The Freelancer's Crisis Action Plan (Part One)

Managing a crisis in lockdown

I’ve put together a crisis action plan for freelancers. This is part one, how to deal with a crisis while we’re in the middle of it. Part two, which is about how to get work during lockdown, is here.

Step one: Put your oxygen mask on 

By now, I don’t think I have to tell you that all of us are in an unprecedented state of anxiety. Personally, I feel like I’m spending 90% of my day trying not to fall off the edge of the cliff. To that end, I’ve put together a checklist to help you take care of the most important thing first – your health and wellbeing. 

Wellbeing checklist

✅ How am I taking care of myself? Am I getting enough sleep, eating properly and moving my body (within the safety guidelines)? 

✅ Am I communicating with others about how I’m feeling? Tell those you’re sharing your space with how you’re doing, especially if you’re struggling. Call your friends and family regularly – everyone has time to talk right now. 

✅ Am I relaxing? You might be at home with not much to do but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re able to relax properly. Prioritising rest right now is more important than ever. 

✅ Am I breathing properly? This might sound ridiculous but how we breath affects our stress levels. When we’re anxious, shallow breathing makes our anxiety worse. There are some breathing exercises in the toolkit further down this page. 

✅ How is what I’m letting into my orbit affecting me? Rolling news coverage, panic on social media and frantic text messages won’t be helping you to cope right now. Consider limiting your news consumption right now just to the official statements issued by the government and set boundaries around what you let pop up on your phone. 

✅ Do I know my own warning signs? Each of us responds differently in times of crisis – are you feeling angry, irritable or crying more than usual? Are you tuning into what your body is telling you it needs right now? 

✅ Am I being compassionate? Be kind to yourself and others right now. There is no right way to feel right now, no right way to do a pandemic.

The Freelancer’s Wellbeing Toolkit 

Now is time to draw on any and all resources that will help you take care of yourself. 

• The Worry Tree – for when you’re worry is spiralling out of control 

• HALT – for when you’re struggling with impulse control or just feeling low or distressed  

• The Feelings Wheel – for when you’re struggling to identify how you feel  

• 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique – for when you’re panicking and need to come back to the present 

• Breathing exercise for anxiety

• Free meditations

Step two: Draw the purse strings 

Second to the threat of the disease itself, is the economic impact it will leave in its wake. Many freelancers have already lost work and all of us are worrying about where our next paycheque will come from. It’s time to draw the purse strings.

Financial health checklist

✅ Audit your finances: Assess your personal situation as soon as you can. If you have money in savings or an emergency fund, now is the time to use it. If you are a member of a union or a professional body, check their webpages as many are offering advice and support for their members. If you are struggling to pay bills, talk to your creditors straight away – many landlords, banks and other lenders are currently giving payment holidays and waiving fees. 

✅ Chase invoices: Leave no invoice unpaid right now. Also, make sure you are sending invoices for ongoing work as promptly as possible. If you have an overdue invoice, here is some text you can use to chase it: 

Dear XXX,

I’m getting in touch to check on my outstanding payment. Given the current circumstances, I’m trying to wrap up all my outstanding invoices and I’d really appreciate any update you can give me about when I can expect payment. If it’s easier, perhaps there is a contact in the accounts department I speak with about this directly? 

✅ Cut expenditure: Given the nature of this crisis, your spending should be down now anyway. Nonetheless, go through your outgoings and cut back on anything non-essential. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself Will this cost help me in some way right now? If yes, keep it. If no, either freeze it or cancel it. And yes, that Netflix subscription definitely counts as a necessity right now. 

✅ Take the government aid that’s available to you: Countries are scrambling to pass legislation and inject stimulus into their economies right now. Depending on where you live and your personal circumstances, you may well be entitled to some support. Check the pages below – if your country is not listed, check your government and local tax authority’s websites. 

• UK

• USA

• Canada

• Australia

• New Zealand

Step three: Adjust to a new normal 

Many of us are in some form of a lockdown or heavy restriction right now. There’s not a whole lot we can be certain about, but we can be pretty sure that this situation will last a few weeks or months. Start making small steps to adapt to your new normal. 

The new normal checklist 

✅ Accept that productivity looks very different right now: While you might already be used to working from home, you’re probably struggling to concentrate right now. I know that I for one am really finding it hard to focus on anything. Lower your expectations and be kind to yourself. If you’re used to working 9-5 PM, aim for 9-1 PM instead. If you’re balancing looking after kids with work, know that doing your best is more than good enough. The most important job you have right now is to stay home and keep yourself and others safe. If all you achieve today is doing that, recognise how truly important that is. 

✅ Change your routine if it’s not working for you: Routines, rituals and structure can bring some semblance of normality in chaotic times. However, the routine you used to rely on may no longer work for you. You also may need a different routine every day, depending on how you’re feeling. Be flexible and find a routine that’s baggy enough to give you room to breathe. 

✅ Share your space with others: The biggest secret to sharing a live/work space with others is clear communication. Can you sit down and do your schedules together? Could you devise a system for “booking” the living room when one of you needs to make a call? How can you adapt your space to give everyone a little workstation, even if that’s an ironing board as a standing desk? Let each other know how you will communicate that you need some alone time (a closed door or headphones on, for example). If all else fails: earplugs. 

✅ Communicate with clients: Stay in contact with your current clients. If you have an ongoing project, ask them if the deadlines or expectations have changed. Try to get a sense of what is happening on your client’s end – is their business in trouble and how might this affect you? If you’re struggling to meet deadlines, let them know as soon as possible. Also, let your clients know if you’re available to help them right now. Tell them if you’re willing to take on additional work, expand your services or if you’re available for fast turn-around projects.  

Step four: Work on your business rather than in it

Something I keep reminding myself is that work might be on hold right, but it’s not gone completely. The media industry has not and will not collapse. This is temporary and once it passes, work will resume. In the meantime, there’s plenty to get on with if you need a distraction.

Work checklist

✅ Define your why: Do you have a guiding principle that informs your freelance business? A purpose, something that drives you to do what you do. Your why. A classic example is Apple – their why is “to think differently”.  

This is a big exercise to do but one that will pay dividends down the road. To figure out your why, start by thinking about what lights you up, what your strengths are and where you add value. If you want to go the whole hog with this exercise, buy Simon Sinek’s Start With Why book (or watch his Ted talk)

✅ Do your admin: If you want to tackle an equally important, but less thinky task, do your admin. Fix your website; tidy up your LinkedIn profile; re-write your Twitter bio; archive your work. If you can face it, file your expenses.   

✅ Spring clean your work: Have you been promising yourself that you’ll find a new piece of bookkeeping software or will look into project management tools? Or maybe your digital files are in a mess? Now is the time to fix the things that aren’t working for you. Think of this as the business equivalent of organising your cupboards.  

Click here for Part Two of the Freelancer’s Crisis Action Plan