Quitting Your 9-5 to Work 24/7 Isn’t Freedom

When I first went full-time freelance, I thought I was choosing freedom. 

No one telling me when to clock in. No one controlling my schedule. No approvals. No office politics. Just me, my work, and a wide open calendar. I told myself this was the dream. No boundaries, no rules. Total creative control. 

Except… that wasn’t freedom. 

That was just a complete lack of structure.

What that “freedom” looked like in practice was struggling to figure out where to start me day. Feeling overwhelmed before noon. Hitting my flow state at 4PM, then working deep into the night because I hadn’t done anything else. I answered emails immediately, thinking I was being attentive — when in reality, I was just proving I was always available. I said yes to every call, took meetings whenever clients asked, filled my calendar with coffee chats, discover calls, and last minute requests. 

From the outside, it probably looked like this were working. But I was exhausted. And the worst part? I didn’t even notice how bad it had gotten until people around me started saying things like:

“You’re always working.”

“Do you ever take a break?”

“Didn’t you go freelance to have more time?”

That’s when it hit me.

I hadn’t created freedom. I had created a system where I was still overworked and under-supported. I just didn’t have anyone else to blame but myself. 

What I took for granted in my full-time job was the infrastructure: the project manager, the account exec, the ops person. People who set timelines and protected my creative energy. People who handled the planning and systems so I could focus. 

Now, it was all me. 

The CEO. The creative. The assistant. The operations department. And let me be honest—my first solution to this was tragic.

I time-blocked the hell out of my Google Calendar. Every hour labeled, every minute assigned. It looked organized, but felt like punishment. There was no flexibility, no breathing room, no room for life, or for the actual creative process… which is rarely neat or linear.

It didn’t help; it just created more pressure, and still left me behind. 

Eventually, I realized structure didn’t have to mean rigidity. It could mean support. It could be intention. 

I started small:

• Theme days, like Marketing Mondays and FInance Fridays, so I could stop task-switching constantly.

• Limiting the number of meetings I’d take in a day — because being on back-to-back calls isn’t productivity, it’s a meltdown waiting to happen. 

• Scheduling deep work block that I actually protected.

• Leaving parts of my calendar open, on purpose.

• And this might sound basic… but I started scheduling lunch. Walks. Breaks. Time off screen. Like a human… because I am one.

This is when things started to shift and change. Not just in how I worked but in how I felt. 

Before, every day felt like trying to catch a train that had already left the station. I was late to everything, always trying to catch up, and somehow, still behind. 

Now?

I move slower. With intention.

I log off and don’t feel guilty.

I show up early to calls and meetings. 

I feel focused. 

I feel… free.

Not in the messy, boundless way I thought I wanted, but in the way that actually matters. This is why I built the Freelance OS — not to make you more productive, but give your business the structure it needs to support your freedom. 

Because let’s be real… You don’t need more motivation or another pep talk. You need a system that actually holds your work and your wellbeing. 

If this hits a nerve — if you’ve been drowning in “freedom” that doesn’t feel free — I made this for you. 

Upgrade your Freelance OS and get access to the system and the support you need.