How to Avoid Being a Work Addict

Adapted from The Freelance Design Handbook (RotoVision)
By Cathy Fishel

Is it possible to become addicted to one’s work, to the point where work becomes preferable to any other activity? Sure. Anything that’s pleasurable to human beings releases endorphins in the brain, and those endorphins make you feel good. People like to feel good, so they repeat those actions over and over, until the activity that spawns those feelings becomes an irresistible habit.

Design is (usually) a highly pleasurable activity. For designers, the exciting sense of exploration, rewarded by discovery and, ultimately, satisfaction, is the very definition of “fun.” Endorphins abound, and the designer is rewarded by pleasurable feelings. Who wouldn’t become addicted to that?
Many freelance creatives would readily admit to being addicted to what they do (or in the broader sense, to art and design). That’s good news for clients. But for the freelance designer, who tends to be a very focused and hardworking person by nature anyway (you couldn’t be in this business if you weren’t), it can turn into tunnel vision over time. Without the light of the outside world shining in, a designer’s creative health suffers.

No matter how busy you are as a freelancer, there are simple ways to inject space between you and your work.

Balancing Work and Life

The vast majority of designers, freelance or otherwise, usually work more than 40 hours per week; it’s the nature of the beast. But there are some who work much more than that—50, 60, 70 hours, or more—and not just during a crunch week, but month after month. If you live alone and have absolutely no family or friends (or want to chase them away for good), and you choose that way of life freely, then it’s obviously what you want.

But have you ever wondered if you’re working too much? And how much is too much? The answer is simple: it’s when work starts to negatively affect other parts of your life on a long-term or apparently endless basis. It’s the normal human condition to have time to work and time to rest or play. But every human is different in his or her needs, so there’s no preset, advisable number of hours. Perhaps the best gauge can be found in the eyes of the significant people in your life. If your partner, friends, family, or peers are concerned that you are working too much, then chances are you might be.

“But I have to make a living!” might be the freelancer’s reply. Or, “I can’t control when my clients need me!” But if every waking moment of your day is taken up with work, you might need to consider different clients, different kinds of design work, or some other alteration in your long-term plans in which the financial return on your investment of time is more favorable.

Even then, will work time ooze into private time? Certainly. Life, like work, is unpredictable. But when a designer works a 60-hour week, balance needs to be restored eventually. Remember that you are your own boss, and you can reward yourself sometimes.

“Sometimes my friends borrow me for a day, and we go for a tour through the wine lands or a day at the beach. But this often happens after a whole weekend was spent working,” says Savyra Meyer of Western Cape, South Africa.

A hobby or outside interest is a great distraction from work. Many designers have hobbies that are related to their jobs, such as drawing, painting, or photography. But whatever pastime cleanses the palette of your mind, so to speak, is fine. It will increase the depth of your well of creativity, while you enjoy the time spent doing it.

“A hobby can turn into a journey that turns you into a better person,” says Christian Steagall-Condé, a freelance designer from Brazil, “and chances are that you will become a better professional as a result.”

Some freelancers give themselves permission to attend at least one distant design conference each year. Yes, it’s a work-related trip, but such events almost always prove to be rejuvenating, whether you attend every session or decide to skip out for a few drinks. Gathering with one’s peers is healthy medicine indeed.

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