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For most of us, freelancing is a dream come true. We work from home, set our own hours and are our own boss. The flip side of this however isn’t all that attractive. What we don’t realize (read choose to overlook) is that freelancing involves working more hours than a conventional desk job, there’s no difference between a weekend and a weekday and there is no paid leave.
This punishing pace of work life affects our health and work habits. This article covers some of the most common Health Hazards of Freelancing that you might be suffering from or may do so in the future.
If after waking up in the morning, your first thought is “Must.Have.Coffee”, you’re a coffee addict. You put your java to brew before you brush your teeth and it isn’t before your second mug kicks in that you feel able to function normally. And God forbid if for some reason you don’t get your caffeine intake, all hell might break lose!
Solution (that is if you want one): If you drink 2 mugs before starting work, change the size of your mug. Your brain will register the fact that you’ve had 2 mugs and won’t be bothered about the quantity all that much.
Brew a smaller amount to last you through the day. Once you know you only have so much coffee, you’ll be careful with the intake.
A lot of freelancers are night owls. This might not necessarily be because they function better at night. There’s a good chance that this habit formed from working late into the night trying to meet deadlines.
Working late to meet a deadline is fine once in a while but when it becomes the norm you’ve got a problem.
Solution: Set your deadline a day before the actual one. That way, if some work is still left over, you’ll have one more day to work on it.
Smoking is bad for your health. It’s a universal fact. Freelancers who smoke tend to do it more while working. Hey, there’s no office policy here to adhere to! As you keep working, you work through your pack of cigarettes too and before you know it, your ashtray is full and your pack is empty and you’re still craving a cig!
Excessive smoking brings all kinds of health problems with it – both short and long term. I won’t tell you to quit, but I will tell you to smoke less.
Solution: Make your home office a smoke free zone. Throw away your ash trays, and remove every pack of cigarettes from there. If you want to smoke, make it a point to step out of your work space.
If you’re in the middle of something and concentrating hard at work, chances are you’ll keep delaying going out for a smoke. Before you know it, a project is wrapped up and you haven’t smoked in 3 hours!
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a very real threat for freelancers and a lot of us have been through it. It’s caused by repetitive actions and CTS can affect our fingers, wrists and hands. Consider this: We’re at our computers for hours at a time, typing. We hit the backspace or delete key countless times, click countless time, and our fingers are poised in one position continuously as we use the mouse.
At its worst, CTS requires surgery to be corrected and has a 6 week recovery period. Can you imagine not working for that long? Who will pay the bills?!
If we don’t take preventive measures, we’re putting ourselves at a higher risk for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Solution: Exercise your hands after every hour or so. Stretch your arms, flex your fingers and rotate your wrists. Keep a massage ball or a similar hand exercise item at your desk and use it whenever you’re thinking or brain storming.
What did you expect after looking at your computer screen all day? Combine that with lack of sleep and your eyes will start burning something fierce!
Solution: Close your eyes for a few minutes and rest them. Take off your glasses if you wear them. Wash your face with cold water or soak some cotton in cold water and press them on your eyes gently.
This I’ll blame on the internet. In order to work, we need to stay connected 24/7. With email, RSS readers, twitter etc we’ve managed to reduce our attention span drastically. We keep getting distracted by one thing or the other. If it’s not email, then it’s twitter and if it’s not twitter it’s going through our favourite blogs and commenting.
Before long, our day is over and we didn’t get much work done. The deadline is a day closer too!
Solution: Prioritize. If you need to work, close off everything else. Close your inbox, twitter, and any websites you always keep open.
Divide your work in stages and give yourself breaks when you complete that stage. Check your mail, tweet, facebook or read your favourite blogs then. It’s tough in the beginning, but it’s doable and yields great results!
We’re at our desk for most of the day. Sitting in a chair and staring at a screen isn’t the most comfortable things to do. After a few hours our neck starts to stiffen and our back begins to ache. We shift in our chair trying to get more comfortable but are too engrossed in our work to notice it. It’s only when we’re finally getting up from our chair that realization dawns.
