Freelancing Is Hard. Impostor Syndrome Is Harder

Freelancing isn’t easy. It’s not always fun, either. But what makes it even harder is feeling like you don’t belong in the gig economy. Yes, I’m talking about impostor syndrome, that feeling that despite all your hard work and talent, you’re just a fraud and everyone will eventually find out.

Maybe it’s when you land a big client you didn’t think was possible but then convince yourself they made a mistake hiring someone as inexperienced as you are. Or maybe it’s when you win an award for your work only to tell yourself they were simply looking to diversify their nominees or recognize someone from the region where the award ceremony took place.

In this post, we’ll explain what impostor syndrome is; give you some tips on how to tackle impostor syndrome; and how to tune out the noise. So that no matter how big or small your freelance business is, you can start feeling like an expert in what you do:

Dealing with Impostor Syndrome as a Freelance Writer

Takeaways
Freelancing can present various challenges that require resilience and perseverance.
Impostor syndrome is a common struggle among freelancers, impacting their confidence and self-belief.
Understanding the reasons behind the difficulties of freelancing can help in developing effective strategies to overcome them.
Building a support network and seeking guidance from experienced freelancers can provide valuable insights and encouragement.
Acknowledging and celebrating achievements is crucial for combating imposter syndrome and boosting self-confidence.

Table of Contents

What Is Impostor Syndrome?

Impostor syndrome (also known as the impostor phenomenon) is the idea that you’re a fraud and don’t belong in your position. It can make it difficult to succeed, even when you’re qualified for the job.

Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where you’re convinced that you’re a fraud, even though you are skilled or talented. It affects people from all walks of life and is not a sign of weakness.

Impostor syndrome is commonplace among highly successful individuals in just about any industry. Some high-profile examples include Oprah Winfrey, who said: “There are still days when I have to pinch myself and say, ‘Wake up!

You’re no longer an imposter,’ because for so many years I felt like one.” And yes, even world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has admitted feeling the same sense of insecurity: “I feel like an impostor,” he said at the 2018 South by Southwest festival in Austin.

It’s common for freelancers to experience impostor syndrome, particularly if they are new at their jobs or just starting on their own. In this article, we’ll explore how freelancers can manage impostor syndrome so they can overcome it and thrive at work.

While freelancing can be challenging, it’s important to understand the reasons behind the difficulties. Check out our article on why freelancing is surprisingly difficult and discover strategies to overcome them.

How Can I Deal With Impostor Syndrome?

Impostor syndrome is a real thing. For the uninitiated, it’s a mindset where you feel like you’re an impostor who will get “found out” as not talented or deserving at whatever job or role you’re in. That feeling can come with a lot of negative consequences, so here are tips on how to deal with impostor syndrome and thrive despite it.

Know Your Worth

When you know your worth, you’re more likely to feel confident and less likely to apologize for who you are and what you’ve accomplished.

If someone criticizes you or makes a demeaning comment, remind yourself that this person doesn’t know the whole story, and even if they did, who cares?. You don’t need anyone’s permission to do what makes sense for you.

Believe in yourself.
Believe in your abilities and strengths as an individual who is unique and different from all others around them (even if it’s not obvious on the surface).
Believe that there are things about themselves that only they can do because nobody else has been given their particular combination of attributes (i..e., hair color or height).

Impostor syndrome can be a significant hurdle for freelancers. Learn how to navigate this common struggle by reading our guide on dealing with impostor syndrome in freelancing and regain your confidence.

Play To Your Strengths To Beat A Fixed Mindset

Do you have a gift for making people laugh? Are you a whiz with numbers? Do you have the patience of a saint, or are you more analytical? Whatever your special skill, use it! Use your strengths to help others and yourself.

This will help to overcome the fear that because of your lack of experience and knowledge, someone is going to find out that they’re better than you in this particular area.

Remember, everyone has weaknesses and we all learn from each other you don’t need to be the best at everything.

Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

It’s a waste of time and energy, and it makes you feel like you’re not good enough.

You will never be able to compare yourself to someone else because everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so there will always be someone smarter, more successful, or more talented than you are and that’s okay.

Instead of focusing on this person, focus on your own goals and achievements.

Recognize The Symptoms In Friends And Colleagues

You may have friends and colleagues you work with who are experiencing impostor syndrome and don’t even realize it. If you can recognize the symptoms in yourself, then you can also recognize them in others.

