An Unfun Dilemma for Freelancers: How Much Client Work to Take On
Finding the right balance between client work and personal projects is hard.
This might sound surprising, but I think I’d prefer to push out more Medium content than to make an extra $500–1,000. Am I crazy?
Maybe.
Probably.
This potentially controversial take was the 180th entry of my book/journal (June 28, 2020).
I had just wrapped up a busy month of client work. In fact, it was my highest earning month of 2020 at the time ($3,009). While I was excited to bolster my income, I was equally bummed that my Medium output dwindled to a single post. My views, reads, and earnings all took a massive hit.
I felt conflicted.
I didn’t become a freelance writer to load up my proverbial plate with an oversized serving of client work. Why leave a corporate job to replicate the lifestyle?
Since I first went full-time as a writer (July 2019), I’ve wanted to create, expand, and monetize personal projects, such as my Medium publications, my financial newsletter, and my book. By doing so, I hoped to pave the path to total financial and creative autonomy, making money from enjoyable “work.”
So, instead of finding clients and addressing their content needs, I prioritized these activities during the first two years of my business. That said, I still employed a long-term, slow-growth inbound marketing strategy on LinkedIn — I just had no idea when or even if it would pay off.
Well, it eventually did.
In September 2021, I started reeling in inbound leads daily. A few of those leads turned into model clients who respect what I do, communicate openly and timely, and pay me well.
Over the last four months of 2021, I made more money ($18,246) than I did in the first eight months ($16,716). It’s been relieving from a financial standpoint, as I’ve been able to save more and not stress as much about spending — but, according to science, for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.
In this case, that reaction has been reduced time for personal projects. My Medium output declined yet again, and I’ve had to delay editions of my newsletter.
A huge bummer.
This introduced a common yet tricky dilemma for freelance writers with broader ambitions:
Finding the right balance between client work, personal projects, and general free time.
I’m learning that a big step within the growth process of freelance writing is loading your plate with just enough client work to sustain you comfortably — at least for what I’m trying to do. I know plenty of writers who are perfectly content with overseeing a portfolio of clients.
So, for writers who want to create income streams from scratch, what IS the right balance?
Based on personal experience and observations of other writers, three to four hours of client work per day seems like a solid baseline. Obviously, several factors influence that range — like rates, the type of writing, word output ability, monetary needs, deadlines, etc. — but it’s a good place to start.
Anything more could eat into your free time and lead to burnout. Anything less could strain your finances.
Four hours may not sound like much, but I don’t mean a four-hour window. I’m talking about four hours of dedicated work, which excludes emails, breaks, meals, chores, mindlessly scrolling through your phone, and anything else that can’t be attributed to a project. You’d be surprised how much time these activities consume on a daily basis.
In 2021, I averaged about 4.5 hours of legit, nose-to-the-grindstone work per workday. My goal is to up that figure to 5 or 5.5 this year, while I strive to:
- Make $5,000 a month from freelance clients
- Maintain a steady presence on Medium, Twitter, and LinkedIn
- Publish 2–3 newsletters per month.
It’s doable, but I really need to optimize my schedule. A disorganized or laissez-faire approach won’t cut it.
How many hours per day do you work? How do you maintain balance in your work-passions-life?
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