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The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

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Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#61

Post by OJFord »

jpatokal wrote: post #43
josefresco wrote: post #41

"I went outside to get coffee and ran into three different neighbors who wanted to chit-chat. I wanted to scream, ‘For every word that comes out of your mouth, I’m losing money!" This is a statement from someone who either hasn't been freelancing that long, or who hasn't realized that "brain down time" is just as important as raw coding hours. I've worked "for myself" for almost 20 years and for the first 5 I too pan…

Yes, that's pretty much what the friendly article says: > “If we’re already in the time-is-money mindset, we can reframe our leisure time as something that enables us to be more productive in the future,” says Whillan. “When we’re conditioned to think of all our time as ‘on the clock,’ leisure time feels abstract and unsatisfying. But if we tell ourselves that leisure time is another means to achieve that goal or fin…

That's interesting, because I think (I don't freelance) I'd look at it the other way: work funds my leisure, so how much must I work to fund the leisure?

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#62

Post by buboard »

josefresco wrote: post #41

"I went outside to get coffee and ran into three different neighbors who wanted to chit-chat. I wanted to scream, ‘For every word that comes out of your mouth, I’m losing money!" This is a statement from someone who either hasn't been freelancing that long, or who hasn't realized that "brain down time" is just as important as raw coding hours. I've worked "for myself" for almost 20 years and for the first 5 I too pan…

Yep i would guess most freelancers would welcome and even seek some outside interaction, given that it's an isolating experience.

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#63

Post by q-base »

egze wrote: post #45
q-base wrote: post #5

Freelancer here. This does not ring true for me. I can see a causation between freelancing and vacation. Vacations "seem" more expensive as they are both a cost and a period of lost income. But all those existential worries looks like an underlying issue with the person itself, more than freelancing in general. Freelancing may enhance it. But if you are more angry, less social and hence less happy, then no matter wha…

I almost always feel irritated when booking a vacation for this reason. So many days of lost income! But the funny thing at the same time is - I really need vacations and always feel better after them. Also the same thing if I need to do something during office hours (like a doctor appointment).

Yes, but it just underscores the point of how important it is to not lifestyle inflate. I am now coming to a point where I do not feel like I really need the money more than the vacation. Sure it is lost income, but will it really change my life as opposed to the time off - properly not :)

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#64

Post by UweSchmidt »

dsr_ wrote: post #37
UweSchmidt wrote: post #17

On the other hand, equating time (especially work time) with money helps with making sense of what money is actually worth. These days every product category is full of well presented temptations in any price range. The correct way to evaluate a 1000$ phone, a mechanical keyboard with custom keycaps, fantastic coffee machines and barbecues and car parts and designer handbags is to put them in relation to "how many ho…

A thousand dollar phone is a thousand dollars; we invented money in order to have a universal metric of value when comparing things like "working in the fields", "bucket of nails" and "cuckoo clock". These days, most people, most of the time, can't decide to work 20 hours more in order to afford a new thingy. If you're on salary, that's it. If you're an hourly worker with your hours assigned by management, that's it.…

We have invented money, but what is 1000$ really and how can I tell if I can afford something that costs 1000$? Because I get a loan for 1000$? Because I have 1001$ in my account? What is a fair price for a phone anyway, and how am I influenced by marketing and by the people around me, by emotions?

Equating time to money is just a small start for 'feeling' the true cost of an expense, and is just a small part of understanding and managing one's finances.

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#65

Post by OJFord »

hackathonguy wrote: post #39
UweSchmidt wrote: post #17

On the other hand, equating time (especially work time) with money helps with making sense of what money is actually worth. These days every product category is full of well presented temptations in any price range. The correct way to evaluate a 1000$ phone, a mechanical keyboard with custom keycaps, fantastic coffee machines and barbecues and car parts and designer handbags is to put them in relation to "how many ho…

I completely agree, but would like to note a common fallacy following this logic. If my hourly rate is $20, I might think that a $200 phone is worth 10 hours. The thing is, the majority of those $20 I make are probably already allocated to things like rent, food, transportation and so on. If those things account for 50% of my expenses, for example, the $200 phone is actually worth 20 hours of my time. (That is, unles…

You could do it like that - subtract 'essentials' (for some definition) from your hourly rate - but you don't have to.

