Gina Icomo

NEWBIE FREELANCER’S LIFE IN A DAY BY GINA ICOMO FEBRUARY 6, 2022 FACING TRAFFIC AND LOTS OF WORK EVERY DAY CAN BE EXHAUSTING. YOU ARE TOO TIRED TO HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE. SO I DECIDED TO QUIT MY CORPORATE JOB AND THAT’S WHEN I LEARNED TO FREELANCE. FREELANCERS DO NOT STOP LOOKING FOR JOBS SO THAT THEY CAN HELP MORE CLIENTS AND EXPAND THEIR SKILLS. TO BE HONEST, THIS INDUSTRY IS NOT EASY AT ALL. ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY BACKGROUND IN FREELANCING. THERE WERE DAYS THAT YOU WANTED TO STOP LEARNING AND TAKING COURSES, BUT THERE ARE DAYS WHEN YOU WANT TO PURSUE IT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO LEARN AND EXCEL IN THIS INDUSTRY. HERE IS A TIMELINE OF MY DAY AS A NEWBIE FREELANCER. MORNING I SET MY ALARM AT 7:00 AM SO THAT I COULD START EARLY AND FINISH MY JOB AND ONLINE COURSES WHICH HELPS ME IN MY FREELANCING JOURNEY. BUT, SOMETIMES I WAKE UP BY 8 AM BECAUSE SOMETIMES I FINISH MY HOMEWORK LATE AT NIGHT. WHEN I WAKE UP, I START BY TAKING VITAMINS AND DOING SOME WORKOUTS. AFTER THAT, I OPEN MY LAPTOP TO CHECK MY EMAIL AND WRITE NOTES FOR THE DAY. I WILL CHECK MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AND LISTEN TO MUSIC OR BROWSE SOME VIDEOS. I TAKE BREAKFAST AFTER AN HOUR OR TWO. LUNCH BREAK I EAT LUNCH BY 12:00 OR 12:30 PM AND AFTER THAT, I WILL CHECK MY SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AGAIN, AND SOMETIMES I’LL WATCH SOME SHOW ON NETFLIX OR SHORT CLIPS ON FACEBOOK AFTER I EAT. I WILL TAKE A SHOWER TO FRESHEN UP FOR THE AFTERNOON WORK. AFTERNOON IN THE AFTERNOON, I USUALLY OPEN MY SPOTIFY TO FEEL RELAXED DOING WORK AND ASSIGNMENTS IN MY FREELANCING CLASS. SOMETIMES I DO ERRANDS IN THE AFTERNOON OR HAVE SOME TIME WITH MY PARENTS AND SON FOR ABOUT AN HOUR. THEN, I STOP WORKING BY 6:00 PM. I DON’T SHUT DOWN MY LAPTOP YET BECAUSE I OFTEN CHECK AND RESPOND TO EMAILS, AND SOMETIMES GET BACK ON THE LAPTOP TO DO A LITTLE MORE HOMEWORK OR BROWSE AND WATCH BEFORE GOING TO BED. MONTHS OF LEARNING AND DOING REMOTE WORK MADE ME REALIZE THAT BEING A FREELANCER MEANS WORKING LONG HOURS SOME DAYS, BUT I ALSO HAVE THE FREEDOM TO TAKE AN AFTERNOON OFF OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT I CHOOSE TO DO WITH MY TIME. AS LONG AS THE WORK GETS DONE, FREELANCING CAN OFFER YOU A FLEXIBLE LIFESTYLE. I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FREELANCER INDUSTRY AND I AIM TO BE A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCER IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS.