28/03/2020
Are you feeling overwhelmed and hopeless? Join the global club.
No one alive has ever seen anything quite like this before. Recession, yes, in 2009-10ā¦ but illness that forces us indoors, no. So itās easy to freak out.
We all need a lot of self-care right now, so please take time for whatever makes you smile and relieve stress. Keeps your immune system healthy!
I thought Iād check in with everyone on the weekend, and offer some reasons for hope, and silver linings Iām seeing in this time of uncertainty, illness, and death.
Here are some unexpected good things I see:
Families coming together. I was at the park at 3 pm on Wednesday, and it was thronged with families walking and biking together with children of all ages. Neighbors greeting each other (from a safe distance). We all know society has gotten too screen-focused and isolated...maybe this is the chance many of us need to rebuild neglected relationships.
More workout time. Writers are notorious desk potatoes. Now, many of us are getting more exercise, either down trails and in parks or thru online videos (Amazon Prime has a ton!). Shedding that winter weight gain is a GO.
Remote workers are in demand. Itās hard to imagine that there wonāt be upside here, for those of us who already know how to work remotely. Iād expect many currently advertised full-time writer positions to switch over to remote/freelance or be open to that pitch. Remember how the Chinese characters for ācrisisā are ādangerā AND āopportunityā -- and be on the lookout for yours. I recently heard from one working mom sent home by her employer who said her children had never before seen a single week without school, child care, or a camp, and wanted tips on how to copeā¦ wow. Our juggling skills are already expert-level. We MUST have an advantage here, and I think weāll see that revealed in months to come.
Thereās time to learn. If youāve been wanting to level-up your skills, to better position you as a high-earning freelance writer, you may have more time on your hands right now. Seize the chance to learn and emerge from this with more value you can offer clients. It WILL pay off.
It can feel scary to invest in your success at this moment, I know. But realize that many will stay frozen in inaction -- and itās a chance for you to stand out. Besides, when else will you have this time?
Adversity makes us strong. None of us would have wished this. But itās a fact that those who live through hard times emerge stronger for it. You put your head down and do the impossible in no time, with nothing, every dayā¦ until one day, you wake up and realize all the power, competence, and confidence youāve gained.
Itās been easy to be complacent and take your freelance lifestyle (or dreams of it) for granted. Until now. Now, Those willing to ramp up (or start) marketing, and who understand who to target in a down market, will triumph.
Change spurs creativity. Donāt you start getting cool ideas the minute you go on a vacation? This is a little like that. Who knows what innovative ideas for building your freelance biz will bubble up, with all this free time!
More time to reflect. With people dying around us, donāt you wake up and simply see the sun and feel grateful? Most of us will survive this pandemicā¦ but death is coming for us all, one day. This is a great wake-up call to spend more time feeling gratitude...and to think about how weāre spending our precious hours in this life. And course-correct, if need be.
What are your true priorities? Where does writing for living fit into who you are, how important is it to you?
All of us have limited time to spend. Itās a great time to reset priorities and make sure we do what matters, which contributes to a better world, and what makes us happy.
