily routine. I hate people taking advantage of me and so, these are situations that I can never do away with. I save those precious morning and evening hours, which I used to spend in slogging up and down in nerve breaking traffic jams, and now spend it as I wish. I am even contributing my part in saving the ozone layer as I keep my car locked at home! The petrol that I am saving, makes me a part of the universal campaign for oil conservation and reminds me of my commitment to the future generation.
Factor of remuneration A reasonable income is something that everyone wishes for while taking up an assignment. In freelancing, at least to a certain extent, I am deciding my emoluments, though it may involve a bit of negotiation. But almost always, it has been to my satisfaction. If your work is up to the mark, and you can prove that you are committed to the job, there is no reason for disappointment in the remuneration side. Your efficiency determines the earnings rather than some norms and rules.
I am able to devote more time for the health and grooming of myself and my family
Healthy cooking has taken the place of easy and fast cooking and take-home packets. I find ample time for my Yoga and meditation classes and sojourns to voluntary organizations, all which I had set aside to accommodate busy schedules that were not under my control. All this has seen the birth of a new me, gleaming in good health and a positive mind.
A job that you can take with you
Your infrastructure requirement is only a laptop and a fast internet connection. Changes of place and people do not pose a threat to you. A shift on short notice cannot affect your job or its pace, since you can rely on your basic requirements. You are spared of searching for lame excuses for missing out on important functions.
Personally, I love to write in short intervals of time:
My spells of creative moods are after everyone has left for office or school, when there is a soothing calmness. It could be during laundry breaks or during an evening hiatus.
So what more can one wish for, when one is being better paid in a better place, and in better mental and physical health.
My experience both in the corporate and freelancing field has helped me to identify the hurdles of a freelancer better. To list a few prominent facts:
It is very hard to establish yourself and find yourself in the much-in-demand slot. You don’t have any god father to back you or a clan which you can identify as yours.
The regularity of pay cheques is something I miss while being a freelancer. Stability of the job is also a matter of worry as it does not ascertain a steady source of income.
You have to extend yourselves to the present conditions in your field of working, by keeping up with what is most recent in style and information. Lack of formal training adds to your effort as you are devoid of guidelines.
You must keep a watch on your schedules, because, having all the time at your disposal, does not ensure productivity. So, targets to meet become your sole responsibility. You have to ensure that you are well-organized. Any minor flaw could cost you your hard-earned reputation.
A conscious effort should be there to involve variety or, boredom could slow down your pace. You have to be in the lookout for better clients or, enlarge your clientele to avoid monotony in work.
Extra care should be there to keep your social life alive— like organizing likeminded people for a regular get-together— or you could become isolated. One should remember that a job usually provides a social outlet. Not forgetting the not-so friendly colleague, there was a role played by her to keep your nerves on track.
Misconceptions that could misguide:
You are better paid for less work
If I am available for a morning movie show, it is because I’ve worked all night until 1 o’clock to meet my targets. Only with better time management can I really enjoy that movie. You can even work on holidays or odd hours and mint some more silver. That is your own choice.
Freelancers enjoy a stress-free life
This is a completely false notion. You have to take the responsibility for your financing, marketing and sub-contracting. This multi-faceted responsibility can lead to stress, if not done with care.
Freelancers are always frantically in search of projects.
I do search for projects, but I don’t take up all and sundry. I opt to take up only those I am fully conversant and confident to deal with.
Less chance of socializing.
I would say that I am talking to more people of my wavelength now than when I was in my corporate office room, in a much better mood and on many diverse topics. It is up to you whether you should socialize or lock up at home.
As a freelancer, you hate corporate set ups and would never go back to it.
My quality of life has definitely improved with flexible working hours. Finding the right job and focusing on the positive aspects of the freelancing career has helped me to move forward. However, there is always the chance that changing necessities and a lucrative job offer from a large and established company may woo me back to the rat race!
To wind up, I would even like to boast that women foresee things! The time is not far away when even the corporate giants would like to get their work done without huge investments on office set ups. People will find themselves in front of terminals at home and settling matters on video conferencing. So, we the women, chose to make it earlier. We don’t call it going back to home; instead, it is “marching ahead of time”.
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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in September, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
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—About our writer:
Bhakti WableSaha is an Instructional Designer with 6 years of work experience in the IT industry. With 4+ years experience in Instructional Design, she has developed training for clients in US, UK, Middle East, and India. Bhakti has worked with leading e-learning companies in India and has written and designed courses for several domains including finance, HR, and soft skills such as workplace-related issues etc. As a freelancer, she has expertise in article writing and web content writing. She is currently based in Kolkata.
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