When you’re a freelancer, working out of your home, it’s awfully hard to not “take your work home with you.” It’s very easy to work, talk shop, and generally stay engaged in your work every day, all day. Even when you’re engaged in other things, it’s not far from your mind, and you don’t get the weekends you need to recover, rebuild, and prepare for better work ahead.
And mostly, that’s okay! I love my work, I love staying as on top of it as I can. My mind is always thinking about it and trying to solve problems with interesting solutions.
But I don’t think it’s healthy to keep going, nonstop, all the time. And I know that my many freelance composer/arranger/conductor friends deal with the same struggle.
I hereby free you, and myself, of the need to take your work home. Take a day off, do non-work things. Nap if you want. Take a Freelance Break.
(I just had a great day filled with family, home projects, cooking, and not a lick of work until I sat down to write this. It makes me feel more ready to face the work tomorrow and the day after.)