Freelancing gives you the freedom to work on your own terms, but without clear boundaries, it can quickly take over your life. Managing client expectations, setting clear work hours, and prioritising personal time are all crucial to maintaining a healthy balance. But achieving this balance takes deliberate effort. Here’s how I’ve done it and how you can too.
Recognising Burnout
Constant late nights, an always-on mindset, and never switching off—it creeps up fast. Burnout isn’t just about being tired; it’s about feeling mentally drained, unmotivated, and losing enthusiasm for your work. If you’re snapping at emails, dreading client messages, or finding yourself working long hours without real results, it’s time to reassess.
Burnout manifests in different ways. Some freelancers experience physical symptoms like headaches, fatigue, or difficulty sleeping. Others notice their creativity dwindling or frustration levels rising. It often starts subtly—skipping lunch to finish a task, answering emails at midnight—but over time, these small sacrifices accumulate into a full-blown imbalance.
One of the biggest signs of burnout is feeling resentful toward your work. What once felt like a dream job now feels like an obligation. When this happens, it’s a clear sign that boundaries need to be re-established.
Time to Change
Recognising the problem is the first step. The next is making deliberate changes. Boundaries don’t just happen—you have to set them and stick to them. That starts with defining when, where, and how you work.
Freelancing doesn’t mean you have to be available 24/7. Clients will often respect the boundaries you set, but only if you enforce them. Decide when you want to work, how you want to communicate, and what your ideal workday looks like. Then, make a plan to stick to it.
Changing your habits can feel difficult at first, especially if you’ve been saying yes to everything. But small adjustments, like scheduling dedicated deep work time, automating responses, or setting clearer expectations with clients, can make a significant impact on your well-being.
Set Limits to When You Are Contactable and Stick to Them
If clients think you’re available 24/7, they’ll treat you that way. Define your work hours and make them clear. Set up an autoresponder for after-hours emails, use Slack’s Do Not Disturb mode, and resist the urge to check messages late at night.
One of the biggest game-changers for me was setting strict contact hours and communicating them clearly. Instead of being available all the time, I set a rule that clients can only reach me between certain hours on weekdays. Outside of those hours, I don’t respond to messages, even if I see them.
Enforcing this takes discipline, but the benefits are massive. No more clients messaging at 10 PM expecting an immediate response. No more feeling like I have to be “on” all the time. Just focused, productive work within my set hours.
No Weekend Work
Weekends are yours. If you take on weekend work, it quickly becomes the expectation rather than the exception. I’ve learned that protecting my weekends not only improves my mental well-being but also makes me more productive during the week.
Early in my freelance career, I often said yes to weekend work, thinking it would impress clients. Instead, it burned me out. Now, I make it clear from the start: weekends are off-limits. If a project is urgent, it has to wait until Monday.
Instead of working, I use weekends for hobbies, spending time with family, and relaxing. The mental reset helps me return on Monday more focused and ready to tackle projects.
Find the Right Clients
Some clients respect boundaries, some don’t. If a potential client expects instant replies at all hours, that’s a red flag. Setting expectations early—like response times and working hours—helps attract the right kind of clients while filtering out those who might cause stress.
Freelancers often fall into the trap of taking on any client that comes their way, but not all clients are worth it. A great client values your time and understands that good work takes time. A bad client expects you to be available constantly, undervalues your expertise, and adds unnecessary stress. Learning how to recognise these early red-flags is a great way to train your gut as well.
If a client repeatedly pushes your boundaries, it’s okay to walk away. Saying no to the wrong clients makes space for the right ones.
My Steps
One of the best decisions I’ve made was removing my phone number from my website. My phone is now purely for personal use, and if a client wants to talk, they can schedule a Google Meet. For clients who insist on a phone number, I have a VOIP number that only rings my laptop. The difference to my mental health has been huge.
This simple change has eliminated unexpected phone calls and interruptions. Now, I control when and how I communicate with clients. I also use tools like Cal.com to let clients schedule calls instead of back-and-forth emails.
Digital Detoxing Outside of Work
Work-life balance isn’t just about setting boundaries with clients—it’s also about setting boundaries with yourself. In the past, I had a bad habit of doomscrolling on Reddit and YouTube, wasting hours on my phone. Using an app called One Sec, I’ve drastically reduced my time spent on distractions. Every time I try to open a distracting app, it forces me to take a breath and rethink. It’s made a massive difference.
Other tips for digital detoxing:
- Use grayscale mode on your phone to make it less visually appealing.
- Keep your phone in another room during work and personal time.
- Set app timers to limit usage of social media.
- Replace doomscrolling with something productive, like reading, exercise or writing in a journal.
I’ve also implemented “no-phone zones” in my house, where I keep my phone out of reach to prevent mindless scrolling. Making small changes like these has helped me regain control of my time.
Final Thoughts
Setting boundaries as a freelancer isn’t just about improving your workflow—it’s about protecting your mental health and enjoying life outside of work. Whether it’s removing your phone number, setting contact hours, or reducing screen time, small changes can have a big impact.
Freelancing should be a rewarding career, not an endless grind. By defining clear boundaries and making intentional choices about how and when you work, you can build a business that supports your life, rather than consumes it.