Want some pandemic survival tips for freelancers? I spent the month of August writing specific blogs to help Australian freelancers during COVID-19. The situation in Melbourne and regional Victoria inspired some 31 blogs. You can check them out via the specific imaginatively named Freelancing during COVID section.
Meanwhile, I have compiled 27 short pandemic survival tips for freelancers. I hope you like them!
You can do this. You know you can.
And here’s how.
- Set yourself up with a routine. If you can’t get stability from the world, may as well make it yourself, right?
- Dig out your strengths. Remind yourself of times you’ve triumphed, moments you prevailed and when you’ve kicked some arse. Meditate on those skills.
- Sit with your feelings. Don’t blunt them, drink them or eat them. Sit with those gloriously gooey little things and look after them a little.
- Chase the good stuff in life. Chase hugs, music, laughter, puppies, sunbeams, baths and anything else that makes you a little fresher than you felt five minutes ago.
- Revel in the absurd. If the universe is intent on making toilet roll a currency, handshakes a thing of the past and for us all to walk around in masks, who the fuck are we to argue?
- Embrace boredom. Think of it as peace, space and a place to rest in the time space continuum before the next calamity happens.
- Reconnect with purpose. Find your meaning, channel your why, write a manifesto, take up the tango. Do something that makes you feel as though you have a spring in your step.
- Challenge yourself to connect. Make the phone call. Write the letter. Send the postcard. Setup the Zoom call. Text the silliness.
- Create a history. Take a photo every day of life in lockdown so that you can see the progress build. Write yourself postcards from the pandemic. Whatever works.
- Practice gratitude. Write down three things you are grateful for each day. No matter how big or small, they matter.
- Face and explore your problems. Capture three challenges in your journal at night. Watch as they fade away in the distance with time.
- Demonstrate your progress. Note down three things you’ve done well each day. Simple or supreme, notice the progress you are making bit by bit.
- Write your own lists of tips for inspiration. Write down the creativity you aced. Write down the ways you made your client’s life easier. Write your own list of pandemic survival tips for freelancers. Move beyond pandemic survival tips for freelancers and write them for your neighbours, fellow parents, dog owners, metal heads, Lego enthusiasts and anyone else you can think of.
- Give your attention to one thing. Try listening to an album through headphones or tuning into a podcast. Make it your single focus.
- Take a break from digital stimulation. It’s OK to take a day off the internet or to switch all the notifications off. Interact online on your own terms.
- Experiment with everyday mindfulness. Eat slowly with a focus on your food. Feel the water hit you all over in the shower. Sing and feel the sound leave your belly and move through the chest, out your mouth and onto your ears.
- Keep things in perspective. Ask yourself “is this the hill I want to die on?” with the comments section. Or “is this what I want written on my tombstone?” when you get carried away with a task. Self-grounding for the win.
- Make appointments for self-care. The digital landscape and our own brains may not always work the way we want them to. Giving them structure and booking in what we need will.
- Aim for quality interactions. We aren’t going to get as many or as in-depth connections as we like without physical touch or travel. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have deep conversations or make time for each other.
- Use the technology to pick up the slack. Ask that family member who always takes trip photos to put together a show and screen it on Zoom. Dig out the family photo albums and take a trip down memory lane by digitising them and telling stories. Record the stories of your elderly relatives for family history and so they feel less isolated.
- Keep a negative thoughts disruptor. Pay a dollar to a piggy bank or writ the thought on a scrap of paper. Get them out and turn them into something else
- Value sleep. Have a bath beforehand to relax you. Make your bed with fresh linen. Lower the temperature so it’s cool enough to sleep. Use soft lighting. Add lavender to your pillow. Ask for a pre-sleep massage. Buy sumptuous pajamas. Plug the phone in elsewhere. Make sleep an event.
- Don’t be afraid to sleep in. if you wake up anxious, an extra half hour or hour can do wonders.
- Remember the little things make the whole. Aim for small wins to make you feel better. Embrace small successes throughout the day.
- Talk about things that are bothering you. Don’t let them stay stuck in your head.
- Reflect on the positive, powerful and interesting things you do each day. These are wild, never to be repeated times. May as well absorb what we can.
- Share how you feel with friends. You’re always welcome to share how you are feeling in the Freelance Jungle. That’s what we’re there for!
I hope these tips have helped you. Why not add some of your own in the comments section?