Then → Now · 2026
Several countries have since legislated a right to disconnect, but none of the laws found covers freelancers, so the post's advice to set contractual boundaries up front remains their main protection.
What it said (2019) ↓
Clients assume freelancers are "always available", which leads to burnout.
Set working hours and boundaries before the project starts, check the inbox a fixed number of times a day, and don't set an instant-reply precedent. Anything not pre-arranged is not free.
What happened (2026) ↓
Right-to-disconnect laws spread, but they protect employees, not freelancers. France (2017, firms with 50+ staff) and Portugal (from Jan 2022) have them.
Australia's reportedly applies (the Fair Work Ombudsman pages could not be opened) to medium and large employers from 26 Aug 2024 and to small businesses from 26 Aug 2025.
Verdict · Held up: 6 / 10 · Full 2026 update
- Freelancers should set working hours and boundaries before a project starts.Still valid evergreen
- Society would push back on the expectation that workers be always available.Came true for employees through right-to-disconnect laws
- Society would push back on always-on work, including the demands placed on freelancers.Didn't happen for freelancers
- A Bullet Journal, Trello, Asana or MeisterTask would help freelancers track their projects.Came true all four survive
Original post · 10 March 2019
Should you be 24/7 available for your client when you are a freelancer?
Clients often like to think that if they hire a freelancer for a particular project, the person is working only for them from that point of time. It is kind of a thinking when all of the teachers in high schools thinks that their subject is the most important to learn. When companies work with freelancers they think that freelancers are should be available all the time. Companies like to think that freelancers are working from home, and if they are at home, what else could they do if not working all the time. Does it sound familiar? This misperception can generate inconvenient situations for both the company and the freelancer. To avoid such situations, we collected some tips that can help you improve the quality of your work - life.Set working hours
Most of us went to freelance to have a better work-life ballance. Even though, the term freelance contains ’free’, which might mean to many ‘always available’. But freelancers also like to have schedule to be able to maintain a balanced lifestyle. For that reason, freelancers are highly recommended to set boundaries with the client before starting the project. There are freelancers/business owners who are happy to work every single hour available but it often leads to burn out and can cause health problems.
What you can do is checking your inbox a fixed number of times during the day. At the same time, you should avoid becoming the person who - even in her/his personal time - is unconsciously checking emails to make sure that every single email the inbox is marked as read. Clients often tend to press out as much as possible from freelancers, just like when a company does it with its newest employees. In the beginning of a working relationship, it is natural to say ‘yes’ to a small hustle but you can’t do it forever. Clients are going to ask you to do more and more. So, should you be 24/7 available for your client when you are a freelancer?
To avoid these scenarios, make sure to be clear about the work you are offering for the client. Anything that they expect from you which is not a pre-arranged task, they cannot think that you would do it for free.
Keep it clear
If right at the start you immediately respond to every email, the client will get used to it. But then you realize it is not sustainable as it can cause harm on your life, and so, you take some time before responding. Your customer is going to have the feeling that you are ignoring him/ her, or worse, you are lazy! Also, you have to keep in mind which client you set which boundary with. Many freelancers feel inconvenience when talking to clients about their responsibilities to other clients. If you're open with your clients about your other deadlines, you're more likely to come across as a businessperson who's trying to follow through on commitments.
Project tracking
There are multiple ways to track your time and projects. Below we introduce some tools , that help you get more organized. There is the good old trustworthy project tracking tool, which can be a simple notebook. You can write down your projects and that allows you to plan your work-life schedule. But there is a new method of manage your business and time in a notebook, called ‘Bullet Journal’( https://bulletjournal.com ). You can easily track your daily ‘to do’ lists, and everything you can imagine (such as future log, monthly spread, weeklies, dailies, and habits). It is a fantastic way of manage your projects and your time. Other than the ‘write down’ method, there are many project tracking applications (Trello, Asana, MeisterTask, and so on). They can guide you through your projects by, creating lists of your tasks. You can even create task reminders, and you can leave messages to your colleagues. Tracking applications can provide you with many other features, which can boost your productivity.Note to self
Freelancing also makes clear something that's true for workers in today's economy: you need to be on your own side, or no one will be. There's really no such thing as job security in the 21st century. Freelancers are just more aware of that than most employees. The goal is to manage your time, not let your time manage you.2026 update
What happened after this was written
Claims then:
- Clients assume freelancers are "always available", which leads to burnout.
- Set working hours and boundaries before the project starts, check the inbox a fixed number of times a day, and don't set an instant-reply precedent. Anything not pre-arranged is not free.
- Track projects in a notebook or Bullet Journal, or in Trello, Asana or MeisterTask.
- "There's really no such thing as job security in the 21st century."
What happened since:
- Right-to-disconnect laws spread, but they protect employees, not freelancers.
- France (2017, firms with 50+ staff) and Portugal (from Jan 2022) have them.
- Australia's reportedly applies (the Fair Work Ombudsman pages could not be opened) to medium and large employers from 26 Aug 2024 and to small businesses from 26 Aug 2025.
- source, source
- Freelancers are still on their own, so the post's contract-first advice is the only defence.
- What freelancers did get is payment protection. New York State's Freelance Isn't Free Act (from 28 Aug 2024) requires written contracts for work over $800 and payment within 30 days, with double damages. source
- Bullet Journal, Trello, Asana and MeisterTask all still exist (bulletjournal.com, trello.com and meistertask.com return HTTP 200, curl 2026-09-30).
Named tools/orgs status:
| Name | Then | Now | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullet Journal | "New method" | Still live | bulletjournal.com |
| Trello | PM app | Live (Atlassian) | curl 2026-09-30 |
| Asana | PM app | Live (not otherwise researched) | — |
| MeisterTask | PM app | Live | curl 2026-09-30 |
Verdict:
- Boundary-setting advice: Still valid (evergreen).
- The implied direction that society would push back on always-on work: Came true for employees through right-to-disconnect laws, but Didn't happen for freelancers.
- Tools: Came true (all four survive).
Headline finding: Several countries have since legislated a right to disconnect, but none of the laws found covers freelancers, so the post's advice to set contractual boundaries up front remains their main protection.
Re-verified 3 November 2026: 3 claims confirmed, 0 corrected, 2 hedged, 1 removed.
Researched 30 September 2026 and re-verified against the sources on 3 November 2026. Sources are linked in each point. Items marked "unverified" could not be established and are not guessed.