5 reasons why you should go freelancing

Traffic jams. Toxic officemates. Stressful shifts. Noisy early alarms. No family time.

Are you getting tired of these everyday office catastrophes? If so, I also experienced that feeling before. Even you enjoy lots of benefits from the corporate world, sometimes you may feel like your full-time job sucks the life out of you. Do freelancing ever cross your mind?

Freelancing is the talk of the town nowadays. Basically, some freelancers work for themselves, not for the company. Lots of people consider changing their office careers to home-based jobs. I'm one of them and I have no regrets. Still, the decision of shifting careers will always be depending on the individual. Everything has its own pros and cons, and as a freelancer, I'm fully apprised of that. However, if you somehow consider freelancing, then here are the reasons why I go for it and maybe why you should also:

1. You're mostly the in charge of everything

One of the perks of freelancing is no one will boss around you because you, yourself, are the BOSS! You're in charge of choosing your workload. You even get a chance to choose your schedule. You can decide whether you should take the job or not. You don't need to wake up so early and encounter "Monday sickness". It can surprisingly have a big advantage on your health. Why? Because when you feel like you're getting enough, as long as you already accomplished your deadlines and hit the expectations, then you don't have to push yourself not to rest. Unlike office jobs, as long as your shift is not yet finished, your workload has no end!

Still, it's not that you'll end up being irresponsible and self-centered. Of course, money is not just a leaf that will automatically fall to you. You also need to work for it. You need to motivate yourself to meet the deadlines that are trusted to you. You should give some full effort for you to gain a good reputation when it comes to the quality of your work so that clients will always want you to work for them.

2. You can work anytime, anywhere

Since I do full-time volunteering work in different places, I can work anywhere and anytime I want as long as I have an internet connection. In my case, as an ESL teacher too, I work during late evenings and do the volunteering work during mornings. I find it enjoyable because I get a lot of time to do other things but also earning money to support my basic needs. Whenever my family has an out of town trip and I need to do my work, I just bring my laptop and a phone with a personal hotspot, then that's it! You can work during vacations also. If you're waiting for someone, then just find a spot o a coffee shop with a good connection and you can do your tasks. That's what freelancing can offer, flexibility!

Again, there's a drawback on every edge. You should always make sure to have a reliable Internet connection because in some places, not all network providers have a good data connection in that area. Also, having a chance to work anytime promotes procrastination. In my ESL students, we have a fixed schedule so I can't postpone things, but with my writing jobs, I really need to compel myself not to procrastinate. (Hehehe!)

3. No commuting hassles

Whether you have your own car or just commuting by public transportations, traveling every day from your home to your company is indeed tiring and stressful. Here in our country, traffic jams are anywhere, plus, petrol's quite pricey. Public transportations like trains somehow avoid traffic jams but the lines are so long and it's very crowded inside the train. So after a long tiring shift, you expected that you're about to have a good rest, but that's not what you think. You still need to face the commuting tragedies. Also, when the weather is bad, you might experience getting wet because of the rain or might soak because of sweat due to hot weather. Yet, freelancing saves the day! You can just stay inside your cozy room and do the job. This is my favorite reason why I chose to become a freelancer!

4. Casual work attire (pajamas, anyone?)

Dress code is something that you see everywhere from school to college and even at the workplace. Some companies allow freedom when it comes to the choice of attire, depending on the field of your work, but you still need to buy some attires at Zalora or maybe just from ukay-ukay. Well basically, corporate attires present a visual image and send a message that employees are professional. Plus, it will make your laundry basket full.

Well, in freelancing, you don't have to stress yourself out of what's gonna be your office OOTD. Of course, it depends on what kind of job you, whether it requires a video call with a client or just a voice call will do. Even so, if you need to have a Skype video call with your client, you just have to pull a decent top and just wear pajamas because your client can only see the upper part of your body!

5. Better work-life balance

I bet you missed a lot of family gatherings because you attended your work. Some companies require their employees to work even during holidays. Others, especially lots of parents out there, missed their kids' first word, and first walk because they cannot personally take care of the kids. But in freelancing, again, as long as you already hit the deadlines then you have lots of free time with your friends and family. I know some mothers who also chose to become a freelancer for them to have more time with their kids. They even do breastfeeding while finishing their tasks. Of course, this depends if you work full-time home-based jobs that require hours or not.

That's my top 5 reasons why I choose freelancing. Still, we all don't wear the same shoes. These reasons may not apply to your current situation or responsibilities. I'm still young and single that's why it's just myself who's I need to support financially. Besides, I don't force anyone to do freelancing. It's just that I'm trying to help others that may also seek solutions with their present circumstances. Maybe you also want to get rid of the stress that you experience in working in your office. I have lots of reasons left in my mind, but maybe someday, I can update with part 2 of this blog.

Thank you for patiently reading! I really hope that this will help you to decide.