Last Updated on March 3, 2024
As a freelancer there are times when you will have no work at hand….and your first reaction…….YOU PANIC!!! If you are reading this from America or Europe, we all know that things have been kind of rough in the last few years. A large amount of people don’t have jobs, some have joined the Occupy Protest, and others are holding on for their life and living paycheck to paycheck. The reality is hard to swallow, but keeping your head up is the smartest thing you can do.
Freelancers could be compared to contractors. They get a mission to accomplish whether it’s designing, writing, or coding. Then after it’s all said and done they get payed. Post contract it’s up to them to wait for more work, or search like an eagle for their next client. Being stuck with free time isn’t always a bad thing. Some people envy that one sacred hour they get home from work and are allowed to enjoy their favorite movie, video game, or tv show. Instead of grumbling, try utilizing the time to your advantage.
Here are some things that you can try doing on your, what used to be, work time.
Improve your work portfolio
Everyone has some strong and some weak points in their work field. Find out your weak points and start working on them for eg, if you are good at making layouts but not so very good at color correcting existing photos, try improving on the color correcting part, it will eventually help you when you are working on your new assignments. You can also try learning new software which is related to the work you are doing at present. In today’s market, the more you know, the better it is for you!!!
After you have worked on improving your weak points and tried your hand at some new software’s, you can try creating something totally new and innovative, which you haven’t already created before . This ll help you expand your horizon as a designer.
Find a new skill
A person is always blessed with more than one skill . Its just we tend to focus only on one and try forget about the other amazing things we are good at. Developing of a new skill requires a lot of time and effort and since there is a lot of spare time with you when you are not working, it is the perfect time to try your hand at any other skill you think you may be good at.
For eg: If you are designer, try writing some articles on designing. In this way you can share your knowledge with others and simultaneously develop a new skill as well. If you think you cannot write articles, try creating some basic tutorials for new comers. Along with creating some goodwill with this, you will also keep brushing up your basic skills which will in the end benefit you more than anyone else.