You could also say your rent et al. are X hours, and watch you don't 'spend more hours' than you work.

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#66

Post by theli0nheart »

I have to disagree with the premise of the article. Note: I've been freelancing / self-employed since 2010.

If anything, knowing that every minute can be transformed into cash has a profound positive psycological affect. You should question how to spend your time. Time is, after all, your most valuable resource. It shouldn't be anathema to be protective of it.

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#67

Post by alistairSH »

stevage wrote: post #57
photoguy112 wrote: post #28

I went from hourly, to per project, to weekly billings. When I charged hourly I ended up working A LOT more than 9-5. Per project work was good but I ended up losing a lot of prospects in the quote. Since many of my projects ran into the 20-40k range, my closing rate was 1/10 (already pre-screened, what I deemed as high quality prospects). This made me feel like crap. Instead of per project, I decided to increase the…

What's the difference between "the highly paid freelancer" and "the consultant" for you?

Not sure about the OP, but to me... The freelancer is building product on their own, or mostly so. Somebody hires them to do the majority of the project. "Hi, I need a website that does X, here's $20k to build it."

The consultant is embedded in an existing team and either building some niche portion of the product OR providing some sort of training. "Hi, I need a website that does X, we're only qualified to build subset Y, here's $20k to build the remained OR train us to build the remainder."

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#68

Post by gumaflux »

OJFord wrote: post #61
jpatokal wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, that's pretty much what the friendly article says: > “If we’re already in the time-is-money mindset, we can reframe our leisure time as something that enables us to be more productive in the future,” says Whillan. “When we’re conditioned to think of all our time as ‘on the clock,’ leisure time feels abstract and unsatisfying. But if we tell ourselves that leisure time is another means to achieve that goal or fin…

That's interesting, because I think (I don't freelance) I'd look at it the other way: work funds my leisure, so how much must I work to fund the leisure?

Good point. But leisure is not a fixed box (for me at least).

I have been freelancing for 20+ years.

Fully agreed with OC, my clients are not paying for me to sit by the desk they're paying for solutions to problems. The more complex the problem, usually the less tapping on keyboard.

I know, some gigs are in fact just showing your face on Skype or in presence, I have come to avoid these regardless of leisure impact.

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#69

Post by josefresco »

jpatokal wrote: post #43
josefresco wrote: post #41

"I went outside to get coffee and ran into three different neighbors who wanted to chit-chat. I wanted to scream, ‘For every word that comes out of your mouth, I’m losing money!" This is a statement from someone who either hasn't been freelancing that long, or who hasn't realized that "brain down time" is just as important as raw coding hours. I've worked "for myself" for almost 20 years and for the first 5 I too pan…

Yes, that's pretty much what the friendly article says: > “If we’re already in the time-is-money mindset, we can reframe our leisure time as something that enables us to be more productive in the future,” says Whillan. “When we’re conditioned to think of all our time as ‘on the clock,’ leisure time feels abstract and unsatisfying. But if we tell ourselves that leisure time is another means to achieve that goal or fin…

My comment was re: the author's statement who was/is clearly struggling with the concept of freelance/not working on salary. The quote above is from Psychologist Ashley Whillan, and I couldn't agree more.

FYI my parent comment got 19 upvotes in a matter of just a few minutes - it clearly resonates with a lot of folks here.

Re: The Psychological Trap of Freelancing

#70

Post by OJFord »

stevage wrote: post #60
demircancelebi wrote: post #20

After freelancing for a few years, I decided that it was not making me happier, since: - It is not possible to create significant wealth by freelancing - I work on things I do not care. I want to think/spend time on important things - Chasing down payments is stressful - Finding new clients requires some effort Therefore, I decided that it would be much healthier for me to get a job that pays well and not work as a f…

That's interesting. My experience has been the opposite on all four points. - My total pay in the first year was about 30% higher than when salaried, and will probably be 50% higher this year. - Most of my projects are way more interesting than when salaried. - I've never had to chase down any payments. I've instead been chased down to invoice a couple of times! - I have never put any effort into finding clients.

> My total pay in the first year was about 30% higher than when salaried

With or without benefits/bonuses/... factored in?

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