Hello, and welcome to The Oh Shit Kit! Today we are joined by Susie Jackson, one of Maddie’s friends from college (or Uni, as the Brits would say). Susie is currently living in Mexico and running two freelance businesses. Susie’s first business is translation and editing, and her second is a mentoring business for other freelancers.
In other news, Maddie can’t pronounce the word “crocheting”, and you really have to see hear this to believe it, it’s some solid comedy material.
Like many freelancers, Susie started her business as a side venture to make some extra money alongside a full-time job. It evolved into running her own freelance business! Susie also started a blog for freelancers, and took that one step further by starting her mentoring business.
When Susie and Maddie were in college together, they made and sold crafts to raise money for cancer and Parkinson’s disease related charities. This was a way for them to recover from the loss of their respective grandparents to these illnesses. Giving back can be a great way to work towards recovery from loss and grief.
Susie talks about her personal mental health struggles, and how she always thought of herself as a “nervous person”. It wasn’t until college that she realized that she was facing real issues with anxiety. Her sleep was very affected by this, and she wasn’t sure what to do. Susie did some counseling, but she feels she didn’t fully deal with it, and her symptoms would always come back. Susie has found that engaging with others and has been a huge part of managing her anxiety.
Susie and Maddie have had additional challenges to their mental health that come with moving away from your country of origin. For Susie, finding ways to make her own friends, such as joining a choir or yoga class, helped her get through.
Susie faces particular challenges because social support is so important to managing her anxiety, yet she works on her own as a freelancer! Susie has found Rachel Hollis’s Gratitude Journaling method to help her reduce anxiety. This involves writing things you are grateful for over the past day, which can help you to appreciate the small things. Then, you write out statements about your life goals and dreams, but you write them as if they’ve already happened, rather than writing them as something you need to add to your to-do list. For Susie, this reduces anxiety and becomes more motivating.
Susie talks about mental health issues that are common among freelancers, including the loneliness of working alone, particularly if you’re used to working amongst others all day. It’s important to find a human connection in your day-to-day life if you work alone, are a stay-at-home parent, or aren’t able to work. Susie finds this through mentoring and joining various Facebook support groups.
Susie tells us about taking the emotions out of pricing if you are a freelancer and/or run your own business. Sit down to work out how much you need to charge in order to cover your expenses, vacation, and the hours spent on unpaid work. Susie reminds Maddie that she needs to accept payment for her work, in order to make money. It’s a novel idea, we know :-)
No matter what you do, it’s always important to take time for self-care. This can be particularly hard if you run your own business, because you need to work to earn money. However, as we know, the time you spend doing self-care will pay for itself by refreshing you and making you more effective when it comes to running your business!
TOOLS
Use giving back as a way to recover from loss/grief
If you are in school or working at a university, look into any free counseling services that might be offered to students or staff
Be aware of seasonally worsened depression
Rachel Hollis’s Gratitude Journaling method (podcast 72)
If you work alone, are a stay-at-home parent, or aren’t able to work, find ways to be engaged with others in your day-to-day life
Find Facebook or other online support groups for people like you if you spend most of your days alone and need more connection
Co-working spaces may be available if you are a freelancer and need more connection in your day-to-day life. These are communal workspaces that you can rent.
If you are starting your own business, take the emotion out of pricing. Work out how much you actually need to earn per hour to allow you to run your business effectively.
Self. care. No matter what you do for work!
CITATIONS
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder
https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/rise-together/rise-podcast/e/57418749