Freelancing Woes...

There comes a time in every freelancers life when suddenly you would realize that there is not enough work in the pipeline. This can happen for a variety of reasons, ranging from seasonal changes, you are not pitching enough (well, yeah, sometimes we are so busy finishing the existing assignments that we forget we have to pitch to get new ones) to just pure procrastination.

Something like this happened with me last month and it was a combination of the first two factors. I woke up one fine day and realized that the pipeline was very empty and I was used to congestion. Initially, I actually welcomed the idea, thinking of lazy afternoons ahead. This lasted for about two-three days during which time I had cleaned up my house from top to bottom and had nothing to do but to twiddle my thumb. And then I starting pitching at breakneck speed and hustled like I haven't for a very long time. 

The panic subsided and thank God for that otherwise my family was beginning to lose patience with me. They generally like me working on table and out of their way. Anyway that is a separate blog topic. I started working on my novel (don’t laugh people…it is bound to finish sometime. Have patience, folks!).

I decided to use the time to revamp my professional website (which will take another few days) and launched marketing blitz on all possible fronts. There is a reason I went on overdrive. The last time I encountered similar problem, I lost confidence and gave up freelancing. This time around I decided to change my strategy to survive and thrive in a downturn. I can say now that it did help. But one has to be proactive and not reactive to avoid these kind of situations. 

Let it be said that in spite of best efforts sometimes it is bound to happen...and whenever it doesn't mean that you give up totally on your freelancing dream but to change the strategy a bit. Think of the new markets, new areas and newer things that you can do. Just don't ever give up...

It Is Not Just A Table...

Recently, I purchased a nice, sturdy study table for myself. Made with sheesham wood and antique black knobs, it is a picture of elegance and sophistication. It is just perfect and exactly what I had in mind. I was super happy and just couldn’t help smiling for the longest time. The daughter humoured me for some time but really couldn’t understand what the fuss was all about.

The point is not the table but what it stands for. I come from a fairly middle class family and never had a table while growing up. For the first 14 years of my life we lived in a house which couldn’t have been smaller. There was no space for a study table. Most of the time I studied on bed or a small dining table. Later on I got our old dinning table to use as study table but it didn’t have drawers to keep your stationary, no lock and key to hide your secret diary from the world...it just seemed a compromise, the second best arrangement. I did own a computer table much later in life, but again it was for a huge desktop and was very basic and definitely not a reflection of my personality. At this time in life, I also associated  study table with intellectuals or rich people, who had time and luxury to read and write books. I know, I know thats not true and I was way off the mark...

But yes, now you will ask that hello, you have been working and earning your living for your entire life, so you could have bought table earlier if it was so important. Precisely, my point. After marriage it is just expected that you would be putting your needs at the bottom of the list. Sometimes there was no space in the house and at other times there was no money to spend on things which were viewed as unnecessary. And because I was working in office for most of the day, I myself believed that study table was not required.

However, I have been freelancing for the last 18 months or so and know that I would most likely be working from home for a long time. I needed one regular place or workstation to sit and work and this seemed to be the right time to do it. But it is not just a table, it is a commitment to my work and to freelancing, which I have chosen over a normal job. It is a sacrosanct space, it is a place to think and innovate, to write and to achieve more and more from life and to realise my potential. It is a testimony that I can and should carve my own future and last but not the least it is a sign that in this household women are given opportunities to follow their dreams, they are not shortchanged of their desires. So, it is not just a table for me...

The daughter will never get it because she has had a study table for as long as she can remember...