I love my work

Have I mentioned lately how much I love what I do for a living? I have to give my husband a lot of credit for not saying anything when I announced to him that this is what I wanted to do – freelance full-time. Whether he had reservations, he never said. He knows that I can do a good job, but doing a good job and translating it to a full-time income isn’t always the same thing. I’ll always be grateful for his support.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve worked on so many different things that I can’t get bored; I don’t have time! Right now, I’m writing some patient education material (my favourite work), procedure summaries, wellness messages, nursing articles and article/study summaries. I’m editing a CME newsletter and gathering together information for an up-and-coming website. And that’s just the main stuff. I have a few other things in the works as well and I’m really enjoying it.

It’s funny because I have worked from home since the late 1990s, but I was never as happy and relaxed as now. I’ve always said that I’m not organized enough to do this because it’s more than just writing. You have to market yourself, you have to keep track of your clients, you have to keep track of your projects, and you have to make sure you invoice your clients and get paid. Oh, and then there’s the taxes and expenses, and everything else. When I was freelancing on the side, I was right – I wasn’t organized to do a good job keeping things straight. While I kept my clients straight and the work, I was awful at keeping my records straight. But now that I’m doing it full time, I’m as organized as can be. Everything is being logged in the right places and paper work is done on time as it should be. I barely recognize myself. Now, if I could figure out how to organize my office so it doesn’t look like a tornado hit it.

Making the jump to full-time freelancing is scary. There’s so much of “what if” that it can start playing games with your mind. What if you can’t find the clients? What if the clients aren’t happy? What if you can’t deliver? And on and on. Of course, there’s also the other worries like, what if you get sick and can’t work? What if…..?

But, if the what ifs start to get too overwhelming, it’s time—I think—to ask, what if I get too much work? What if I have to start turning down work? What if I can’t take a vacation? Wouldn’t those what ifs be so much more fun to ask?

I’m determined to make this work. I would really like to spread out though. Although the medical and health writing is interesting and can be fun, I would love to be able to write more general things. I’ve started querying some magazines with some ideas I have. It probably won’t be easy being able to switch mindsets sometimes, but it will be worth it. I’m sure of it.

Today’s News:
Calgary Health Region issues TB alert
Caught sleeping on the job? No worries
Antipsychotics increase death risk among seniors