Whether you are a designer, programmer, web developer, or simply a hobbyist in one of these fields, you might find yourself working from home due to various circumstances, regardless of the availability of office jobs or your preference for them. Unlike my previous post about the benefits of freelancing, and given that I’ve experienced both scenarios and currently live the second, I’ll share some of the drawbacks of freelancing, specifically when working from home. I won’t be discussing solutions or how to organize your life right now—I’ll just focus on the downsides.
No Separation Between Work and Personal Life:
In my opinion, this is the most significant point. When working from home, there is no clear separation between your work and personal life. Any time could potentially become work time. You might find yourself eating while working, talking to friends, or sitting with your family while handling tasks. This situation makes it difficult to focus on one thing at a time. Even during important family gatherings, you might receive a work-related call that distracts you completely. Note: Most of the calls you’ll get will likely involve new, urgent problems or crises. All of this will put you in a constant state of readiness, leading to stress and anxiety that will dominate your entire life, effectively erasing the word “organization” from your life.
Disjointed Work Hours:
You might work late into the night, wake up early to start an important task, or work in the morning and then go out in the evening to meet clients. After that, you might return to continue working for the rest of the day. Even when you sit down for your only meal of the day, you might receive a call asking you to revise a design or complete a specific task, causing you to interrupt your meal. And of course, you won’t feel like you have any time off; every day is work, and your hours are scattered and fragmented.
Daily Routine and Repetition:
You wake up and start your work in the same place, spend the whole day in the same place, talk to the same people, use the same tools, and do the same things every day. There’s little to no change, and this routine can make your life feel boring and repetitive, with nothing new to look forward to.
In Conclusion:
You might notice a contradiction between what I mentioned earlier in the post about the benefits of freelancing and what I’m saying now, but every work style has its pros and cons. These are just some of the key drawbacks I’ve encountered while freelancing from home, despite its many advantages 🙂