Image Courtesy: ‘Tabsinthe’

The common image perpetuated of freelancers is that they’ve got it pretty good. Casting an eye over much of the recent Freelance Industry Report you’ll see this perception perpetuated even further, the findings pointing to an industry that appears to be in good health.

Amongst the most telling statistics that came from the report were that:

A staggering 90% of freelancers are now happier working self-employed.

Nearly half of those asked (39%) earn more in their field freelancing than they would as an employee working in-house.

46%, the overall majority, have more free time working freelance.

Looking at those findings, it’s understandable why freelancers are occasionally viewed with envy, greater happiness, potentially more time and even more wealth, amongst the benefits the self-employed life can bring.

Many freelancers will probably agree with these findings, but equally, argue that whilst the self-employed life can be more fulfilling, both an emotional and fiscal front, with it can come challenges. These challenges are highlighted within the report and amongst the freelancer’s concerns you’ll see ‘maintaining work/life balance’ being deemed amongst the biggest challenges they face.

To anyone who’s worked self-employed this is a familiar worry. Often it can be viewed as part and parcel of the freelance existence. It needn’t be though. There are steps you can take to temper the work-life balance conundrum. Here’s a few...

Use project management software

There’s currently a wealth of software on the market that makes running concurrent projects that little bit more manageable. Basecamp, Trello, Remember The Milk; all provide online environments where you can plan, keep track and collaborate with clients on projects. They may not prove to be the definitive antidote to your work-life balance woes, but they can certainly help.

Consider getting an accountant

One the easiest ways to save some time is to hire an accountant. To the uninitiated, things like tax returns can take up a considerable amount of time and prove a huge burden of stress. Shifting this concern onto someone else can limit this, meaning that less time can be spent panicking about your finances and more can be spent doing what you enjoy.

Embrace the appmosphere and cloud 

Embracing cloud software and apps means that you’re not tied to your desktop and can work on the go. With the cloud-based Google Drive app you’re offered an alternative to Microsoft Office that you can use to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations, all in an online environment.  This provides ease of access to your myriad of documents when and where you need them, meaning that you’re not tied to your desktop.

Ultimately, clients can often rule as I know from my own time spent freelancing. This can make work-life equilibrium an elusive thing to achieve, but through embracing technology and a little bit of outsourcing you can save time, possibly achieving a degree of work-life balance.

As the report showed, freelancers really have got it pretty good. Take some of these steps to address the work-life balance challenges, and next year’s report may paint an even rosier picture of the freelance life.

Author bio:
Mark James is an in-house Writer for online accountants Crunch and a regular contributor to Freelance Advisor. Find him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MarkJames891.