Why You Should Volunteer If You're a Freelancer

I started volunteering at Planned Parenthood about nine months ago. My role is to escort clients into the clinic on days when they're doing abortion procedures. I ended up volunteering because I was driving by the clinic and saw the protestors out front. It made me upset. I thought instead of being upset, it would be more productive if I did something, so now I volunteer.

I'm a freelance journalist, and the volunteering has been a great thing for me. You should try it.

It gives you a routine. One thing about freelancing is that, most of the time, every day is different. This is good for originality, but it's less good for establishing a set routine. The volunteering I do is a set routine. It requires a minimal time commitment from me, and it rarely deviates from it.

It's good to give freely. In some ways, freelancing is like choosing a career path that requires you to constantly negotiate your worth. You're negotiating for fees, extracting payment, building up your brand so you can demand a higher rate. Volunteering is simple: You give and expect nothing material in return. You get other things: self-esteem, empathy, humility.

It needs you now. I don't know what you might do to volunteer, but I'd suggest picking something that resonates with you emotionally. Right now, Planned Parenthood and women's reproductive rights are under attack by a giant Cheetos snack who has hijacked the Oval Office. This is a great time for you to make yourself of use before Stalinism takes over the United States of America.

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