Why does nobody talk about the lost downtime in freelance work?

I've seen a shift in how quick we think replies should be. When I first freelanced, after sending my work, I'd wait a bit for thoughts, maybe a week. Now, with texts and emails, answers pop up in no time. I used to put my stuff in the mail and take a real break. Today, I can't stop looking at my phone, feeling jumpy for fast answers. It's tiring to always be ready to jump back in. I feel like we gave up the calm that came with waiting. That empty time let my mind rest and get ready for new jobs. Without it, I'm just always on edge.

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah8183d ago

Absolutely, that constant ping makes it hard to ever truly clock out. I catch myself checking my email at all hours, just in case. That quiet space between projects really has vanished.

daniel_martin3d ago

Ever get phantom vibration syndrome?

the_jennifer2d ago

Man, I feel this in my bones. What finally worked for me was putting an auto-responder on my email after 6 PM and on weekends. It just says I'll get back to them next business day. I also turned off all push notifications for my work apps on my phone. It felt scary at first, but now that after hours quiet is mine again. My brain finally gets to shut off.