At one time, virtual reality was thought to be a science fiction fantasy. Just a few decades later, its application is visible almost everywhere, from flight simulators to hospitals and even deep-sea mining. Virtual reality is proving to be a game-changer in many industries.

But could freelancing be one of them? Yes, and here’s why:

Learn about a topic or niche you less familiar with

Assume, you are working on a scene that has to do with our galaxy, where would you go to gain background knowledge or learn more about the topic? You guessed it! Books. But let’s face it, some of these books are expensive, dense, or may be hard to access. And surfing the web looking for such knowledge can be tedious and time-consuming.

In contrast, virtual reality helps save time on research by providing you unique experiences stored on the virtual reality providers’ servers. You can develop real background knowledge on an unfamiliar topic with less hassle or investment in numerous books.

Fight writer’s block

Have your creativity tanks dried up? Are you struggling to put words on paper? Instead of cursing yourself for wasting the entire day without writing anything, power up your Google expedition or Street view app and take a sail around the globe. Or enjoy the immersive experience of a virtual game, music, or being in a cockpit and bring back inspiration or get your creative juices flowing again.

Conquer burnout and improve your well-being

Freelancing, like any other profession, is tiring and can have serious effects on your well-being. If you are bored or feel exhausted with your freelance life, virtual reality can help you relieve the stress of work or life.

Experiencing scenes from the last century or going on a virtual tour or safari in East Africa is a great way to release stress. The experience can be entertaining or thought-provoking. Taking time for relaxation and detaching yourself from work can help to reduce feelings of exhaustion and improve your well-being.

Speed up the content discovery process

To be successful at freelancing, you need to be able to find and share better content. If you are a writer, you may have to pitch ideas to editors. If you are a designer, you need a knack for sharing fresh discoveries and experiences with the community. However, finding or describing an idea can sometimes be an uphill task.

Viewing a virtual scene or simulation makes the content discovery process less of a struggle. With new content being uploaded every day, you have a platform that you can use to pick up new story ideas to pitch editors or a school of thought to share with a client.

Fight loneliness and isolation

Loneliness among freelancers is a common thing. There are a number of solutions, like virtual hangouts and parties or social media platforms, that freelancers can use to reduce loneliness — virtual reality, too, is a tool for coping with feelings of isolation. How? By helping you escape physical and mental limitations.

The simulations and video experiences take you to different parts of the world that are hard to reach or unique places that you have never seen. These experiences have the power to help you start valuable conversations, increase interpersonal connectivity, and inspire organizational behavior that strengthens social networks and reduces the level of loneliness or ability to start a conversation.

The good thing about virtual reality today is that you do not need an expensive virtual reality headset to enjoy the experience. By installing Google Expedition or Google Street View on your phone, you can still enjoy the same experience as those with the headsets.

Try virtual reality today, and see how it inspires creativity, knocks down constant burnout, and improves the way you discover and develop content.