The Life of a Freelance Developer

When you decide to embark on a freelance career in software development, you're implicitly making a pact with yourself: your workday could easily exceed 12 hours. It's not just about time, but about mindset. This isn't a complaint, but a reflection based on lived experience, an invitation to consider with open eyes the reality hidden behind the much-celebrated freedom of self-employment.

Philosophical Premise I define myself as a person with strongly liberal values, not in the narrow political sense, but as a vision of existence: I deeply believe in individual freedom, personal responsibility, and the awareness that every choice brings inevitable consequences. I recognize the value of merit as the result of effort, and I consider failure not as a definitive fall, but as a necessary step on the path to personal and professional growth.

This worldview is inseparable from how I approach work. The freedom I seek is intrinsically linked to the responsibility I accept to carry on my shoulders.

My Daily Reality I currently work as a freelance Developer with my own VAT number. I dedicate about 80% of my time to one company and a specific project, almost as if I were a full-time employee. This choice satisfies me because I appreciate the company, the team, and the work environment. There's a relational quality that transcends the simple professional relationship.

This commitment takes about 7-8 hours a day, without fixed hours, for an average of 40 hours per week. It's the foundation on which I build my economic and professional stability, the solid ground on which I can then afford to experiment.

The Duality of Freelancing: Freedom and Constant Vigilance The freelance life embodies an interesting duality: on one hand, it offers the much-desired freedom; on the other, it requires perpetual vigilance. It's like living in a state of conscious alertness, with a radar always active to capture new opportunities.

This condition stems from the awareness that in the world of self-employment, concrete guarantees rarely exist. As many freelancers have learned, sometimes painfully, contracts can prove as fragile as "worthless paper," especially when you're alone against larger, more powerful structures.

This reality shouldn't frighten, but rather induce a form of practical wisdom: always being ready to reinvent yourself, to find spaces and times to diversify, to not depend on a single source of income or professional fulfillment.

The Art of Refusal: What I Stopped Doing in 2025 Over the years, I've understood that the true freedom of a freelancer isn't so much in being able to say "yes" to everything, but in knowing how to reserve the right to say "no." To optimize my time and energy, preserving that creative spark necessary to do quality work, I've made some fundamental decisions:

1. I've stopped chasing the talkers: those projects surrounded by big words but lacking substance, those that live eternally in the realm of possibilities without ever materializing. With experience, you develop a sort of sixth sense to recognize them from the first meeting.

2. I've drawn a clear boundary with incompetent clients: I work exclusively with companies or people who truly understand my profession, who recognize the value of a developer's work and have a clear understanding of his actual duties. Mutual respect for each other's expertise is the foundation of any fruitful collaboration.

3. I've learned the subtle but essential art of refusal: saying "no" can be difficult, especially at the beginning of a freelance career when the temptation is to accept any opportunity. But I've understood that every hasty "yes" can transform into a burden that wears down not only time but also enthusiasm.

The Fruits of Self-Discipline These choices, which I could define as a form of self-discipline, have proven surprisingly liberating. Paradoxically, by limiting some possibilities, I've created new ones:

- I've gained 2 morning hours (7:00-9:00), when the mind is fresh and receptive, to dedicate to a secondary project that I'm passionate about and that nourishes my intellectual curiosity. - I've carved out 1 evening hour (18:00-19:00) dedicated to my product startup, a dream I cultivate with patience and determination. - I've reclaimed 4 hours during Saturday, a time that perfectly balances work and rest.

These temporal spaces aren't simply "more hours of work" but represent windows of opportunity, moments when I can explore new ideas, expand my skills, or build something completely my own.

A Concluding Reflection All of this balance, this temporal architecture that I've carefully constructed, is possible only if there exists a fundamental condition: not hating your main client or contractor. Emotional well-being is a precious currency in self-employment, perhaps the most precious.

To preserve this harmony, I strongly advise you to follow the points I've listed. They aren't rigid rules, but rather guiding principles that can help you navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of freelancing.

Without this basic attunement with your main work, it becomes impossible to find the mental and emotional energy to dedicate additional hours to work. Passion extinguishes, creativity dries up, and what should have been freedom transforms into an invisible prison.

The life of a freelancer can be much more than just a job: it can become a philosophy of life, a way of being in the professional world that values autonomy, responsibility, and continuous growth. But it requires awareness, discipline, and the ability to draw clear boundaries. Only then will the "beyond 12 hours" not be a burden, but an opportunity.