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It’s been unbearably hot here in London this past week. My two desk fans have been on overdrive, whirring away around the clock. Except I’ve not even benefitted from the puffs of hot air they’ve tirelessly pumped out as I’ve pointed them permanently towards the dogs.
This has been the backdrop to the herculean effort I’ve mounted to get through my overstretched workload. You know things are bad when you start to wish you had an office to go to so you can cool off under the gentle hum of the air conditioning.
When I break down what I’ve actually been busy trying to get done on these sticky summer days, however, it’s mainly been worrying. I’m writing my first book at the moment, which has been a fantastic project to immerse myself in but it’s left me with no time to pitch any journalism. That hiatus has left plenty of room for my imposter syndrome to creep in and tell me that if I don’t write a feature soon, my right to call myself a journalist will be taken away from me. Surely editors will forget I exist because they’ve not heard from me in months? Will there even be a media industry for me to come back?
Then there’s the financial strain I’m feeling. The economics of writing a book don’t quite add up and, as I wrote last week, this newsletter is going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment. At the beginning of the year, I felt confident that I’d finally got my freelancing business to a place where I could start saying no to work that doesn’t align with my longterm goals, only to find myself now accepting any work that comes my way from fear of it all drying up. The stuffy nights haven’t helped matters. As I lay awake at 4 AM, I’m choked by the humidity and thoughts that maybe I’m just shuffling the deck chairs around.
Adjusting to the shockwaves of the pandemic is an ongoing process. While it’s taking time, I’m starting to accept that my business looks very different from what it did this time last year. A big part of my time is now spent re-ordering my priorities and shifting my projects around. This crisis has forced me to change some fundamental elements of how I work. I’m paying a lot more attention to the vital signs of my business and taking action when things seem to slip. If I’m honest, it’s a necessary change I needed to make.
And then, last night, the rain finally came. The wind picked up and then suddenly sheets of water were hammered out of dark, low clouds. The pressure broke, the air cleared. I stood still, watching from the window as it poured out and the relief washed over me.
C O O L S T U F F
🔐 TPF Chats with Wudan Yan about regular work: There's now a recording available of the members-only virtual event I hosted with the powerhouse freelancer, Wudan Yan, about the different ways to find ongoing work. These monthly sessions are exclusive to paying subscribers, click here to find out more
💌 Last chance to grab a ticket for the final newsletter masterclass! Sian Meades-Williams and I are running our last newsletter masterclass on August 18. It's on growing your audience and monetising your newsletter. There aren't plans for us to do another one, so grab a ticket while you still can!
🎙 On the podcast this week, we interviewed the brilliant Cate Sevilla about working in a crisis. The former editor-in-chief of The Pool talks to us candidly about what it was like to be at the helm of the publication when it folded
🗣 I went on the Remotely Inclined podcast this week to chat with Stefan Palios about building a remote business. If you aren't already subscribed to Stefan's newsletter, it's a must-read for anyone works for themselves. It's full of industry insider info about the online enterpreneurial world and features short and sharp interveiws with smart thinkers about how they make remote working work for them The Reading List
“Perhaps it won’t be long until your colleague with the bigger home and their own private office with working wifi is promoted above you as you are sat on your loo, balancing your laptop on your lap, trying to dial back in for the team meeting.” Tiffany Philippou on how home working is not made equal
“In a gentle tone she explained that I was likely experiencing what she called ‘workplace post-traumatic-stress disorder’.” Erika Stallings on the impact of racism in the workplace
Journalists are leaving media outlets to create their mini media empires
Jay Rayner on the death of the business lunch
A billionaire’s plans to open 2,000 working pods (complete with a chair, desk, fridge, microwave and fold-down bed) in east London
Top tips for early-career journalists working during the pandemic
A radical new way to schedule your week
How recent grads can stay afloat in uncertain times
Advice from astronauts on how to fix lockdown-induced back pain
The Professional Freelancer is a newsletter and community for anyone who wants to be happy and successful working for themselves. It's written by me, Anna Codrea-Rado, a journalist, podcaster and campaigner for freelance workers' rights. Illustrations are by Léo Hamelin.
