Almost everyone has heard of freelancing as an alternative to working a regular day job. When people think about freelancing, they usually dream about the freedom and flexibility that tends to come with working from home. To some people, it’s all about being able to work in a comfortable environment. For others, the focus is being able to work at home and look after their kids while still making a decent wage.

Unfortunately, people often don’t talk about the responsibilities that come with it, nor do they mention the challenges that freelancing parents come across. So if you’re thinking about becoming a freelancer to make more time for your children, here are a few things to keep in mind and help you understand what it means to freelance.

Maintaining A Consistent Stream Of Work Is Harder Than You Think

While it really depends on the type of job you’ve got, it’s important to understand that it’s harder to maintain a consistent stream of work than you might think. For example, if you’re a truck driver then there might be thousands of loads for you to deliver during a busy period of the year. However, during quiet periods, you might be competing with many other drivers which results in less work and less income.

Sadly, this is just something you’ll need to deal with as a freelancer. There’s no easy solution for maintaining a consistent stream of work, and you’ll need to face those seasonal changes by adapting your workflow to fit it. For example, if you know that the summer period is a busy one for your type of freelance work, then you’ll want to invest more time into making money during that period while you can. This means you’ll generate more money during a busy period to make up for the lack of business later on.

Unfortunately, this may also coincide with periods where you can spend more time with your children, such as summer holidays and spring breaks. Luckily, you usually have the freedom to work harder during periods where you can spend less time with your children. This means your schedule will be free when you can spend time with your loved ones.

Freelance Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Have A Schedule

One of the most popular misconceptions about freelancing is that you can work at any time of the day and still get work done.

Sadly, this is far from the truth. Sure, you can work whenever you want, but you’ll eventually end up working the entire day because you’re not focusing on your work during a specific timeframe. This is no better than working a regular day job and you might find yourself distracted by your children, ultimately slowing down your work and frustrating you.

However, it does mean that you can start working whenever your kids are either still asleep or have their own commitments, such as going to school or when they’re engaged in at-home lessons with their teachers.