As I celebrate my 7th year anniversary as a freelancer, I came across this question from a fellow member of a freelancer group I belong to, “Wala kang ibang nararamdaman na pagbabago sa katawan mo?” (Don’t you feel any changes in your body?). I know what he meant by asking me that. I know that working online full time for 7 years will bring some changes to your body or should I say “health”. He might be feeling something in his body after hours of sitting and working in front of his computer that’s why he came up with that question. Well, I can’t deny that there are changes and I answered him, “yes, I gained weight” and laugh at my comment. However, that is 100% true and it attracts comments from my co-freelancers, agreeing with the statement.
Working online has pros and cons and one of the cons is health issues which you may develop all through the years of working online. If you are planning to get into this industry or you are already starting, it is a must that you should know these health issues so you can prevent it from happening as early of today.
Here are some health problems that you might develop throughout your freelancing career.
- Weight Gain – Let us start with the obvious. Freelancers tend to gain weight because they are on the same spot their entire working hours. We don’t walk to the bus station, commute and walk to the building on your way to your office. We simply open our eyes, open our laptop and get the job done. We even eat in front of our computer, especially if the fridge is one grab away. We all know that being overweight is unhealthy and can lead to serious diseases. Now, that you are aware of this, avoid eating in front of your computer and place the fridge miles away so you are forced to stand if you need a drink or you want something to eat.
- Backache – Since you sit all day, you tend to develop backache, I experienced that from time to time. This makes me want a massage all the time. Though, that can help to relax your muscle, you can still do something to avoid it. Just have mini breaks and you’re good.
- Stress – Freelancers are prone to stress. This is especially when they to do multi-tasking and need to juggle their time between their clients.
Lesson: Don’t eat more than you can chew. You can have as many clients as you want, but you must be responsible enough to only accept what you can handle.
- Depression – Even we know that we are lucky to work at home and we are our own boss, we can’t help but to feel depressed sometimes. We missed the social life that we have before and the only social life that we have right now is social media. Well, if you are feeling this way get up and go out!
These health issues are only a problem if you don’t know them. As they said prevention is better than cure. Plan your working day and make it sure that it is productive and healthy at the same time.
Feel free to share your tips on how to have a healthy freelancing lifestyle.
Cliff Hazel Santos is a Top Rated Upwork Freelancer, with 100% job success rate. She is also an entrepreneur, she owns Dive-In Travel Agency and she is an aspiring blogger.
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