Stay Foolish but don't be Hungry!
Being a freelancer has many perks, you get to set your hours, days, your workstation just the way you like it. You can work from a basement, your garage, a coffee shop, a bar, a mountain, a toilet and even from space (using Nasa's wifi). You get used all these perks so much that after a certain period they become problems because you do set your timings but not the boundaries. You start staying up late nights eating junk food of all sorts, start watching late night movies or binge-watching your favourite Netflix Series. Soon all those perks begin to overwhelm you, and you become addicted to these things which in the end start compromising your health.
Corporate world understands this, that is why they fix working hours So that the employees can call it a day at five and head home to their loved ones, they also encourage you to eat healthy, some offices also have a healthy menu for their employees. They do want to suck out every last piece of energy you have by extending your work hours in the name of client meetings and deadlines, but they understand the concept of the fat goat. If you have more energy, they will be able to squeeze you more.
I don't say all freelancers are like this, some of us do follow our own rules and stay disciplined but most of us, let's be honest, are lazy, fat, and undisciplined. Some of us work all night and sleep the whole day. Living a lifestyle like this does make us more productive for a short period but in the long run is unhealthy.
Just like the title of this post, we should stay foolish enough to try new things, new technologies, new ways of doing what we do, that is what keeps us apart from 9-5 workers, keeping us creative enough yet allowing us to experiment with new ideas but it should not be at the cost of our health.
I've been a freelancer for last decade, I've tried all sorts of timings like 2-9, 9-5(AM), 6-2(AM) and what not, I've worked in the corporate world (ON Contracts), startups in home offices, coffee shops and even from my Bedroom. They all work okay, at first but after a while everything fells apart and I end up sleeping all the time or hating the place I'm in. Whenever I get back to the 9AM-5PM schedule, I'm never sleepy; I never get tired quickly, I'm able to focus more, be more productive and still able to give sufficient time to my family.
We, freelancers, are creatures of habit and whatever we do we always end up making the same mistake. So I do also end up with bed timings after a few days, It's just a terrible habit that is very difficult to lose, but we must try, be more disciplined, healthy, even punctual, not only for us but for our loved ones too. So please try!
There is no sure short method of being fit & healthy, try out a bunch of things, you will surely find something that works for you, but do follow the 9-5 schedule and when you do find something, do let me know, I'll add it to the following list.
- go for a walk/run in the morning 🏃♂️
- try doing yoga 🧘♂️
- or all-time favourite: start going to the gym (for more than a month) 🏋️♂️