A Freelance Job is Like Living on an Island

Kanchana Banerjee switched from full-timing to freelancing after her son was born. The founder of Writeword tells Fleximoms that upskilling is a must and that work from home won’t work for women who aren’t self-driven

What I do: I hold a Master’s degree in English from JU, Kolkata. A journalist by profession, I’ve been writing for the past 19 years. I started with The Statesman in Kolkata and then Times of India, Hyderabad. I began freelancing after the birth of my son. I have written for a plethora of publications across the country and for numerous reputed companies. In 2012, I founded Writeword which offers online writing courses. One sees so many professionally qualified women drop out of lucrative jobs to tend to home and kids. While they do this willingly, the urge and desire to do something meaningful burns deep. Writeword is for such women. My course teaches them how to write and become a freelance writer. I also help them get started.

My family:  We are a small family of four. My husband Sandeep, who is the managing director of a French MNC, our 15-year-old son (nicknamed the incredible hulk…he is 6 feet’ 2 inches) and Archie, our 4-year-old beagle.

My support system: My husband and my friends. Sandeep has always encouraged me to work and dream. He believes and always tells me that I can do a lot more. I’m an only child so I seek companionship in friends and I am blessed with very good friends. They are my soul sisters!

My inspiration to do what I do: I really don’t know what my inspiration is? I’m pretty self-driven. I have this insatiable hunger to do something. I love my work and I really enjoy what I do. I’ve always liked to write. Anything else was never an option. I don’t think I can do anything else but write. I just love words!

A day in my working life: Since I’ve worked from home for a very long time, I am quite disciplined about it. A typical day begins with a morning walk with Archie followed by a quick workout at the gym after which I sit down with work. Every freelancer would tell you that there are no fixed hours. That was true when I was only freelancing for publications and companies. But now that I have my business, it is more structured. I have appointments, deadlines to meet, HW assignments to correct. I make a list of things that I need to do, calls I need to make, people I need to meet over the week…so I work accordingly. Also, one day of the week couple of hours is kept aside for my study. This is the time when I surf the Net and read. I do research. This is my learning time.

What makes work work:  Discipline and dedication. It isn’t easy to work from home. The TV remote is nearby, a favourite movie or TV show is being aired, friends are meeting for coffee…temptations galore. I have to admit that I do give in to temptation sometimes but, on the whole, if you aren’t self-driven, working from home can’t work for you. Also one has to keep aside some time for self-study. You have to educate yourself, read, surf the net and stay informed. A freelance job is like living on an island. It has its benefits but you don’t grow or learn as you would have if you worked in a company. So go out and participate in seminars, conferences, meet people, learn and don’t stop growing.

The work-life balance: This is a tough one for freelancers or work-from-home people. The common perception is that since you work from home, people can call you up, drop in for a chat. They may think…what’s the rush…you can do it later. But I like to maintain some balance. No one in the house is allowed to disturb me when I work. I don’t take personal calls from friends and family when I’m at work. Since my son has grown up seeing his mother working from home, he also knows when not to come to me. On the other hand, I don’t work on Sundays. If an assignment comes to me on Friday evening, I tell them in advance that I wouldn’t be able to submit the work on Monday morning. Having said that, there have been times when I have worked on holidays, early morning and late in the night. You can’t avoid it.

My stress-buster: Playing with Archie. Watching movies with Rohan (son). Gymming with Sandeep. Chatting with my girlfriends. Nothing like the company of good friends, food and wine.

What makes “me-time” special: I love reading and watching movies. Being an only child I like being on my own sometimes. I’m a movie buff and I enjoy watching a movie by myself. Not to mention, Archie likes to curl up near my feet.

Would I do it differently?  Not in million years! I love my work and I wouldn’t change that for anything.

What would I change?  I would work full-time for few more years before going the freelance way. Working with a company teaches you many things and – above all – instills discipline of work, which is very important.