Adventure Counters Burnout | Mar 25th 2007
by Jacqueline Dooley
When I first started freelancing in 2002, the ability to work remotely from my home and on my own terms was extremely exciting.
When you’re starting out with a new business, the excitement of endless opportunity can make each day feel like the first day of summer vacation. It was the first time in my life that I couldn’t wait to get up each day and go to work.
But things don’t stay new forever and (as the saying goes), the honeymoon period only lasts so long before any new beginning can begin to lose its sparkle.
I think that’s what’s happening with me lately. My home business is starting to feel less like I’m striking out on a new frontier and more like an actual job.
Even though it’s mine, and even though I have way more freedom and I’m making way more money than I ever have before, I’m beginning to show signs of burnout and worse - boredom.
I realize it’s not uncommon for people to question their jobs and their careers every so often. Many of my friends and colleagues are doing just that - whether it’s scoping the field for a new and better job or completing their master’s degree, everyone I know is moving in a new direction.
I guess we all love that shiny feeling of endless possibility that comes at the beginning of a new journey.
I’m chalking up my own feelings of boredom and burnout to a long, hard winter of much work and little play. The first day of spring, which came and went this week, has probably fueled my own restlessness.
Before last year, I never really thought much about breathing new life into my business and regaining the momentum and excitement I had for it when I started out. My business was in a constant state of flux as I tried to find my niche, obtain new clients and learn how to manage it all. I also worked part time for the first two years.
Now that I’ve exceeded two years of full-time self-employment, I’ve begun feeling the standard full-time job burnout that I remember from the old days when I was more traditionally employed. However, unlike 2002, when it was nearly impossible to find a full-time position in my field of expertise, (online marketing), the industry is booming.
Good to have choices
That provides me with a lot of different options for shaping my career. On the one hand, I can try to align myself as a full-time contractor with one company or even seek a full-time job as an employee. On the other hand, since I’m not ready to give up the good life, I can put some effort into my professional growth by going to industry events and conferences, taking certification programs that are becoming more readily available as the online marketing industry matures and focusing on developing and refining my service offerings.
In fact, I’m taking my own advice as early as next month, when I’ll be speaking at one of my industry’s most well-known conferences, Search Engine Strategies in New York City.
As a speaker, I not only get to attend the conference for free, I have a unique opportunity to meet some of the top minds in my industry. It has motivated me to do everything from updating my certifications and Web site content to ordering new business cards. I can feel the boredom fading away already.
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This article was published in the Poughkeepsie Journal on Saturday, March 24th, 2007.