Two years ago, my husband, Keegan, left his traditional job to build his own business.

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He wanted flexibility, uncapped earning potential, and, most importantly, fulfillment.

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But did freelancing actually deliver the freedom he imagined?

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To find out, I designed an "Inventory of Your Week" survey, landing in his inbox every Sunday at 11 AM: post-coffee, pre-lunch, peak reflection time. Over the past year, he rated work flexibility, work satisfaction, and life satisfaction on a scale from 1 to 5, with optional journaling for context.

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The first thing I noticed? Freelancing is chaotic. The heatmap of his weekly ratings looked like noise...wild swings between high and low scores, reflecting how unstable self-employment can feel. But when I dug deeper, a pattern emerged: his life satisfaction, not work flexibility, was the strongest predictor of work fulfillment.

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Forget work-life balance. Freelancing is about about work-life integration.

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Using network analysis, I mapped the relationships between these three variables. The results showed that while work flexibility fluctuated, it had little direct influence on his overall fulfillment. Instead, life satisfaction drove both work satisfaction and perceived flexibility—suggesting that external freedom means little if your internal world feels out of sync.

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This project wasn’t just about tracking data; it became a powerful tool for self-reflection. The real lesson: For Keegan, sustainable career fulfillment buds from cultivating a personal life that feels meaningful.