Pick a Part-Time Job That Distracts You From the Screen
Anyone who works from home knows this is a special hell . Despite the appeal of padded pants and the lack of commuting, it can be insulating and exhausting. When you’re presented with your own devices – literally you and your devices – staring at the screen trying to turn words, graphics, or code into dollars, and you don’t know what day it is or when the next check is about to come, it’s all too easy to let your most destructive, self-destructive thoughts to master themselves.
Despite these shortcomings, some of us have actively opted for self-employment, preferring flexibility and autonomy, and in some cases, more profits than we would get with the traditional nine-to-five scheme. Others are in this boat because we are in an industry prone to rampant union busting and layoffs, and with so many full-time positions, we have no choice but to go our own way.
Making a living as a freelancer, without a stable paycheck or worker protection, often requires taking on extra work, which can make you feel like you’re never in a rush – and there is nothing cute or cool about working to death despite something that you would believe for startups interested in glorifying the gig economy.
It makes sense that freelancers tend to take on additional work in their field or something related to it – for example, journalists often check facts or copy edits, while web developers may take on small projects such as running Google Adwords campaigns or tweaking up the google package for clients. But the flip side of these performances is that they still lock you into your computer, without providing significant mental or physical break from your typical daily work, and this can prolong your burnout.
Instead, a side gig that gets you out of the house and energizes can breathe strength into you and break the monotony of lonely, exhausting screen time. Recently, the CJR feature cited examples of independent journalists who have done everything from cleaning the house to coaching boxing to work like sugar babies, to help pay bills and get out of their heads. All of these options have their pros and cons, but they’ve all been helpful to writers who have learned to make extra money without spending more time staring at the screen and wanting words to appear. Below are other reasons why you might want to generate additional income outside of your regular wheelhouse.
Calm your worries (financial and other) with cash
I have been working as a freelancer for almost a year after being fired from my full-time job as a journalist, and most of that time I was hesitant to take on any additional work other than writing because I thought it would be a waste of time or a sign that I haven’t used all my skills. But recently, I picked clothes several times a month to work at concerts at the event venue. There is something so simple and enjoyable about taking a coat, matching it by number, and then returning it to its owners. At the end of an easy evening, swapping parks and courtesies with strangers and catching snatches of live music or comedy, I take home a bunch of bills. It’s not a ton of money, but getting used to waiting weeks for checks, I feel rich and frivolous when I have some cash in my hands.
Becca Shue, a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, thrives on a steady cash flow from her bartending job. “The fact that I can go to work and make $ 200 or $ 300 without exercising my brain is very important to my sense of financial security,” she says. “When I’m worried it’s hard for me to be productive, so when I can put my financial anxiety aside because I know where my rent comes from, I can (theoretically) be more productive. It also allowed me to do creative work that is unpaid or poorly paid, such as running a literary journal and interviewing authors. “
Get out of the house and get up
“When you get depressed, it’s hard to get stuck in your head if you start moving your body,” explains Dr. Megan J. Clary, a clinical psychologist based in Brooklyn. “Often the movement shakes up a bit, switching your perception.”
According to Shu, working in a bar “with supportive colleagues and a relatively relaxed environment” keeps her “calm and sensible, as opposed to writing.” She describes how she went to work one day, literally in the middle of a panic attack, “and the simple act of walking around the restaurant, taking orders, serving drinks to people reoriented my brain and allowed me to overcome anxiety-inducing situations.”
There is plenty of research on the link between regular exercise and improved mental health, but research shows you don’t need to be a marathon runner to reap the benefits: any light physical activity, especially if you’re used to sitting all the time, can be enough to lift your mood.
It may also have something to do with “behavioral activation,” explains Dr. Doug Mennin, professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University. The therapy technique encourages patients to change their environment and seek “positive reinforcements” – people or activities that make them feel better – as a way to overcome depressive symptoms, rather than self-isolation. “As you work in a different industry, you will meet different types of people, and this creates variability that increases the likelihood that one of the reinforcements or rewards may be present that can help you get out of your funk,” he explains.
Develop your creativity
For some remote workers, active part-time jobs offer creative control that is lacking in their primary source of income. This is the case with Brian Pennington, freelance web developer by day and DJ by night. “I can choose the next song without launching it, and even when I organize an event with another DJ, I am like an equal partner in decision-making, and not as a service for a client whose happiness is paramount,” he says.
“It’s helpful to have the opportunity to have things [important to you] outside of your job, and if you’re a freelancer, this can often give you the chance to find some purpose in other areas rather than just getting bogged down in thinking,“ My home is my job. my job is my home and I can’t get away from it, ”says Clary.
This helped the writer Marian Bull, who first became interested in ceramics (which she now sells) because her therapist told her that she needed something in her life that “was not directly or even indirectly related to [her] work” as freelance journalist. She started attending classes once a week, and eventually “something clicked and I became obsessed with it,” she says. As a bonus, the time in the studio “gave me a respite from the fever at home, which I often get from being alone in my apartment with a computer all the time.”
Connect with your community
For Bridey Haing, alternative training in her local school district provides a welcome transition to her typical day-to-day sedentary job as a freelance culture writer in Washington DC. It not only “makes [her] feel like a part of society.” in a way that can be difficult for those who work all the time from home. “The schedule is pretty manageable, and the pay is decent enough to pay for it.” As a side talk that is done at about 3:30 every day, go and have at least an hour of free time during the working day is a huge bonus that makes it sustainable and does not burn me out at the expense of my writing career, ”she says.
And a little fresh air can work wonders . During her graduate studies, Heather Simon juggled part-time creative writing and translation assignments as a designer for an exam preparation company, working remotely from her cramped living room in her East Village apartment and attending classes in the evenings. The salvation of Simon during those dark days on the screens was her job selling meat to the Flying Pigs Farm every Saturday at the Union Square farmers market.
“I loved it because I was outside, I was picking up shit, I was talking to people, I was cold, I wasn’t sitting looking at things,” she says. “I received messages, but my hands were too frozen to respond.” Added bonus: Simon made all grocery purchases a week in advance in the marketplace and at a vendor discount.
Get your hands dirty
In addition to leaving the apartment, Bull also liked that she “really couldn’t talk to me on the phone in the pottery workshop as I was working with my hands and my hands were covered in wet mud,” she says.
Being busy with something can also affect your mind. “When we’re talking about mindfulness practices in life, especially if you’re writing or working on a computer, you’re very disconnected from your body,” explains Clary. Instead, finding a job that is “sensory oriented” and that forces you to “pay more attention to your materiality,” can make you “more attached to experiencing things and more involved in yourself,” she says.
When Jesse Marion Bowley first moved to New York, she supported her freelance career in graphic design and web development by working part-time in a butcher shop and found it encouraging. “More mental and physical focus (using sharp knives can quickly curb mental wandering) and taking a break from screen time helped me to worry less and sleep better,” she says.
Learning a new skill or engaging in a new activity is also beneficial because “variation is important to people’s experience. If you do the same, you are not cognitively challenging yourself enough, ”explains Mennin. “We know that new contexts generate new learning and [can] improve cognitive ability.”
Plus, you get the pleasure of working with your hands, which you don’t get from non-material work: you can literally hold onto the finished product, and it can give you a much needed boost of confidence. “I think one of the exciting things was that, unlike writing, I could actively see and measure my improvement with ceramics,” says Bull. Bowley also thinks about celebrating his progress as a butcher. “After college, most of the knowledge you learn in your field is so gradual it’s hard to see. But when you start from scratch and do something completely new, it is incredibly motivating to see such big leaps in improvement. “