7 Causes of Freelancer Stress (And What To Do About Them)

The freelancer’s life can look a little idyllic from the outside. After all, there’s much to love about the idea of waking up whenever you want, working from home, and not having to deal with the many downsides of working in an office as an employee.

The reality can be a lot different. While most freelancers love many aspects of the lifestyle, it’s not without its stress-inducing elements. 

The good news is that, while stress is simply part of the freelancer’s life, the causes of that stress are generally well-known — and they nearly always have a solution that can minimize the impact or eliminate it altogether. With that in mind, we thought it’d be a good idea to run through some of the most common issues freelancers face, as well as provide some useful tips for keeping them in check. 

Unpredictable Income

Unpredictable income is the number one cause of freelancer stress. While everything might be great when the going is good, the landscape looks a lot different when work volume decreases. New freelancers in particular are vulnerable to this issue, since they haven’t yet had the time it takes to learn their own feast-and-famine cycle.

You can’t always control how much work you have, but you can control how you respond to those downturn moments. Having cash in reserve — most experts say between 3 - 6 months' worth of living expenses — can give you peace of mind that you’ll be able to make ends meet even during the low work period. 

No Management Overseer 

You can face problems with a client both as an employee and as a freelancer.

The difference is that, if you’re an employee, then you’ll typically have a manager in your corner who can manage the client on your behalf if they become unreasonable. As a freelancer, you won’t have that luxury — if they have a complaint or make unreasonable demands, then you’re the one who will have to deal with them. 

Choosing your clients wisely can help to avoid many potential future problems, though even the most intuitive freelancer can find themselves dealing with a client that causes them stress. Regardless of how you feel about a potential client, whether it be good or bad, it’s best to put some parameters in your contract before you start working, such as how many revisions are included. And don’t forget, knowing when and how to fire a bad client can be a highly valuable skill for any freelancer to learn. 

Unclear Briefs

It’s tough enough knowing whether you’re doing a good job or not at the best of times; it’s all the more difficult when you’re working from an unclear brief. Sometimes, clients will send over a vague brief, only to then complain when the final product doesn’t match their expectations. The truth is that some clients don’t know what they want, yet also have a strong sense of what they don’t want. 

Dealing with an unclear brief is difficult even if the client does end up loving the final product. It means that you’ll be continually second-guessing yourself, which can suck much of the fun out of work. 

Putting together a client intake form can gently guide new clients to really think about what they need, want, and expect from the project. Even a basic form made using Google Docs can provide a point of reference during the project. 

Dealing With Messy Email Inboxes

For freelancers, the email inbox is king — it is, after all, where all the important details, including new queries, exist. 

Yet all too often, the email inbox proves to be a constant source of low-level stress. With important emails arriving all the time, it’s all too easy for messages to fall through the cracks, and there are no other employees to catch an email that you might have missed. Taking some time to organize your email inbox, such as by unsubscribing from unwanted emails and using the snooze feature to have emails pop up at a later time/date, really can have a positive impact on your work processes and stress levels. Ultimately, your inbox should feel like a space that pushes your business forward, not drags it down. 

Scope Creep 

What’s interesting about scope creep is that, since it happens gradually, it can be difficult to identify until you look back and realize that you’ve done a lot more work than you expected to. Clients will often make very minor requests that seem too small to deny, but when you add them all up, you find that they’ve accounted for what amounts to a lot more work on your plate. This doesn’t just impact the value of your work, but also occupies time and headspace that could be spent doing other things.

Being upfront about what is — and isn’t — involved in the cost of your services can seem a little awkward at first, but it can save a lot of issues further down the line. 

Chasing Invoices

Having to chase invoices doesn’t just put extra work on your plate. It also means that you’re waiting to be paid, which in itself can be a significant cause of stress. 

Your cash flow depends on taking invoicing seriously. This can mean using invoice software that automatically sends reminders, including a penalty for late payment (or a small discount for early payment), and asking for a deposit can all make a big difference. 

Isolation at Home

Part of the fun of being a freelancer is not having to commute to the office each day. Still, while the commute and office are generally disliked by many, they do have the benefit of getting you out of the house and interacting with other people. Working from home doesn’t always provide that.

If you find yourself feeling a little isolated, then check if there are any coworking spaces near where you live. They can be a great way to meet new people and put a division between your personal and professional lives, as well as increase productivity.