Nobody tells you when you become a freelance writer that you’re signing up for a surprisingly physical job.
When you picture the freedom of working whenever you want, wherever you want, you don’t think about what happens to your body after a few years of hunching over a laptop or sitting at a desk.
Commuting the office or walking across the street to lunch force some movement into your day. Oddly enough, freelancers probably have less movement than most people.
I learned this one the hard way. After a few years of freelancing, I started dealing with back and neck issues I couldn’t resolve with stretching or an ice pack.
The culprit was clear. I was sitting too much and treating my workspace as an afterthought.
Sitting is worse than you think
You probably already know sitting too much is bad for you. But it’s not just something people say.
Sitting really is terrible.
A 2024 JAMA study found that people who sit at work face a 34% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those who don’t. The study also controlled for leisure-time physical activity, meaning your evening run doesn’t fully cancel out eight hours in a chair.
For writers, it’s worse. We sit in one spot, staring at one thing, for hours at a time. Office workers already spend 70-80% of their working hours sedentary.
Freelancers, without a commute or mini breaks walking around the office, likely do worse.
Your neck is paying the price
In neutral alignment, your head weighs 10-12 pounds. Imagine carrying a bowling ball around on your neck all day.
For every inch your head drifts forward, research shows the load on your cervical spine increases by about 10 pounds.
Think about what that looks like for someone using a laptop all day. If you’re like me, you probably hunch forward a little without thinking about it.
Just a few inches means your neck muscles are carrying the equivalent of 30-40 pounds all day.
No wonder your neck is sore.
Make time for wellness, or you’ll be forced to make time for illness
Research shows that even moderate physical activity produces measurable improvements in focus, attention, and executive function (the mental processes you need to plan and jump between tasks).
One study found up to 20% improvement in attention after just 20 minutes of movement.
You don’t need to go run a 5k or lift weights. You just have to not be still.
Adding a standing desk is a great way to get yourself out of a chair. I recently paired mine with a balance board from FluidStance and have been significantly more mobile during my day.
The long game
Freelance writing can be a long career if you build it right, but that doesn’t mean just your business. You also have to take care of your body.
You workspace is much more than where you work. Each decision shapes how your body feels day in day out and how productive you can be.
Taking a few moments to optimize your office to get more motion in your day is one of the best investments you can make in both your business and your health.
