Freelancing can definitely turn a person into a workalcoholic. I think back to my early writing days and I was a maniac. The fact that I could sit at home, earn money, and accomplish my financial goals was more than I could handle - in a good way. I accepted job after job. I worked nights and on the weekends. And I even spent an entire vacation obsessing about email. But like every other person whose been in this situation, I eventually hit a brick wall - the burnout wall.

I’ve always enjoyed writing. But it got to a point where writing became a burden. That’s when I decided to make some changes. Being a freelancer doesn’t have to involve around-the-clock work. And why we accept this…I don’t know?

I don’t judge other freelancers for conducting business at night or on the weekends. This business permits flexibility, and those hours are best and convenient for many.

But just because we choose to work nights and weekends, does this give clients the right to infringe on this otherwise “personal time?”

So many job ads for freelancers include phrases such as “must be available on the weekends.” And I can’t tell you how many late Friday e-mails I’ve received from clients experiencing a “mini-crisis.”

I love what I do, and I honestly couldn’t imagine myself in another profession. But there must be something about the title “freelance” that conjures the image of a person with no personal life, and one who lives and breathes work. Well, I’m not that person…and come Friday afternoon, holiday, vacation, etc….business is closed.