Happy International Waffle Day!
While not the most well-known day, it has interesting roots in Scandinavian history, spanning back to the 1600s. The Swedish term for the religious holiday Our Lady Day (Vårfrudagen) was confused with Vàffeldagen, translating as Waffle Day, leading to waffles swiftly merging into Vårfrudagen celebrations. As waffle recipes developed and grew sweeter over the centuries, they grew in popularity across the globe, and the day did too. International Waffle Day exploded in popularity in the 2000s, becoming a recognised day across Europe, often coinciding with the start of spring.
There are many things to celebrate about waffles: the taste, the look, the versatility of topping options. But few truly appreciate the greatness of waffles quite like Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope.
Across seven seasons, the outrageously driven small-town politician Leslie Knope championed independent women, ridiculed stereotypes, and embraced respectful, healthy relationships, all while enjoying syrup-coated, cream-topped waffles at JJ’s Diner. She’s become a pop-culture icon for her feminism, friendships, and work ethic. An inspirational leader and her friends’ biggest cheerleader, many have found themselves asking WWLD (What Would Leslie Do) in times of crisis or when a motivational boost of confidence is needed—myself included when I first took the plunge into freelance life.
So, what better way to recognise this peculiar holiday than hail the Queen of Waffles herself? Here are five of her finest life lessons that can help freelancers succeed.
Be Organised
If there’s one thing Leslie probably loves more than waffles, it’s colour-coded binders filled with microscopically detailed plans as to how to achieve her goals, be it arranging a large community event or an evening of fun activities with Ann.
Freelancers tend to spin more plates than their job title might suggest. On top of, say, writing and editing, a freelancer is also responsible for: customer service, bookkeeping, pitching, scheduling, marketing, and content creation, to name but a few extra tasks. We become a jack of all trades to keep our businesses running and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. To keep everything in motion, it’s crucial to set up processes that help you stay organised.
Thankfully, the digital era has made it easier than ever to get notes in order—no bulging Knope binders required! Digital platforms like Trello are useful for tracking project progress. Bookkeeping sites like Wave or QuickBooks automatically send invoice payment reminders to clients. Digital calendars let you manage your time properly without lugging a paper diary around in your bag (though I am a big fan of the Circle Planner if physical diaries work for you). Cloud storage systems help you back-up your files.
Finding what works for you takes time but being organised means you can focus on the core parts of your projects while keeping your stress levels low.
Turn Pits into Parks
One of Leslie’s greatest attributes is her ambition. Once she has her mind set on a task, she works relentlessly to get it done. And while unwavering drive is helpful as a freelancer required to self-motivate, the real magic lies in the why. Leslie does these things because she cares. Whether she wants to make the world a better place by cleaning up a pond or celebrate every poetic, noble land mermaid that swims into her life, her motivation stems from a place of compassion.
Buried under deadlines with the additional pressures of freelance life (do I have enough work for next month? Is this invoice going to be paid on time? There are only three biscuits left in the tin?!!), it can be difficult to remember why we chose to start freelancing in the first place. For me, it was an opportunity to be more creative. Finding your why will help you push through the hard times and turn your big dirt pit into a busy, beautiful park.
Believe in Yourself
You often have to be your own cheerleader when freelancing. Confidence is crucial to keep you motivated. And high up on the list of mental health demons freelancers are likely to encounter in their career is imposter syndrome: our inner critic telling us we’re incapable, inexperienced frauds. Not a nice guy.
Most people suffer from a bout of imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. However, as freelancers, we don’t often get the positive feedback we would in a traditional workplace: there are no performance reviews or co-workers to cheer us on when we accomplish something. This leads to growth in anxiety, causing a crisis of confidence where we struggle to believe our successes are deserved.
While it’s a complex condition that will affect people differently, there are ways to combat imposter syndrome. Moments of reflection to celebrate your achievements can help, be it through journaling or meditation. Connecting with other freelancers through online groups or creative events and industry conferences can alleviate stress and keep us grounded through peer support. And be like Leslie—boldly cheer yourself on by examining the positives of freelance life. It’s okay to be inspired by your own successes.
Embrace New Adventures
Freelancing is often viewed as a very solitary pursuit. And it is. Freelancers spend a lot of time on their own, missing out on traditional workplace small talk and company events. Even for the most introverted of us, it can be a difficult adjustment. Feeling lonely is a common grievance within the freelancer community, a discomforting side effect of the work from home lifestyle. It can make us pine for the stability of office life. This is something those currently working from home throughout the pandemic have found themselves experiencing, perhaps realising freelancing isn’t the easy, pyjama-wearing lifestyle it’s often portrayed to be.
It’s very easy to get stuck looking to the past, especially when you’re going it alone without positive workplace reinforcement. Whether cringy old memories sneak into our minds bringing an unwelcome dose of anxiety or if we reflect on our journeys thus far and wonder if we’ll ever succeed at anything again, spending too much time in the past can hold us back.
The flexibility of freelancing means we’re always wiping the slate clean, embarking on new journeys with new collaborators. All we can do is keep moving forward, embracing new opportunities and forming new freelancer relationships to combat loneliness with others who understand. Thanks to this varied, limitless lifestyle, our networks are often wider than we think!
Work-Life Balance
Perhaps the most significant lesson from Leslie is making sure our priorities are in order and ensuring we leave room for all the wonderful things in life—including waffles.
As freelancers, it’s very easy to become consumed by work and lose grip on the other important aspects of your life. There’s a particular sense of responsibility hanging over our heads and boundaries are often breached, which is now extending into traditional employment thanks to working from home. From checking emails in the evenings and at weekends to the increasing pressure to turn ourselves into brands, we almost become defined by our careers instead of our larger selves.
Leslie Knope could easily be considered a prime example of toxic productivity. She works relentlessly, her enthusiastic efforts often being portrayed as a joke. But while Leslie’s work is important to her, she never sacrifices the most important things in her life.
It’s essential to step away from the office and take time off to have a drink in the Snakehole Lounge, go to a cafe and really enjoy a coffee and waffle break, or spend an evening crafting mosaic portraits of your best friends from the crushed glass bottles of their favourite fizzy drinks.