For example, if your friend is always putting themselves down because they don’t think they’re good enough, then this could be a sign of impostor syndrome. It’s not easy to tell someone that they might have something wrong with them but it’s important that we do so.

If you’re feeling especially brave this week, try saying something like “I think what we need to do next is…” or “I feel like…,” rather than giving opinions as fact (e.g., “This needs to be done”). This will help people see that their ideas matter and give them confidence in themselves while still providing direction on how to move forward.

If you think freelancing is scary, think again. Our article on why freelancing is not as scary as everyone makes it out to be will debunk common misconceptions and provide insights into the rewarding aspects of freelancing.

Accept Your Strengths And Weaknesses

Accepting your strengths and weaknesses is important for self-confidence. If you are not a natural at something, it can seem like a sign that you are less capable than others.

This is not only untrue but also unhelpful to your development as an employee. You should know your strengths and weaknesses so that you can focus on the areas where you need extra work or training.

Not only does this make it easier for people around you to help support and guide your development, but it also allows them to see where they can contribute their skills and passions to enhance the team’s overall performance.

Understand Perfectionism Does Not Exist

Perfectionism is not a personality trait or a goal. It’s not realistic or attainable. The only thing that perfectionism is, is a measure of success.

If you’re feeling like everything you do isn’t good enough and that no matter how much time and effort you put into something, there will always be room for improvement you might be suffering from impostor syndrome.

Perfectionism exists on a spectrum: from mild to extreme; but no matter where on that spectrum you fall, it can harm your ability to deliver at work and lead to stress-related health conditions like anxiety and depression.

Find Proof Of Your Skills, Achievements, And Hard Work

Another way to deal with impostor syndrome is to find proof of your skills and accomplishments. Write down all of the great things you’ve done in your career, including:

What you’ve achieved so far (internship experience, academic accolades, etc.)
A list of skills you have (expertise in a particular software tool or process)
A list of weaknesses that are specific to your field or industry (poor communication skills)

Give Yourself Permission To Have Bad Days Or Doubt Yourself Occasionally

Giving yourself permission to have bad days and doubt yourself occasionally is a critical part of the process. It’s not a sign of weakness or failure to admit that we all have bad days, especially when we’re working on something challenging.

We can’t be our best selves every day, so it’s important that we don’t expect ourselves to be perfect 100% of the time and this applies equally to our self-talk.

The same goes for asking for help when you need it whether that means asking someone else in your company or industry, reaching out on Twitter or LinkedIn, and responding to requests there with “I can help!”.

You may not know exactly what they’re looking for yet (and even if you did know exactly what they need help with), but chances are someone else has been in their shoes before and knows how hard it is when you don’t feel like enough already…

Building a successful freelance career requires understanding the specific challenges involved. Explore our comprehensive resource on overcoming the hardships of freelancing to gain valuable tips and insights from experienced freelancers.

How To Tune Out The Noise As A Freelancer

It’s hard to stay focused on your work when you’re constantly bombarded with distractions. These days, it can be difficult to find time to settle into a groove and get things done.

Your phone is buzzing, your email notifications are pinging, and there are “ping-pong” games happening just outside your office door (seriously, who thought that was a good idea?).

So how do you concentrate when there’s so much noise around you?. It isn’t always easy and it takes practice but these tips will help you zero in on the task at hand.

Keep A Daily Schedule

Your day is going to be full of distractions, so it’s important to set aside time for the most important things. As a freelancer, you have complete control over your schedule and if you don’t plan out your workday ahead of time and stick with it, chaos will ensue.

A good way to keep track of what needs to get done daily is by using an app like Evernote or Google Calendar (or whatever works best for you).

You can create tasks in these apps that correspond with what you want to accomplish during the day; some people prefer using their calendars as lists, while others may find them too rigid and prefer something more flexible like Evernote.

Once the “big” stuff has been scheduled into your day, think about smaller tasks like responding to emails or making phone calls these are things that can easily fall through the cracks if we’re not careful about keeping track of them!

Practice Time-Blocking

Time blocking is a great way to stay focused and make the most of your time. It helps you block out time for activities that are important and not let distractions get in the way. The main idea behind time-blocking is that, as a freelancer, you are responsible for your schedule and what you do with it.

