There will hopefully come a time in every freelancer’s career when they have a lot of work coming in. It’s what we all dream of when we’re trying to figure out how to pay our bills in the beginning of our careers. Suddenly, we finally reach a tipping point and it’s like the floodgates flung wide open!
What a lot of people don’t talk about is that there is a downside to having a lot of success. Mostly, it’s that you feel totally overwhelmed until you get the hang of it. This can also be a time when we end up sabotaging ourselves if we’re not careful. Here are some of the ways to keep your energy up when you have a lot of work to do.
Practice gratitude.
One way to keep your energy up when you have a lot of work coming in is to practice gratitude. After all, isn’t this what you’ve been working so hard for all these years? Don’t you want clients to knock down your door?
Unfortunately, for most of us, the automatic response is to get stressed and think there isn’t enough time to get it all done. This is mostly an emotional response (emotions always respond first) so it’s up to use to take note and get grounded again.
Besides, the alternative is you don’t have work and are wondering how your bills are going to get paid. That is a feeling I’m sure you don’t miss.
Eat right.
A little less than a year ago, my business started to take off. This is also around the same time I started working with a nutritionist because I was having health issues. Many of my issues sprung from the fact that I was overworking myself and not doing things to take care of myself.
One thing I learned from her was that in order to keep my energy up I should be eating well and staying hydrated. She put me on a nutritional protocol that I try my best to keep, and I have to say that it does actually help you deal when you’ve got work up to your eyeballs.
It sounds basic and trite, but it’s true. If you want to keep your energy up when you have a lot of work you need to actually eat right.
Realize that not all stress is bad.
Here’s another thing I learned from my nutritionist – not all stress is bad. In fact, some stress is good and some stress is just normal. It’s chronic stress that’s the real issue here. Unfortunately, most of us have been taught that all stress is bad which leads to us freaking out and then, yes, becoming chronically stressed.
The reality is your body is meant to withstand some stress. Additionally, a lot of the things that we consider “bad stress”, like having too much work, really isn’t that bad.
For an awesome book on this, I highly recommend checking out The Upside of Stress. It will change the way you see overwhelm when you’ve got a lot of work on your plate. It’s been a game changer for me and the newfound knowledge will help keep your energy up when you’re working hard.
