How to spot a freelancer in the wild

Only a freelancer will know the perils of working on the go during the school summer holidays.

I became a freelance social media manager in January 2020, so i’ve only recently had to learn how to deal with the perils of a summer holiday with the kids whilst simultaneously running a business outside of lockdown.

The summer of 2020 was blazing sunshine, ice lollies in the garden, walks around our local park, watching back-to-back box sets on Netflix and generally making the most of being confined within the four square walls of our house. Whilst the situation wasn’t ideal, there was time to work, and I was never too far from my desk if something came up.

Since then though, we have been trying to make up for lost time and cancelled travel plans during the school holidays by going completely overboard with how much we can squeeze into our free time. During the summer holidays last year, we booked day trips to theme parks, weeks away on the Welsh Coast, a best friend’s wedding, plenty of wholesome outdoorsy activities and a few museum trips for good measure. It’ll be fine, I said to myself. As long as I plan ahead and get everything scheduled, everything will run smoothly.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Having the flexibility to be able to work from wherever I want was the reason I went freelance in the first place. I had just envisioned it more as sipping iced lattes in boujie cafes or stretched out on sun loungers poolside. Not trying to connect to the free WIFI whilst hunched over a table at the local trampolining centre with a lukewarm vending machine tea.

It started in The Natural History museum back in July. Have you ever had to take an emergency last-minute client call whilst carrying a crying toddler past a (frankly terrifying) roaring animatronic T Rex? I know a few of you must have. Having to explain that ‘no, I wasn’t in danger’ to the client as they heard the cacophonous noises in the background was a business first for me.

In week two, my scheduler packed up on me as we were walking around the Warner Brothers Studio tour. I had to find a bench just outside Diagon Alley to sit down on whilst I frantically posted everything manually that hadn’t gone out, small children (and several grown ups) dressed as wizards surrounding me. Surreal? Definitely. Was I the only person I noticed working on the go? Absolutely not!

You see, us freelancers are fairly easy to spot in the wild. We’re the ones lurking in the corners of the soft play centre taking calls and straining to hear the client over the shrieks of those playing, or sat with a laptop open on a park bench; one hand typing, the other passing snacks or wet wipes to a small human. We’re the ones holding our phones low under the table at a friend’s wedding trying to sneakily post a Reel for a client whilst the best man does his speech, hoping that no one notices (guilty!).

As I put down my phone and surveyed the Harry Potter-themed landscape, I noticed another woman trying to do the same work/life juggle as myself. We gave each other a knowing nod, mentally calculated how many days were left until schools re-opened in September, then got back to our respective muggle families and headed towards Hogwarts.

The school holiday struggle/juggle is real.

So, over to you! We’d love you to share your tips, tricks and hacks for finding that ever elusive work life balance as a working parent during the school holidays! Do share your tips below in the comments and we’ll post the best ones on our social media platforms.