You may have some very specific goals that require regular attention – such as marketing yourself or reaching out to potential clients – but if you don’t take control over how much of your day these tasks take up, there will always be other things vying for your attention (email notifications! Facebook alerts).

Time-blocking ensures that no matter how many interruptions come along during the day, they won’t interfere with meaningful work on those tasks.

There are several ways to practice time-blocking: You could use a calendar; keep an ongoing list of things you need to do so that when something pops into mind during free moments throughout the day (or even when it doesn’t), all it takes is checking off that item from the list; or try writing down three things each morning before doing anything else.

Eliminate Distractions

This may seem obvious, but it’s essential to your productivity that you remove anything that distracts you from the task at hand. Whether it’s a competing project or an irresistible TV show on Netflix, get rid of everything that could potentially pull your attention away from what you’re working on.

A good place to start is by closing all social media accounts and putting your phone into airplane mode so notifications don’t distract you.

If you need some background noise while working, try listening to instrumental music instead of having music with lyrics playing out loud a study found that people who listened to instrumental music were able to focus better than those who listened to songs with lyrics (1).

If necessary, turn off any notifications for apps like Facebook Messenger or email apps as well; hiding notifications, in general, is also a great way of eliminating distractions too!

Another thing I’ve done when working from home is set up my computer monitor so I can’t see my doorbell ring when someone comes by our apartment it keeps me focused on work without constantly interrupting myself every time someone arrives unannounced (2).

Monitor Your Social Media Intake

It can be easy to get lost on social media when you’re working from home. You might be tempted to check your favorite sites every 30 minutes or so, and before you know it, an hour has passed and you haven’t accomplished anything.

As a freelancer, being productive is one of the keys to success but luckily it’s possible to do both at once. Here are some tips for monitoring your social media intake:

Use a tool that tracks how much time you spend on each site (for example, RescueTime). This can help identify how much time you spend on Facebook vs Instagram vs Twitter, as well as whether any sites are more addictive than others for you.

Are you considering freelancing as a career? Discover why freelancing can be the perfect choice for you. Read our article on why freelancing can be the career for you to explore the advantages and opportunities it offers.

Practice Silence

Silence is an amazing thing. It can help us think, focus, and gain clarity of mind. We might be tempted to think silence is only for monks or those who live alone in the mountains, but it’s not.

Silence can be achieved anywhere at any time; all you need to do is turn off your devices and give yourself some space from the noise of other people. Silence will also help you recharge when you’re feeling drained by work or life in general. The benefits of silence include:

peace of mind (mental clarity)
energy boost
creativity boost

Implement The Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique, created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, is a productivity technique that has been proven to improve focus and reduce stress. The theory behind the Pomodoro Technique is that you can only focus on one task at a time.

The key to success is to work in 25-minute bursts with 5-minute breaks between each session. After 4 pomodoros (or 100 minutes), you should take a longer break of 15 minutes before starting again.

After 8 hours of focused work on an activity, take another long break before starting again after 16 hours with an even longer rest period of 45 minutes or more

Use Noise-Canceling Headphones Or Earbuds

Noise-canceling headphones or earbuds can help you tune out the noise. The trick is to find the right kind for you.

Active noise-canceling headphones are powered by a battery, so they’re best for traveling or commuting. You can usually find them at big box stores like Best Buy and Target, as well as on Amazon and eBay.

In-ear style earbuds are less bulky than over-the-ear styles and come in all sorts of sizes, but they don’t always include active noise cancellation technology they simply block external sounds by fitting securely into your ears.

If that sounds more appealing to you than having something strapped around your head (or if you just don’t have space for another gadget), look for earbuds with “noise isolating” features instead of active cancellation technology

Turn Off Notifications On Your Phone And Computer

Turn off email, social media, and other app notifications on your phone and computer. For example, I turn off Twitter notifications on my phone because I can’t control the urge to check them (and then end up wasting time).

On my desktop, I turn off all notifications except for Slack. If you want to be even more mindful while working, try turning off your email client’s notifications as well!

Final Thoughts

If you’re a freelancer, chances are you’ve felt like a fraud at some point in your career. It’s not just you, it’s common among self-employed people of all stripes. The good news is that impostor syndrome doesn’t have to be debilitating, and it can even be a useful tool for managing your fears and improving yourself as an entrepreneur.

Takeaway: Impostor syndrome can be paralyzing, but learning how to deal with it is important.