Dealing with the learning curve

What

Take a moment to recognise how much you've already learned since you started working for yourself, and to make a plan for dealing with what you still don't know yet.

Why

When you first go freelance, you don't just start doing your work. You start doing your work and running a business at the same time.

That means, often within the first few months, you're dealing with things you've probably never had to think about before. Registering with HMRC. Understanding what you owe in tax, and when. Figuring out whether to operate as a sole trader or set up a limited company. Writing contracts. Chasing invoices. Finding clients. Pitching for work.

None of this is what you trained to do. Most of it comes with no instruction manual. And a lot of it arrives all at once.

It can feel overwhelming. It can make you feel like you're not very good at this.

But here's the thing: you're not bad at it. You're just new to it.

Everyone is bad at things they've never done before. That's not a flaw, it's just how learning works. The feeling of being rubbish at something is the feeling of being at the start of it.

But let's focus on the good news: you've already made it this far!

How

1/ If you're starting to feel overwhelmed, take a moment to breathe. Use your todo list to capture what's feeling like you need to sort out, and then go for a walk around the block. Breathing, stretching and movement can help to clear your head and give you a fresh perspective.

2/ Prioritise heavily. You don't need to resolve everything this week. Trying to tackle everything at once is how you end up feeling like you're getting nowhere. Choose the tasks which either have a clear deadline, or feel the most important to you.

3/ Pick one thing, and break it down into smaller steps. You might want to break it down into smaller steps, so it doesn't feel incredibly large. And if you don't know how to figure it out - that's okay. Lean into your community and #askanything.

4/ Don't forget to take a break - it's possible you've been running at getting your business off the ground, finding work, registering with HMRC, and so on. You might not have had time to rest, or take a break. Don't fall into the trap if needing to work 9-5, 5 days a week, like you did in employment. Freelancing is about designing how you work best and sustainably.