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Health First Freelancer

Build a business that puts your health and wellbeing FIRST, even if you have a chronic illness. If I did it, so can you! Weekly freelancing, health and lifestyle tips, straight to your inbox.

Cute puppy in a colorful cap looks curious.

Developing your health consciousness

Hey Reader, For a long time, I walked around completely oblivious to my health. Now I can see that most of that time I spent in a fog, deeply disconnected from my body and its signals. Over the last five years I've been able to develop a much closer relationship with my body and how I feel, such that I'm able to notice patterns. For example, I've been feeling off for the last week. One day of low motivation and brain fog? I can chalk it up to being an off day. But after three days of that...
The sun shines brightly through trees and clouds.

Sigh... I'm an idiot

Why did I do this, Reader? On Saturday, which was a hot and sunny one here, I decided to lay out on my rooftop and catch some rays. ☀️ Somehow every year I manage to convince myself that I can handle way more sun than I actually can, and I got pretty sunburned. 🦞 Honestly I feel like such an idiot. Turns out a bad sunburn can even give you systemic side effects like nausea and fatigue. Yep, I got those too. And my gut is a mess. 🫣 Ironically, my skin isn't even peeling, but every body is...
Haymitch approves

Nothing like the Hunger Games to put things in perspective

Happy Monday (and almost July!) Reader, So I finally got my hands on Sunrise on the Reaping, the newest Hunger Games book, which tells the story of Haymitch's games and his first attempt at sabotage against the capital (no spoilers here, don't worry). Needless to say, it's always a kick in the teeth to return to the dystopia of Panem and some of the unnerving, although exaggerated, similarities to our world. (For example, Reaping Day in the Hunger Games world is on July 4th, which is the kind...
girls laughing

Hear from the HFF community 🧡

Still on the fence about joining HFF, Reader? In that case, I thought you might want to hear from a few of our awesome members. They're doing big things -- and getting the best support from each other along the way. 🧡 This is from our Weekly Wins thread - it's always fun to see how everyone is making progress! 🥳 🥳 🥳 🥳 🥳 The question was: How are you finding balance on a daily basis between work & rest? There's been tons more conversation in the community about business tools and systems,...
The sun sets in a beautiful, fiery sky.

It's your lucky day (according to Jupiter + the Sun) ☀️

Hello Reader, I have been informed by astrology experts worldwide that today, June 24, 2025, is the luckiest day of the whole year. It's a Jupiter cazimi, aka the Sun conjunct Jupiter. The Sun = energy, confidence, and forward movement Jupiter = abundance, opportunity, good fortune + growth This is a great time, astrologically speaking, to take steps toward something new and aligned for your life. It's optimistic and hopeful. Bright, sunshine-y, positive energy. 🙌 Something you start today...

93 degrees, no power, total freedom ✌️

Happy Monday Reader, It's maybe more of a grateful Monday morning for me, since I just got back to my apartment after 36 hours without power. 🙃 Of course, this power outage coincided with a record heatwave here in Wisconsin. 🔥 Fortunately, I was able to retreat to a friend's house for a night (thanks Rachel!) and then my mom's house (thanks mom!), who thankfully both had power. And air conditioning. It's tiny tragedies like these that make me so thankful I work for myself from home, on my own...
People ride a roller coaster on a sunny day.

Freaking out 🙃

Hey there Reader, I'm back from attending Craft + Commerce last week, a conference for creators and all kinds of online business owners. This was my 2nd C+C, and similar to last year, I left feeling more expanded and inspired about my business than ever before. But something a little different happened to me this year... There's a creeping sense of fear lingering in the back of my mind when I think about what I've learned and the steps I know I need to take to grow Health First Freelancer. 😬...
A young woman poses, leaning on a rail.

This is the hardest part of freelancing

Hey Reader, I was on a call with a fellow freelance copywriter last week. She's riding the Struggle Bus right now 🚌 with finding her first clients and managing chronic Lyme disease. I've been there too. As a freelancer just getting started, it often takes longer than we would like to get clients, start delivering great work, and get that gravy train moving. 🚂 (hm, lots of transit metaphors today.) But in my experience, there's a shift that happens once you get your first real client. Your...
A person studies at a desk in the library.

Only 3 tools you need to start freelancing

Hey Reader, Getting your business off the ground and wondering what you really need to get started? IMO, there's only three tools you need (maybe even just two). Invoicing software (a way to get paid) A business bank account (a place for money to go) A project management system (to keep track of clients and projects) That's really it. You can run a lean mean freelancing business with just these three tools for a longgg time. ✌️ Second question I know you're thinking right now -- what tools do...
A laptop displays a search bar asking how it can help.

How I'm using AI in my business

Hey there, Reader, I was definitely one of those people who was super slow to start using chatGPT or any other AI program, in my business or otherwise. Particularly in the early days, the results were... less than satisfying, if I'm being generous. If I'm not being generous: the most generic-sounding content you ever read. 😅 If I'm being really honest, it also felt like a threat to my work as a copywriter. If AI could write you an (admittedly mediocre) blog in five seconds, maybe no one...

Build a business that puts your health and wellbeing FIRST, even if you have a chronic illness. If I did it, so can you! Weekly freelancing, health and lifestyle tips, straight to your inbox.