Life of a Freelancer during COVID-19 Times

Every freelancer knows that home is where happiness really is. With the convenience of working from the comfort of one’s own home, all they require are a computer with an internet connection and a smartphone, which most of us have for the purpose of relaying communication.

Aside from normal days of working from home, the same during a period of lockdown due to an epidemic and pandemic plague is not so different from the day-to-day life of a normal freelancer, except with a few constraints.

The COVID-19 aka Corona Virus widespread global catastrophe began during the end of December 2019, and since then has spread across the entire planet, reaching out to every country, with each nation, facing their own restrictions and calamities across the country.

India, in particular, has been in lockdown for the past 26 days. This is heading towards an extended lockdown up till the 3rd of May 2020, thereby a total of 40 days of lockdown (extended COVID-19 times). Most other countries like Italy, China, and other Middle Eastern European countries, have been following a lockdown for over 2 months, with fruitful and positive results in terms of the number of recovered cases.

As the situation progresses for the better or worse, our only hope is for time to heal all wounds, as there is no possible cure or vaccine at present for the virus and is not to be expected anytime soon. Meanwhile, the only way to go about is by the old saying, ‘prevention better than cure’. Therefore citizens are advised to stay at home at all times and ensure strict protocols such as proper hygiene measures are being carried out at all times.

A person who works remotely has the convenience of working flexibly and without any interruptions. During this lockdown phase, even an everyday office goer, is made to work from home, to ensure there is no gap and void in a particular business’s functioning and this possesses a challenge for such individuals, due to the very fact that they’re merely temporarily working from home and not a freelancer who takes up a task when he/she needs to.

Companies pertaining to the IT, education, finance, and banking sectors, can to an extent remain functional with the help of the internet and online services. Communications and executions for the same are carried out through several means. This includes e-mails, chats, phone calls, so on and so forth.

However, these domains themselves have clients and businesses who rely more on real-time consumers and customers, rather than online traffic and this is also a challenge that is being taken into consideration, however at the moment is made relaxed and reduced due to the lockdown period. Hence e-portals such as Amazon also ensure smooth functioning and coordination with ETAs being extended and postponed in lieu of the situation.

Freelancing is basically a backup plan for many industries during this dire time of crisis as many would need extra hands on the job and for those who’re able to work remotely, can pitch in and contribute towards digital and media needs as and when required. This helps to maintain the financial and economic flow of the business, company and also make ends meet during COVID-19 times.

Being a freelancer, allows one to reach levels of self-development and when to put up in such a scenario as a lockdown, it is something new, yet definitely a game-changer for many who work from home, whilst ensuring to have a regular income and support their family. In the end, life is all about balancing the priorities and what better way than by being a freelancer.

-In the words of Muralidharan, a freelancer based out of Chennai.

Well, here are some countries that are not on the coronavirus radar yet. Take a look at them and also read some web series reviews. Also, let us hopes COVID-19 times come to an end soon.

Image Courtesy: Image by Mudassar Iqbal from Pixabay