There are times in any journey where everything gets a bit to much and you just feel meh (this is the best way I can describe it 😂).
I've certainly had these feelings where I've wanted to chuck it all in and stop doing this whole online design, education business thing.
But I'm so glad I didn't.
See, when I first started freelancing, the goal was to work on as many projects as possible, regardless of the industry.
At the time, it was great because I was learning, making money, and gaining experience.
But I got burnt, (out).
This happened because I left no time to work on things that excited me.
Don’t get me wrong, client projects are exciting, but you're creativity is often limited by the clients needs, this is because you have to:
Design with a certain style.
Align with your client’s vision.
Create something you’re not 100% happy with due to revisions.
When you constantly put a limit on creativity, it can be taxing. In fact, it was the main reason I got burned out.
And when burn out hits, you feel uninspired, demotivated and it’s a struggle to design anything great.
So how do you stop this from happening? Well, there was one thing I implemented early on in my business:
I allocated time each month to work on one personal project. No pressure, just designing for fun. You know those projects where you start designing, and before you realise it, four hours have passed!
There’s honestly no better feeling.
Do you want to know something as well? These projects turned out to be some of my favourite work to date and have even attracted paying clients (it’s a win-win).
When you’re given the space to be creative, that’s where the real magic happens.
That’s why I’m sending you this reminder today to set time aside to work on personal projects because otherwise, you might lose that spark you once had for design.
I see so many designers stop doing what they love because they become slaves to work that fails to bring them joy. And I get it, sometimes you have to take on these projects to pay the bills. But if you continue like this without creating for fun, you’ll end up resenting what you do. Don’t let this happen to you, and make sure you keep your own flame going.
Have you ever felt like this? Hit reply and let me know.
P.S. If you want to work on fun projects of your own but don’t know where to start, click here to access 18 free design briefs, so you can start designing straight away.
Chat next week,
Abi 😊
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