My First Week Freelancing
Managing the staff
So, it has been a week since I quit my job, and so far so good. The boss is excellent and the work is rewarding.
My co-workers are a bit of a different story.
Meet Stewie (orange and almost 16), Rory (mostly white and 11), and Phonsie (black and white, 2, no tail).
I didn’t think the biggest hurdle going freelance would be the cats, but they are driving me a bit nuts. Stewie is a talker and will meow incessantly, wanting attention or food. Phonsie is equally tenacious but tries to get my attention by eating paper or pulling thumbtacks out of the wall - of which there are plenty.
To manage the situation, I tried clapping my hands, treats, an occasional yell, tears, toys, cajoling…I tried it all.
Then, I shut the door. That’s it. I go into my studio and shut the door. It works. So simple. Who knew?
I still let them in but reserve the right to boot them out when I need to think.
With cats contained, I’ve been able to get some work done. I’ve been revamping my website (carolineclarke.ca) including proper SEO (well done me). I met with a client which was really nice, and even had time to stop and have a coffee and scone after. It’s been a busy week.
I’ve also have been learning to play again.
I saw a John Cleese clip where he talks about what makes a person creative. He said that he believed everybody has the capacity to be creative, and that creatives aren’t smarter or anymore gifted than anybody else. The difference is that creatives have developed the capacity to “play”, a fearless way of operating that allows one to tap into creativity. I’m paraphrasing of course but you get the idea.
So I’m playing more.
When you work a full-time job and do side hustles, playing takes a bit of a back seat to time management. I’m looking forward to spending time developing style and just doing what I’ve loved to do since I was a child.
Well, I must be off now. We are actually getting snow in the range of 50 - 80+cm today and I’ll be shovelling between playing.
~ Caroline