Why Your Passion Project Deserves a Seat at the Table

Keep Your Soul Work Alive

hi hii FFs,

Let’s talk about our “someday projects.”

The half-finished podcast script, the boutique candle line you started a logo for in 2024, the Substack you’ve been meaning to actually start writing months ago, or that hand-painted ceramic line that’s currently just a bag of drying clay in your closet.

As freelancers, we are told to “monetize our passions,” but nobody talks about what happens when the “monetized” part starts to eat the “passion” part for breakfast.

Working in freelance often means my brain is constantly living in everyone else’s brand. I am thinking about your engagement, your aesthetic, and your growth. By the time 6:00 PM rolls around, the idea of working on my own creative “thing” feels like trying to run a marathon after finishing a triathlon.

So, we put it on the back burner. And then it slides to the back of the pantry. And suddenly, it’s been three years, and that spark you had feels like a distant memory or, worse, a source of guilt.

I’m here to tell you: The back burner is still part of the stove.

Real talk: Bills don’t pay themselves with “creative fulfillment.” There are seasons where you have to go into “Hustle Mode.” Maybe you take on that soul-sucking corporate client because you need a new laptop, or you grind out 40 TikTok edits in a week because rent is due.

During those seasons, your passion project might look like a dusty notebook. That is okay.

I used to beat myself up for not being a “consistent creator” on my own projects. I felt like a fraud. How could I manage social media for others if I wasn’t posting something on my own pages every day? But I realized: Your passion project isn’t a sprint; it’s a stew. It needs time to sit.

Exactly How I’m Protecting Those Passion Projects

If you feel like your “thing” is fading away, here is how I keep my creative soul alive while still being a productive, billable human:

1. The “15-Minute Minimum” Rule

When the workload is heavy, don’t try to find four hours to work on your project. You won’t find them. Instead, find 15 minutes.

• Set a timer. Write three sentences. Sketch one idea. Research one manufacturer.

• Why it works: It keeps the neural pathways active. You aren’t “starting over” next month; you’re just continuing a very slow conversation with yourself.

2. Separate Your “Work Brain” from Your “Me Brain”

I cannot be creative for myself on the same laptop I use to look at client spreadsheets. My brain just won’t allow it.

• Go analog or change locations or internet browsers. Write in a physical journal, use an iPad on the couch, or go to a library where you only work on your passion project.

• Why it works: Physical environment cues are huge for neurodivergent or burnt-out brains.

3. The “Seasonality” Mindset

Stop looking at your year as one long stretch of productivity. Start looking at it in seasons.

• Q4 might be your “Money Season” (Get that holiday client bread!).

• January might be your “Soul Season” (Scale back on calls to focus on your project).

• Literally mark it in your calendar. “This month, my passion project is in hibernation.” Giving yourself permission to ignore it actually removes the guilt that makes you want to quit entirely.

4. Don’t Monetize It (Yet)

The fastest way to kill a passion project is to worry about how it’s going to pay the mortgage before it’s even born.

• Protect it from “Market Logic.” Don’t worry about the SEO, the algorithm, or the “target audience.” Do it because it makes you feel like a human being, not a content-producing machine.

All in all…

Your freelance career is what you do, but your passion projects are often who you are. If it takes you five years to finish that book or launch that shop, who cares? The time is going to pass anyway. You might as well arrive at the end of it with something that belongs entirely to you.

Don’t let the “urgent” client work bury the “important” soul work. Put it on the back burner if you must, but don’t you dare turn the heat off.

What’s that one project you’ve been “meaning to get to”? Tell me in the comments. Sometimes just saying it out loud (or typing it) makes it real again. <3

Keep going, girl. You're worth the wait.

Sara :)

📝 Mila (41) mother of two shares her passions here on Substack. A Creative Director by a day, a writer of plays, poetry, films and fiction every spare moment she can find.

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