One thing passed my mind today. Back in the early days, I was 100% focused on client satisfaction. Some of the crazy things I did to make my clients go…WOW!!
- I would say I needed 3 days to deliver, but I actually used to deliver within 1-1.5 days by working more than 14 hours per day and night altogether.
- I used to work 16 hours per day to over-deliver on what I promised.
- I would sleep only 2-3 hours.
- I missed going out, family calls, and social functions.
- My hair started getting grey before 30.
- I would get a new email from a client for a project/task and start working on it without even telling the client, before they even promised to hire or pay for it.
- To ensure I could deliver what the client asked for (as most development projects are custom), I would start working on it immediately. When it was done, I would inform the client that I could deliver what they needed. This meant working without any payment security and taking risks to assure the client that their custom task was solvable.
- Sometimes, right after getting a new inquiry, I would start learning new technologies and processes to take on the project. Learning new things is a huge pain and tough process.
- I would sometimes work for free.
- No weekends, no weekdays—every day was a working day.
- I literally got sick with headaches, back pain, and sometimes depression.
- Some clients would send inquiries at 2 AM on holidays or weekends and demand 2 days of work within 12 hours. To meet such deadlines, I would work continuously and deliver within an impossible timeline. This type of project created health hazards, so I no longer take on such timelines.
The saddest part is that most of the clients I worked crazily for are gone, and 70% of them didn’t come back, though they left excellent feedback and comments. It felt like they were happy with what they got. Most of these clients were from different marketplaces like Upwork, Envato Studio, etc.
I changed some of the ways I used to work and stopped pressurizing myself for my health and mental well-being.
I will still work hard and smart but not crazy and still aim for client satisfaction—that’s what fulfills me.
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