Solution: Stretch your neck and back at regular intervals. Get up and move around before coming back to sit. If the back ache gets really bad, try placing a cushion behind your back for added support.
After being hunched over your computer for hours daily, your posture is bound to suffer.
Solution: To avoid looking like a hunched up old person, invest in a good ergonomic chair. It’ll be expensive but it’ll serve you well for years to come. And if you can afford it, get an ergonomic desk too.
Insane amount of work, demanding clients, crazy deadlines and late nights all lead to stress. You might produce your best work under pressure, but if it continues over a long period of time you’ll get burned out.
Some stress is good for us. We need to take freelancing seriously in order to produce our best work but if it’s giving you sleepless nights and constant headaches, something needs to change.
Solution: Figure out what’s the most stressing part of your freelancing. Are you stressing over a certain client? A big project? Whatever it is, identify the culprit and look for ways to eliminate that stress inducing situation.
Get up and check. You have a big bum don’t you? Unless they exercise vigilantly, freelancers tend to gain weight.
Solution: Get off your behind and start exercising. Nothing strenuous, just a few stretches and a walk or a jog is enough to get you back on the road to getting and staying fit.
As a freelancer, I’ve faced all these hazards except Carpal Tunnel. While I’ve corrected some, I still struggle with others.
What health hazards do you face as a freelancer?
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Samar is a freelance writer, blogger and social media enthusiast. She offers rock solids tips for freelance writing success on her blog, The Writing Base along with a free 10-Step Guide To Turning Prospects Into Clients.
Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 08:12
Yes i would agree for freelancers health problems such as dry eyes, headaches, knee pain, neck pain, back pain, short attention span come in the way.
I think a person should have healthy lifestyle no matter whats your profession and computer users should use any break reminder, stretch reminder software.
Monday, September 6th, 2010 11:41
Very Nice Samar :)
I was just thing write an article about this topic while i found this one and now i am thinking i can’t write like this way. Wonderful mashaAllah i m going to follow you on twitter and will defiantly read your other articles too inshaAllah.
Friday, July 9th, 2010 19:58
These aren’t really freelancer-specific as much as endemic to all writers (except, I guess, outdoors writers who presumably jot something down while perched halfway up a mountain path).
I like the advice on cutting back on caffeine intake.
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010 16:45
elbow ache, eye burn and getting a fat arse are easily at the top of my list!
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Salim
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 12:36
Hi there,
I´m not a freelancer but I have most of the symptoms listed above. What would happen when I deside to become a freelancer?? ;-).
Dainis Graveris
Friday, June 25th, 2010 12:06
I don’t think it’s just about being freelancer..mostly everybody sitting on desk has these problems..but at least knowing where problem is, is step forward to solve it.
JC Johnston
Thursday, June 24th, 2010 23:48
I am a part time free lance, and the rest of the time, I am in the tech industry setting in the front of the computer 9 – 10 hours a day plus my 4 – 8 hours a day at home working on the computer either for fun or for work. I have issue almost everything on the list except smoking (don’t smoke) and try to keep my body positioned so my wrists and hands have the correct poster for avoid carpal Tunnel. But now that I am thinking about it my hands and wrists are hurting as I type this comment.
Dainis Graveris
Friday, June 25th, 2010 11:57
yeah, the same I try at least to compensate work with some sport – dancing, gym and running..I think it’s only way how to lessen big, bad impact on our health.
You too cannot live without coffein? ;D
Angel Luis
Thursday, June 24th, 2010 12:34
For me the main problem is stress.
One way, at least for trying to deal with it is understanding that a stress situation comes when we think we cannot handle a situation, so why not thinking what will happens in the worst case.
If you do that exercise you realise that our main problems are just that.
Not trying to do all by yourself works too.
Dainis Graveris
Friday, June 25th, 2010 12:10
what causes your stress in regular work? I have some exceptions, when occasions become really stressful, but usually it’s just daily work routine.
Rimaz Rauf
Thursday, June 24th, 2010 06:28
Thank you very much….