Before becoming Self Employed, the three little letters that mattered to Adrian Pitt from Develop-meant Training Consultants were "KFC". Now he's experienced "FGC" and it doesn't come with fries...
The lady I was due to meet this morning cancelled late last night. When I came to look at my diary again this morning, I realised that the appointment with her was the only thing on the agenda for the day. So, I pottered about, answered a few emails, updated the website, prepared for a couple of NVQ sessions tomorrow (which took all of 10 minutes) and then errrrr...that was it! Done and dusted by about 11:30am.
I've spent the rest of the day feeling REALLY guilty for doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! The devil on my shoulder was saying: "Come on! Get your act together man! Surely there's SOMETHING you should be doing? This isn't like you! You're the kind of person who needs at least ONE goal to achieve for the day by the time "Cash In The Attic" comes on! What's wrong with you?!?!" While the angel on my t'other shoulder was saying: "Adrian! Stop being so hard on yourself! Surely this is ONE of the reasons you became Self Employed so you could enjoy the freedom and flexibility it brings?! Calm down and have a glass of wine!"
I suddenly realised just HOW institutionalised I'd become by the 9 to 5 of being in full-time employment since the age of 16!
Have YOU suffered or do you STILL suffer from FGC? "Freelancer's Guilt Complex". If so - is there a cure?!?!
Ade.
2 Responses
Freelance Guilt Complex – FGC
Ade,
I have to admit that I have experienced the same feelings. Having been employed most of my life I went self-employed in 2009 and I did find that there were days when I had very little on. Is there a cure? I’m not sure but I tend to spend my free time (if meetings or work is cancelled) trying to develop my business. This can include, developing new contacts for the future, identifying new leads and keeping up-to-date with what is happening in the L&D arena. Sometimes though it is nice to have a break and of course this is one of the perks of being self-employed. Hope this helps.
Phil.
Phil Lion, L&D Consultant, lion.phil@gmail.com 07759067152
FGC
When I first saw this post I thought it read "freelancers quilt complex" – Freudian slip methinks!!