4 Reasons Why You Need A Break From Freelance Work

[A collaboration post – all thoughts are my own.]

As you noticed, I took a break almost two weeks now. I’ve been delivering my translating service as a side hustle since 2014 and freelancing full-time since 2020. Any freelancer will tell you that it can be hard to take a break from freelance work. You might feel like you’re never going to meet your deadline or you’re slacking off or your client uses another freelancer if you don’t respond to their email right away.

And I don’t know about you, but I think my back, wrists, neck, and eyes need a break from sitting and staring at the screen. I constantly getting neck pain between here and there. This really affects my mood and focus on my job and personal life.

The common problem with freelance work or remote work culture is that jam-packed calendars, 50+ hour workweeks, working nights and weekends, or never taking vacations are the accepted norm. If you’re overworked and don’t take enough breaks, you’ve most likely experienced:

• Feel guilty when you step away from your business and constantly worry about all of the tasks on your to-do list.
• Sitting in front of your computer for hours and often skipping eating lunch.
• Put off family vacation because you’re supeer busy.
• Telling your family things like, “Give me 10 minutes,” or “Wait, let me finish this first,” only to still be sitting at your computer an hour later.

Our world doesn’t operate at 100% capacity or at maximum effort 100% of the time. Nature embraces the seasons, blooming in the spring, struggling to survive in the summer, dying off in the autumn, and falling in the winter. Schools also take breaks between classes, breaks over the weekend, and a summer break.

While it’s amazing to have a freelance career you enjoy, it’s even more wonderful to let yourself enjoy the whole lifestyle that freelancing can give you. Because a lot of things in life are more important than work.

So, today I came up with a few reasons why it’s important to take a break from freelance work in order to live your best freelance life.

Taking a break from freelance work is good for your mental health

There will be a month when you feel you’re super busy than other months. I feel that I completely burn out mentally and emotionally back in April – May. I wrote 25 articles (13 in April and 12 in May) for my blog and 3 translation projects! It’s like a marathon for me. That’s why I need to take a breather and go slowly this month.

No matter how much you love your freelance career, take a minimum of one full day off a week plus at least a few days off every once in a while so you can relax and recharge yourself.

You will have a better relationship

When you work too much, your relationship with your family and friend can really suffer. I was so busy in the last few years that I don’t realize that I spend less time with my mom. After freelancing and working at home, I manage to put my loved ones ahead of my work by taking time off. I’m able to spend life more now as well as create memories for the future.

Not everyone has the privilege of a freelance lifestyle

I realize that not everyone in the world has the privilege to be a remote worker or turn their passion into a career. For me, one of the beautiful benefits of being a translator is the lifestyle of freedom it gives you. So be sure to take full advantage of that freedom and enjoy the freelance lifestyle to the fullest.

Your life will be more interesting

One thing about taking a break from freelance work is to simply enjoy life as much as you want. Your life is far too important to spend all of it working. You can travel. Engage in your hobbies. Going places with friends. Doing other activities that makes your life more interesting and a lot more joyful.

Hopefully, you love what you do for a living. I realized that the more breaks and me time I took – a weekend away from work, no work in the evening, and self-care weekend – the happier I was with my work and the more money I made.