Yet when I became self‑employed, I was surprised at how strongly I had internalized a worker identity. As I struggled to find my first project, I felt guilty when I wasn’t working during typical work hours Monday through Friday. When I started working remotely on my first project, I had 100% control over when and how I did the work, but quickly fell into a routine of going to a coworking office five days a week. Many self‑employed people are surprised to find that once they no longer have to work for anyone else, they still have a manager in their head.
