Hi there,

I'm currently sitting on my couch writing this. I have an office now, but I still often writing my living room. I spent the past six years writing from there...

Until this summer, my husband and I were living in a one-bedroom apartment. Writing from the small, dark bedroom wasn't really an option. So I was sitting on our couch while my husband was on his computer in the dining room area. With the living room, dining room, and kitchen being mostly the same space, there was no privacy.

And here is a secret: our couch is not even a couch, but a bed! When we moved in, we didn't have a couch, but we had an extra mattress. So we set that up as a couch with lots of pillows. It would work as a guest bed, too, we thought. Then we kept it. We could, of course, afford and buy an actual couch. But we ended up loving using a queen mattress/bed instead. You can spread out easily, and it is so comfortable. Maybe someday we will get an actual couch. But we love it for now.

This doesn't sound so sexy, does it? From a 6-figure freelancer, you would expect an Instagram-worthy set-up.

I'm sorry (not sorry), I don't have one. Back in the day, I couldn't afford an Instagram-worthy aesthetic, and I also didn't care for one. Today, I simply don't care for one. And to quote Alexis Rose "I love this journey for me". (If you didn't get it: do yourself a favor and go watch Schitt's Creek now. I mean it. Thank me later.)

My office has a desk, a bookshelf, a futon, my elliptical trainer, my painting/art supplies, and decoration I love. There is nothing Instagram-worthy about it, I can tell you that. It works for me. I love my decorations (some tapestry I got during my travels, some photography, a huge corkboard, some plants, and lots of stuffed animals!). But it is not that perfect aesthetic that gets the clicks.

I'm also the type of person that likes chaos. I will admit, I'm messy. My desk is organized chaos. Or perhaps a disorganized one. Again, not those Instagrammable clean desks.

Why am I telling you this?

Because we need to stop giving in to the pressure.

There is SO MUCH pressure on how freelancing and entrepreneurship should LOOK like. You need the perfect furniture. The perfect desk. The perfect planner. The perfect decoration. The perfect clothing. The perfect equipment.

Who cares? You do what works for you AND what you can afford. Your business doesn't depend on your office aesthetic or your writing location. All you need is a working laptop. And since you will be mainly using google docs and the internet, you don't even need the fanciest one.

If you like (and can afford) the perfect Instagram office space, go for it! But if you don't or you do but can't (yet) afford it, then it's just as valid. There are no rules.

Stay true to yourself.

I believe in you,

Kat

Learn how to build a sustainable freelance writing business, check out my course: https://nohustlefreelancer.com/no-hustle-freelance-writer-course

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Today's pep talk:

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin