Freelance workers are on the rise. It’s a job model that’s gained a lot of popularity in the past few years, thanks to the development of virtual technologies and the demand for services related to the internet.
But more than just a way of doing business it’s becoming a way of life because of the great benefits it offers workers and the added value in terms of life quality they gain.
According to statistics by MBO, 54% of digital nomads are full-time travelers and 46% are part-time travelers, thanks to being able to work from any place on earth if it has an internet connection.
Let’s take analyze how freelance jobs look in today’s global economy.
The advantages of working as a freelance
Of the many advantages we can enumerate of a freelance job, two principal ideas come out on top: Freedom and flexibility.
Since the end of World War II and the following 30 years of bonanza, jobs were growing at rates never seen before. But the classical jobs in traditional offices, working from 9 to 6 every day and with strong hierarchical organizations inside the company are beginning to feel completely outdated.
One of the main characteristics of freelance jobs is the possibility to work not only from home but from any part of the world. This means that you can choose to set up a permanent office in the middle of a forest or work from a different city every month. While there’s an internet connection, you’re free to choose how to organize yourself.
And the flexibility in terms of a working schedule is also something that wouldn’t be even possible to think about 20 or 30 years ago. Freelance organize their work times according to the projects they have on the table and the deadlines set by their clients. This demands great organizational skills, discipline, and responsibility. Freelance are their own bosses and as a great quote from a comic book said: “With great power comes great responsibility”.
The main areas of expertise of freelancers
Some freelance jobs don’t require a university diploma or high degree and can be learned through the practical application of the tasks or even learning the technical needs to apply to the job on online platforms like Udemy or Domestika.
During the pandemic, as the economy entered a phase of recession, a big share of the population turned to freelance jobs because they were the least affected by sanitary restrictions.
These are some of the most popular freelance occupations:
- Web design
- Photographer
- Copywriting and web editor
- Online translator
- Social media specialist
- Community manager
- E-commerce
The main tools needed when a freelance worker being
Laptop: A portable computer is the best friend of any freelance worker. Depending on the requirements of your jobs, you’ll need a more specialized computer than others, but remember that as your main tool for work, it’s worth investing in good hardware.
External hard drive: Large companies have large storage contracts with cloud services so all employees can store their documents and data without any concerns. But as a freelance, you don’t have the financial levers to have something equivalent. This is where hard drives will be a lifesaver for you, and if don’t manage large volumes of data you can always use an online storage platform like Dropbox or Google Drive.
Online tools: An email address and inbox will be one of your best companions to organize work details and communicate with clients. But there is other software to communicate live with people such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Other platforms such as Slack allow you to form group chats and channels where you can send collective messages. Trello will help you organize the flow of jobs you have by integrating digital boards on a very user-friendly platform.
Know your limits and learn to take breaks
Finally, to expose some of the limits or main difficulties that freelancers encounter we must talk about the management of their working times. Having flexibility is something positive but if you don’t manage your workloads accordingly, you can risk mental and physical exhaustion.
Just like in any other job environment, freelancers need proper rest, along with healthy habits of sleeping and eating.
Creative blocks can be a big issue for freelancers, and one of the ways to foster mental clarity is to dedicate the brain to parallel activities unrelated to work. This could be exercising, reading a book, or playing simple online games like blackjack, poker, or slots on the many casino platforms available online. You can play for free or even play with a casino bonus like the 1$ low deposit with which you’ll obtain free spins or free money to bet on games. Having an online platform where to play fun games with minimum investment on your part can become helpful to escape the daily routine and cool off after a long day working.
Disclaimer:
- As per the Public Gambling Act of 1867, all Indian states, except Goa, Daman and Sikkim, prohibit gambling
- Land-based casinos are legalized, with certain guidelines, in Goa and Daman, as per the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act 1976
- Land-based casinos, Online gambling and E-gaming (games of chance) are legalized in Sikkim under the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Rules 2009
- Only some Indian states have legalized online/regular lotteries as per and subject to the conditions laid down by state laws. Kindly refer to the same here
- Horse racing and betting on horse racing, including online betting, is permitted only in a licensed premise in select states. Kindly refer to the 1996 Judgement by the Supreme Court Of India here and for more information
- This article does not endorse or express the views of Qrius and/or any of its staff.
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