Freelancing is a compelling substitute to the full-time 9 am to 6 pm jobs.
The choice of setting up our own speed and rule for the work is the most remarkable thing about freelancing. You are not bound to answer any boss, you can choose when to work or take a leave and involve yourself in the task you really enjoy doing.
However, freelancing may not always be a pleasant job. It has got its counterpart too.
Without an appropriate and structured working layout, schedule or self-discipline, freelancing can be real trouble. Singular details stack up and shortly the tasks that needs-to-be accomplished will deluge as the deadlines approach.
If you don’t have a strict schedule set apart, you might have to work longer and harder than what had proposed for.
Overtime is never a new thing for freelancers in order to complete their project in time. In freelancing, lack of dedication can be more mundane than traditional 9 to 6 working hours.
Did that disappoint you?
In this article, I ‘m going to help you how to become a competitive and productive freelancer. So, stay calm.
I will be sharing with you guys about getting the better out of Freelancing career. The tips are very much effective and will take just your dedication and commitment as an input.
Hold your patience, and be with me.
1. Create your suitable timetable
Wait a sec, wasn’t the whole idea of freelancing to prevent strict routine and schedule?
To be honest, it’s true that freelancing surely discards regular 9 am – 6 pm boredom job duration that we abhor. Though it’s crucial to maintain a schedule to get our work done in time.
Getting proper and well-defined working hours assure that you are being fruitful and not getting carried away from your assigned project. It is important to know what time of the day you are focused and most productive, based on that schedule your work accordingly.
Plan your working hours at least an hour earlier. Take your shower, have a light meal, coffee or green tea to stay refreshed and calibrate your mind to work optimally.
As a freelancer, you would have to boost your creativity and task achieving capability within your preset time.
2. Prevent your working environment from distraction
Via Social Media, you can promote yourself, search for new clients, grow your network and much more beyond your imagination. And, no doubt they are the very handy tool for freelancers in creating tremendous opportunities.
There are some adverse effects of social media, such as it can be very distracting while freelancing.
Keeping your phone during freelancing can be a challenging at concentrating on your work. Better keep it in flight mode or turning the social media notifications and messages off to stay focused.
I would recommend using some apps that help increase your productivity like SelfControl (only Mac), Freedom (both Windows and Mac), AppBlock(Android) and others to keep you away from social media addiction. These smart apps block annoying and distracting notifications or messages and prevent you from checking them time and again. You can ultimately concentrate on your project without any distraction.
3. Take proper breaks in between
Humans aren’t diligent, but Computers. Working continuously for several hours kill our appetite for work.
Researchers suggest that taking breaks in between longs hours of work can be very refreshing. It helps in maintaining focus and productivity at the work. Also, it can be effective at preventing stress and exhaustion.
Taking breaks ensures you are always in the fresh mood and not distracted by monotonous tasks like filling the water bottle or making coffee during work.
Pomodoro Technique can be handy in scheduling breaks during job hours.
According to Pomodoro Technique, you work for 25 minutes continuously then take a break of 5 minutes. You can plan the work and break pair as per your wish. This technique is really effective.
While you are creating your work/break time, do remember to add regular breaks, but be sensible too.
The foremost goal at Freelancing is challenging yourself to accomplish the required task in given time.
Accomplishing your task in time can be a real mess when you are overwhelmed by stress. With a simple trick of work/break time plan, you can keep your energy and productivity level high always.
4. Plan your next day wisely before sleeping
Back from ages, it has always been a good idea of preparing to-do list before going to sleep. And doing so provide a relief to your brain from cognitive stress the next morning.
Since you already have a plan for the next day, you don’t have to wonder and plan about what should be accomplishing the whole day right after you wake up. This could remarkably boost your productivity.
When you wake up fresh, you can focus on the most important task and give your best to it. This applies to your overall aspects of food, and clothing for the next day. Once you have set them up before going to bed, you don’t have to bother about them the next morning. Even if you wake up late, it won’t make you hyper.
The strategy provides you room for all the decision making to be solely dedicated towards the project rather than at mundane tasks like deciding about the cloth to wear and food to eat.
The biggest hurdle in freelancing is understating the amount of time needed to spend in completing a project, and that’s the reason why pre-scheduling for each day is so vital.
5. Build a functional workplace environment
It is the environment that draws a borderline between successful freelancers and others, that they have built for themselves.
It is recommended to design a functional habitat that is free from all the possible distractions and is comfortable enough to work in. Certainly, the sofa or couch is very comfortable, but will you be able to get your work done?
A room that is well equipped with appropriate lighting, proper furniture, small indoor plants, soft/neutral colored wall can really help maintain focus and foster productivity. It is essential to be dressed up like a gentle person even if you are not going outdoors. It will help you stay motivated and strengthen your decision making capability.
Dr. Karen Pine, a Psychology Professor at the University of Hertfordshire, interpret “when a person puts on a particular cloth, it is common for him to adopt the characteristics associated with that specific garment. Every clothing has symbolic meaning for us, whether it’s relaxing weekend wear or corporate work attire, when we put it on, we calibrate our brain to behave in a certain consistent way.”
So, even if you don’t like any sort of formalities with clothing, you might have to introduce some structure to a career at freelancing in order to be successful and productive.
6. Manage your emails
Many corporates and indoor employees set apart a time to read and reply to their emails. Getting involved with emails during working hours can greatly hinder productivity. The more you spend your time with emails, the lesser time you will be giving to your goal achievement.
Organizing emails, conversations, and promotions are essential.
Your curiosity for reading and replying to your emails at the start of the day is natural, but doing so can divert you from what’s really important for you.
Gmail by Google provides certain services like Inbox with which you can filter out the messages that are distracting so that you spend as little time as possible for emails and maximum time at getting things done.
Conclusion
The tips that I ‘ve shared with you are proven to be useful and many freelancers find it effective. Definitely, there are other handy tips as well that can help you in becoming a successful and productive freelancer.
Spend numerous time family and friends.
Do regular workout to stay fit.
Be Social & Stay motivated
Reward yourself on even small achievement
Choose your clients wisely and honest to your job
To conclude with, listen to what others say, but act wisely by analyzing them properly. Learn from the experienced people. Involve yourself in continuous experiments to find out best out of yours. Simply following the rules, doesn’t help everybody. So be optimistic about new experiments.
A very best of Luck.
