If ever there was a direct cause of burnout, it'd be the 'Always On' trap. This all-too-common, almost expected way of working – particularly in the freelance/entrepreneur space – drives us to constantly check emails and blur boundaries in the name of "productivity." With the entire world in our pockets, it's no surprise it's tempting more and more people, especially freelancers, to bid for jobs, reply to clients, and simply… be on.
I'm not preaching from the pulpit here; I'm 100% a victim of this myself. I can shamefully admit I've been a red-light-replier more than a few times in my day. But can I truly be blamed? We live in a culture that subtly praises the burnt out, whispering, "for they shall hold the keys to the golden temples of higher tax brackets… at the expense of healthy relationships."
According to Robert Half (the international HR consulting firm) "...68% of professionals said they struggle to completely disconnect from work during non-business hours". It's called a trap for a reason – it's hidden in plain sight, making most of us fallible in trying to avoid it. It's insidious, creeping up slowly until it feels like the new normal.
"Burnout is not a badge of honor. It's a sign that you're out of balance." – Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post
Common Signs You're Stuck in the 'Always On' Trap:
- Work hours are not upheld: Starting early, working late, saying "ciao" to weekends off.
- Constantly checking work: A problem that 56% of working people admit to (according to EY (2019) The value of a global career experience).
- Responding immediately: Texts, emails, calls, DMs – feeling that instant pressure.
- Increased procrastination: Ironically, during actual work hours because you're mentally drained.
- Neglecting hobbies: Including crucial social engagements and personal interests.
- Sleep troubles: With work dreams sometimes making things even worse.
For freelancers and solopreneurs, it's a constant game of chicken with burnout. With no manager telling you to sign off, no mandatory office hours, and no guarantee of more jobs to come, it can be exceptionally difficult to sign off for the night or take the weekend off. But let's run through a scenario:
The Cost of Being Always On: A Scenario
You're a freelancer stuck in the 'Always On' trap. You have seven highly demanding clients who are paying you well, but expecting a lot. You have student loans. You have rent. You had a life, but for the time being, it's wake up and work. Forgetting meals. Hydration goals out the window. Edging closer to deadlines just for clients to have another round of notes. The thought process is (semi) logical: "I'll work hard for this month and then I'll be able to chill." Money is nice, and you can handle it – who cares, everyone gets a consistent eye twitch from time to time, right?
And then it's month two. And on the first week (your fifth in a row)... all… systems... fail. You burn out. Not just a little. Out out. Like take-the-week-off, indefinite-OOO-response-set, deadlines-obliterated. The low is brutal, the climb back up daunting. You've probably lost some clients, some reputation on Fiverr or Upwork. Crucially, you also lost money – THE VERY reason you kept up the crazy hours. You lost money that week, you lost money for any future ventures with those clients, and you lost money because now you've got a few negative reviews, making it harder to score new jobs.
Let's Use Numbers to Hammer Home the Flawed Logic:
- Your Standard Hourly Rate: $50/hour
- Normal 40-Hour Week Earnings: $2,000
- 'Always On' Hours: 60 hours/week
- 'Always On' Weekly Earnings: $3,000
- Theoretical 5 Weeks of 'Always On' Work: $15,000
But – and here's the crucial part – that's only if you get paid out, which is unlikely considering clients don't enjoy paying full price for half-finished work. Let's say you only completed half the work due to exhaustion, so you might get $7,500.
- Time Spent Burnt Out: 40-80 hours (1-2 weeks on your couch, doing nothing productive).
- Money Wasted While Burnt Out: $2,000 - $4,000 (lost earnings for those weeks).
The Reality Check: Seven weeks of normal, sustainable pay (5 weeks working + 2 weeks recovering from burnout) would yield $14,000. This is nearly DOUBLE what you potentially earned by busting your butt, neglecting your needs, and blurring your boundaries. And now, you're burnt out with a reputation to repair.
Okay, scenario done. Geez, that gave me anxiety just writing that! Thanks for indulging my intense, long-winded way of saying that always being on is simply not worth it.
So What Can We Do?
Clients are expecting quick responses, and we're on our phones a lot as is – what are some ways we can get around this trap?
The very first step is realizing you're even in the trap. It can take some serious soul-searching or journaling to analyze your day-to-day life. I'm personally all for asking a partner, friend, family member, or therapist if they think you've been hitting the grindstone too hard. We're often too close to the problem to truly notice anything's wrong.
Next: Setting and Communicating Boundaries.
The setting part is often the easier bit – once you see the areas you can improve, carving out a slightly-strict boundary to uphold is simple. I say slightly-strict because rigidity can easily lead to disappointment and/or abandonment of the boundary if you're not perfectly hitting your mark.
Communicating your boundaries, on the other hand, is a different beast altogether. It takes real commitment to show up for yourself and disregard the immediate discomfort of telling a client your boundaries. But there are some tricks here:
- Clearly explain how these boundaries directly and positively affect their business and your productivity. (e.g., "I provide my best work when I'm well-rested, so I limit responses outside of office hours.")
- If your boundary is about response time (a common issue) and off-hours, consider adding a clear section in your email signature explaining your response policy. BONUS: Onward's Boundary Setting tool has templates you can copy and paste!
- Kindly remind clients of boundaries if they're asking for immediate responses outside of your set times. You could even have a 1, 2, or 3 strikes policy where you allow for a set number of truly urgent after-hour responses. It's a slippery slope, but it can allow the client to understand where the line is.
"Boundaries are not a rigid fence, but a permeable membrane that allows for healthy exchange while protecting what's inside." - Nedra Glover Tawwab, Therapist and author of "Set Boundaries, Find Peace"
The Digital and Physical Disconnect:
Turning off notifications has been a recent game-changer I implemented. While it's been an adjustment, I'm not checking my email nearly as much after hours as I once did. You can even go as far as to shut down your computer or laptop every day if you're someone who checks emails there, forcing you to completely start up your laptop and contemplate the decision while it loads everything.
A physical disconnect is a bit of a luxury but goes a long way to create that space between work and life. If a desk in a shared office space is within your budget, that's incredible. Even coffee shops work too. Simply leaving a physical space after work is huge. If you work from home (as most of us are these days), once you hit the time to clock out, go for a walk, do a guided meditation, stretch, or work out. Something that can become a ritual for yourself that feels good and symbolizes the end of the workday.
More and more people fall into this 'Always On' trap every day, often without even realizing it. With a plethora of seemingly logical reasons to give it your 125% – constantly being available and willing to work – we need to be mindful of how we exert our working selves more than ever.
A critical step in all of this is boundary setting. At Onward, we created (and continue to improve) a Boundary Setting tool, equipped with notifications when you're reaching over your boundary, 'do not disturb' settings, as well as active tools to help you communicate with clients (Response Templates). You deserve to have the balance that not only helps you reach those business goals, but helps you do so in a healthy, sustainable manner.
From all of us at Onward, we're rooting for you!
Articles for Further Reading & Support:
- "A Guide to Setting Better Boundaries" (Harvard Business Review)
- "Digital Detox: Set boundaries with your screens" (Psychology Today)
Sources:
EY. (2019). The value of a global career experience.
Robert Half. (2019). Workers struggle to unplug on vacation.
