How to keep it together as a freelance graphic designer

Working as a freelance graphic designer has lots of perks. Like sleeping in and working in your pyjamas. But it also has some setbacks. If you aren’t a full-on recluse, then working alone can make you feel lonely. It can also wreak havoc on your health. As freelancers, we do it all on our own; finding work, doing the work, chasing after invoices, and dealing with clients.

If you have ever worked in an office then you know that being part of a team or an agency covers some of the bases for important things like paychecks, insurance, ongoing work, and human interaction.

To give you a bit of push and some moral support, we put together a list of tips so you can keep it together and be more successful in your freelance career.

Get out of the house

Staying in and creating vectors in your sweatpants is great, for a while. But for your own health, you really need to get out of the house for some air. If you have lots of work and can’t take a break, then go and work somewhere else. You can go to a nice coffee shop that plays good music and has amazing cheesecake. Or you can get a hot-desk in that new co-working space that overlooks the river. You might even meet some other creatives and get inspired with new ideas. If where you live has nice weather and is relatively safe, get a mobile wifi router and work in the park once in a while. Just make sure the laptop is fully charged!

Stay organized

One of the biggest disasters for a freelancer’s mood is a sense of disorder and chaos. If you don’t have your tasks organized, you will get overwhelmed. If you are living on your own, then you are probably having to organize things for your home anyway, so why not organize your work as well. You can use a paper notebook journal or an online calendar. For more control, use an organizer like Trello or Asana. Keep track of your tasks and create a system. You wouldn’t believe how much this helps!

Get off social media

Social media is a freelancer’s worst distraction. Even if we say, “just a little look,” we can end up spending over an hour on Facebook. Then suddenly half the day is gone and no work got done! The best thing you can do is just close all social media apps, put on your favourite concentration music and get to work. There are even some apps that block social media from your computer at certain times of day if you really have no self-control.

Know your worth

There are few things in the world worse than working a lot and being paid very little for it. Ok, actually there is something worse, working a lot and then never getting paid. The first and foremost way to fix these problems is to know your worth. How do you prove that you know your worth?

• Charge enough for the job to be worth your time.
• Always sign a contract.
• Don’t start work until you’ve received a down payment (especially with new clients).
• Put your prices up a bit every year.

If you do encounter a client who doesn’t pay on time or is ghosting you, don’t hesitate to resort to higher measures like debt collectors.

If you value your downtime, make sure your contract states what hours you work and what hours you aren’t available. If you don’t tell your clients this at the beginning, they will expect an answer to their questions at whatever time of day.

Have a designer community close by

Sometimes the work you are doing needs a second pair of eyes. Being a freelancer, there might not be anyone at home to ask. That is why it’s best to join designer communities, either online or in your local area. A co-working space for creative can be a great place to find such a community. There are plenty of places online as well where you can find other creative minds to bounces ideas with.

Be active on social media

Yes, I know I said previously to get off social media, but that was for when you really have to get work done. To get your work seen, then you need to be on social media. So how do you balance it? Put social media marketing and engagement into your calendar, make it be part of your business strategy. Appreciate your followers, engage with them and start conversations. You never know where the next project will come from.

Know when it’s time to take a break

Even the most successful freelancer take breaks sometimes. It can be either a few hours a day or an entire week’s holiday. The point is to know when you need to stop working, or looking for work, and give yourself some attention. It can be some yoga classes, gym hours, going to the cinema, seeing friends. It can be anything that doesn’t involve you sitting in front of the computer choosing colour palettes.

How do you keep it together as a freelancer? Tell us in the comments!