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I was a successful graphic designer (now retired). I “solved” this feeling by developing an understanding that I was not freelance, but instead I was self employed. I set my hours. I chose which jobs to accept. I established my compensation. Once I did that, I received more work than I had before.

As self employed myself, this hits home. I used to think it was just a feeling the pressure from a "cashflow is king" thing (also critical), but yeah, it's the doubt.

Pay your full-time staff erratically and just see how quickly their mental health starts crumbling.

This is precisely why most freelancers demand payment upfront these days. If you aren’t willing to pay at least half beforehand, I’ll just assume you aren’t actually serious and aren’t ready to play ball.

I've heard people tell freelancers, "it must be great to be your own boss!" Maybe, but we are also our own employees, and we're not necesarily good at managing employees.

I hate it. I can be super efficient and get all my jobs out early, and then I’m left with a day of no new jobs, and OH GOD

I keep his book "Keep Going" in a bag I only use every once in awhile. I just took my son to the ER last week and pulled it out to read while waiting. It's so good❤️ (X-rays were fine. No break or fracture!)

I understand that this is a different level if you're a creative for-hire, but having worked in recruitment, people in permanent positions are also prone to tying 100% of their self worth as a person to their job, with kinda similar toxic dependencies as a result when things go south at work.

So true. I feel the same as an IT worker.