Something I've learned about being a self-employed writer is that it's really useful for me to think of myself as two separate people—a manager and employee. Let me explain:
The short version is that I shouldn't ask anything of myself that I wouldn't ask of an employee. As a self-employed artist, it's really easy to be a workaholic. But when I had a day job, I tried to stand my ground and not give my whole life to the job. Why should that change now?
Sure, I'll work overtime when there's a big deadline... but I should also demand comp time/vacation/sick leave. And overtime is only for crunches. I'm not gonna sacrifice my home life just so a manager can have better metrics, even if the manager is me. (ESPECIALLY if it's me!)
But Manager Me isn't a villain, either! I like to think I was a good boss when I had employees—so I need to use those same skills in dealing with Employee Me. That means giving reasonable expectations and deadlines, rewarding good work, and removing unnecessary stressors.
Left to my own devices, I'll work every possible minute and feel both guilty and terrified that I'm failing to meet some vague, unattainable perfection. That's where Manager Me can step in and say, "No, it's the weekend—go recharge." Manager Me makes sure my goals are reasonable.
Which doesn't mean Manager Me is a pushover! If Manager Me notices that Employee Me is spending a lot of the workday screwing around on Twitter (hi!), it might be time for a stern conversation. And like any startup, sometimes the potential reward is worth some strategic overtime.
(I should note that all of this philosophy assumes financial security/privilege. It's one of the reasons I recommend keeping a day job for as long as necessary—scrambling for cash is a quick path to overworking and taking on gigs you don't want, which I find counterproductive.)
It might sound silly, but the more I roleplay these characters—actually speaking to myself in the third person—the easier it gets to keep my head on straight about what I'm doing and why. To make sure I'm not an abusive employer.
In the end, I believe that the purpose of business—any business—is to support its employees. To help the people doing the work live their best lives. And that goes triple for self-employed artists.
Because if we're not enjoying ourselves... what was the point?
Because if we're not enjoying ourselves... what was the point?
