Being a creative type, I long for the day when I will become my own boss, work less hours, and live by the beach. I know a lot of people who share the same dream. The problem is, we are tied to our day job, trying to survive each day, week, month. We work hard and we work good. We know that we have the ability to execute any given task, and our experience working for several years with great results make us confident to face our day-to-day workload. In short, we know that we are talented. We have what it takes to make it.
But in this economy, job security is almost non-existent. In case you get laid-off, what will you do with your time? You can of course become a fully-pledged freelance designer, wherein you can sub-contract work from other people and companies. But this kind of outsourcing-business model is not as easy as it seems. It takes a lot of determination.
Some talented folks that I know have become less productive when they had more time due to the unfortunate company downsizing. Previously, they were juggling between a day job and their own design practice, trying to find time for their own studio work after office hours. They were pretty productive. They were on a roll.
But now that there’s no day job, even their own studio work suffered. Not as productive as before. I guess, for most it’s the side effect of freedom. There’s a lot more time to sleep in, not having to worry about work. For some, it’s the stress of not having a regular, and to others it’s the lack of routine that gets them down.
Once we are in constant motion, we tend to be more productive. When we start to stagnate, it is more difficult to focus on the task at hand, even though we might have more time on our hands.
One underlying problem is the lack of motivation, the drive to move forward and succeed. It is very difficult to be motivated in times of (economic) trouble. Yet we must struggle to get our focus back on track. Keeping a positive outlook is essential.
In the end, it’s our determination that will lead to success. A little bit of talent might be useful though.