day in the life

I used to sit in class and think to myself, “I can’t wait to have a real job.” I loved design, and I was ready to be out of school and in the real world. Now that I’m a part-time senior and working in the real world, it’s everything I could’ve hoped and dreamed for! I’m incredibly busy, I’m pushing out content like I never have before, and I’ve applied what I learned to the roles I’m in- and it’s going better than I expected! So, what’s it like being a freelance designer? (If you’re not sure if it’s for you, this is an excellent article on the benefits and downfalls.)

Workload

As a freelance designer, I don’t work a 9-5. I work all the time. I swear, it’s better than it sounds. I work on my own schedule. While I do have an internship that requires me to be in-person, I picked my hours there, too, and work on my clients and projects from my remote job at a marketing agency around that. At my internship, I clock in, work, and clock out. For the rest, I decide when I want to work, and what I want to work on, and record my hours as I go, accounting for breaks and the inevitable ‘oops, I got lost on the internet,’ phases.

Personal Life

As said above, take care of yourself. This means scheduling in time for family, friends, and fun. Your life should not be consumed by your work! Having the freedom of picking your schedule should be liberating, not overbearing. If I have weekend plans, I write a schedule for my week and leave my weekends open. If I have dinner plans, I write a schedule for my week and leave that night open. Planning is key to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. And don’t forget vacations! Even if you’re sitting at home for 3 days or a week, you deserve a break. You don’t need to be in the Bahamas to take a work vacation! Sort out your remaining work and stop taking projects for the time you want off!

Daily Routine

In addition to having the freedom of creating your own schedule, you have the freedom and time to do the things you enjoy. Personally, design is my hobby, as unhealthy as that is, but I love spending time with my friends and being able to watch TV without feeling guilty. This is how a typical day in my life goes:

6:30AM – Wake up!

7:00AM – Actually wake up!

7:30AM- Breakfast and catch up on emails, phone notifications, or watch/read the news. I like to do this sitting outside on my porch with my dog.

8:30AM- Write out my list for the day- what projects I’ll work on and for how long, scheduling in any meetings, any tasks I need to get done outside of work.

9:00AM- Start working. I like to work in hour-long blocks, but sometimes up to 90 minutes, depending on the project. For example, this morning, my first hour was spent finishing a digital portrait commission. I finished 15 minutes early, so instead of waiting for the next hour to roll around for a break, I took one then, and started my next hour block afterward. I then worked on personal branding for my capstone class for an hour. After each hour, I take a 15-minute break.

Lunch- I usually take a 30-minute break between 12:30PM and 2:00PM. If I have things to do around the house, like laundry or grocery shopping, I add that onto my lunch break so I don’t get too far off my schedule.

After lunch- I continue working in blocks until about 4:00PM, when most of my family gets home. They usually are excited to interact since they’ve been at work all day, so I resume my work after dinner if needed. Most days, I won’t go back to my work, since I worked pretty much all day, anyway. But, if I have the motivation, or have an idea, I get back on for a little and make final touches. During busy school weeks, I’ll be on until around 9:00PM some nights, but this is pretty rare.

Bedtime- While I’m 21 years old, in my prime, and youthful as ever, I am not a night owl. I am exhausted way before 10:00PM. I’m usually sleeping by 9:00PM, but sometimes, I can manage to stay up until maybe 11:00PM. When I close my laptop for the day, work closes with it. The few hours I have at night are for me! So, I spend some time on my phone or watching TV or hanging out with my family or boyfriend before going to bed. Resist the urge to check your emails! There is no such thing as a design emergency– it can and will wait.