We talk a lot in freelancing about having the right tools for the trade. I have probably written more often here about having a proper office set up and doing data backups and finding the right computer than I should admit. And all of that is definitely important and worthy of discussion, absolutely.

We talk about having the right space to work in. The right technology at our disposal. The right mindset for establishing the boundaries around our work time. The right contacts, the right education, the right everything that directly facilitates our ability to get the job done.

There’s no question that freelancing requires an attention to detail that many of us never think about in the corporate world, because so much of that stuff is part and parcel of having a steady employer and a salaried position. And then occasionally we flip it around, and talk instead about “balance” and “self care” and the thing we must do apart from working to maintain our whole selves, rather than just our work selves.

But today I want to drop my chocolate in your peanut butter, as it were, and look at totally-non-work things which I feel have made me a better freelancer, by glorious happenstance.
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I would love to be able to say that I came to freelancing because of my entrepreneurial spirit and need to be the master of my own destiny, but that’s not really true. And as much as I joke about not playing well with others and preferring to be my own boss, that’s not really what brought me here, either.

The truth is that two things brought me to freelancing: 1) That my “mommy track” hiatus from the conventional corporate workforce was making it impossible to find a job that actually fit my skills and interest, and 2) that I was a single mother and desperately needed a way to make a living that was still flexible enough to accommodate my kids’ needs. And as for that second one, yes, I know there are people who work full-time in a corporate setting and still manage to get their kids to doctors’ appointments and activities and such, but I don’t know how people do that. Even with a flexible schedule, I am exhausted, trying to keep up with my family and my work.

I used to wish my kids were just a little bit older, to make things easier. And now they are, so what’s changed?
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There’s a reason I work from home. There’s a reason I work primarily via computer, pouring out all of the stuff that swirls around in my head and eventually typing it and sharing it from the safety of my home office.

We’ve talked about this before. It’s not that I’m shy, but I am an introvert. I’m perfectly happy spending most of my time alone, or interfacing with you via the computer. It’s how I work best. I would like it just fine if I could do this all the time and grow my business without leaving my desk. (Sad, perhaps, but true.) The reality is that this is not how business works; even wannabe-hermits like me have market ourselves to be successful.

So today I’m stepping out of my comfort zone to smile bravely and say: Will you vote for me? Pretty please? I really want to go do something I don’t want to do. Obviously.
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The only thing I find more painful that my quarterly tax payments, as a freelancer, is the periodic need to replace my computer. As someone who tries to spend very little money, it’s just always an agonizing experience, for me. Always. And it doesn’t matter that I’ve got the money set aside for it. It doesn’t matter that I use a computer every single day and it’s really the only essential piece of office equipment I need for my job, it’s just hard.

Or maybe I’m just neurotic. (No comments from the peanut gallery on that one.)

Anyway, it’s a necessary evil. And particularly for those just starting out, I think it can be very hard to make that big expenditure and not feel like you’re throwing your money away. “I’m spending how much on a computer? I would need to work how many hours to get that money back…?” But here’s the thing: There are lots of good reasons to do it, and to do it without freaking out.
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