This One Thing Eliminated 90% Of The Stress In My Life

Summary

Susie Kearley's transition to freelance writing in 2011 significantly reduced her stress by eliminating corporate frustrations and allowing her to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of self-employment, despite the challenges of securing consistent work.

Abstract

Susie Kearley, a former corporate employee, found that becoming a freelance writer in 2011 drastically reduced the stress in her life. The change allowed her to escape the daily grind of commuting, pointless meetings, and corporate politics. With the newfound freedom to choose her writing topics and work schedule, she experienced a sense of liberation and satisfaction. Although the quest for sufficient work remained a constant challenge, leading her to diversify into photography and join Medium, the overall stress reduction was substantial. Kearley appreciates the flexibility and autonomy of freelancing, which suits her personality and work style, and she has no desire to return to the corporate world.

Opinions

Kearley values the freedom and choice that come with self-employment, which she believes outweighs the stress of finding enough work.
She found corporate life, including the commute and meetings, to be a significant source of stress and a waste of time.
The author enjoys the variety and flexibility of freelance work, which sometimes doesn't feel like work at all, such as when visiting National Trust gardens and interviewing volunteers.
Despite the pandemic's impact on her ability to find new ideas and visit places, she has adapted by writing on Medium and focusing on different types of content.
Kearley feels that her work is now more appreciated as a freelancer compared to her time in the corporate environment.
She expresses satisfaction with her repeat clients and the reduced stress level in her life since becoming a freelance writer.

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Back in 2011, I quit my job and became a freelance writer. You might think that was more stressful than working for someone else, but being self-employed gave me freedom, choices, and got me away from all the corporate bullshit and pointless meetings that were swallowing up time and achieving nothing.

My life suddenly became much more simple. No stressful commute in the mornings, I’d just roll out of bed onto my computer.

Energised by copious cups of green tea and total freedom over what I wanted to write about (as long as I could convince someone to pay me for it) I felt free! And relieved. I’d always hated commuting.

Working on my own with a computer, I cut straight to the chase to get my work done. No pointless chats with the boss, or checks with superiors and teams.

Once my day’s objectives were accomplished, I’d go for a walk, or do whatever the hell else I wanted to do. Because what’s the point of being freelance if you don’t enjoy the flexibility?

The only stressful part was trying to find enough work, because starting out, getting enough work in to fill my days was the biggest challenge, and it has always remained so. It’s why a lot of freelance writers also do teaching, workshops, write books, or have second jobs.

Back in those days, I was so driven, I’d pitch 7 days a week to try and keep the work coming in. And it worked, in the sense that I was busy pitching when I wasn’t busy writing for a commission.

I enjoyed the flexibility and freedom of being self-employed. I was being paid to visit National Trust gardens, take photos, and interview volunteers, and sometimes, it didn’t feel like work at all!

I kept busy but it was always a challenge to keep enough work coming in, so I did eventually develop side-lines in photography, doing stock photography and selling pictures to calendar companies. Then last year, I decided to join Medium.

These days, I’ve reined in the level of pitching and admit I feel a little exhausted. I’ve covered my local attractions so many times, and because of the pandemic, I’ve not been going out meeting so many people, or visiting indoor spaces. So coming up with new ideas for magazines is getting harder.

That’s why I’m also now writing opinions and other stuff on Medium — no one cared for my opinions in the corporate world or in the paying press!

But I still feel the freelance lifestyle suits me, and I’d never want to go back to all the stress of a corporate environment, the pointless meetings, the politics and the fact that I seem to rub people up the wrong way. I often felt under-appreciated and now, none of that shit matters.

I have repeat clients who value my work as a freelance writer. And I love it!

90% of my stress has gone.