Oh, the Lengths We’ll Go: Extreme Stories on Getting the Job Done

Freelancers, entrepreneurs, and other self-governing creatives may be the envy of their nine-to-five peers, but being your own boss can put a strain a different set of muscles. With no one to manage your schedule and no co-workers to pick up the slack, these tetherless titans must sometimes go to extreme lengths in order to get things done.

Here are a few examples.

Eric Brantner

Role: Freelance Copywriter, Founder of Scribblrs

When launching my last site, Scribblrs.com, my team was waiting for me to provide the final piece of the puzzle. My job was to write the copy for our main landing pages. Everything else was there waiting, but I kept hitting my head against a wall. Not only that, other projects kept getting in the way.

Finally, it got so ridiculous that I needed to do something drastic. That’s when I went to my wife. I convinced her to agree that all sex would be cut off until I finished the copy. After all, that time with her is one of the most valuable things there is in my life. And dammit if it didn’t work like a charm. You better believe I fired out that copy within the next 24 hours.

Definitely appreciated my wife playing along with that one!

Melody Van De Graaff

Role: Freelance Web Content Writer & Blogger

I have been working as a freelance web content writer since December 2015. Right when I started, I got mono, and had it for three weeks. This was right when I was starting to get samples and put my website together.

For those who haven’t had mono before, it is one of the most dreadful experiences. Everything hurts, but especially your armpits, which makes any sort of movement incredibly painful. Your body shuts down and you find yourself falling asleep doing the simplest things. Most people with mono sleep for 16–18 hours a day because their body is so exhausted.

But I made myself stay awake, even though I wanted to do nothing more than sleep. I practiced writing blog posts, reached out to my network, and starting forming relationships. I even did client work while I was ill.

I now have five clients and no longer have to work a real job. I’m continuing to build my business and get more clients.

Gillian Small

Role: Owner of Gillian Small PR

I had to get an impacted wisdom tooth removed last November, but I had a conference call scheduled for a few hours after the appointment, so I couldn’t take any strong medicine during the process. Needing to distract myself from the impending pain, I decided to focus on catching up on my e-mails while sitting in the chair.

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by Joshua Kraus via SitePoint