Freelance productivity is the holy grail of every freelancer working to achieve the income goal. It is a natural talent for some, but it’s an uphill battle for most, including me. Imagine pushing a boulder up a steep incline — that is how I usually feel the moment deadlines loom and I am not even done even with half of my daily quota. The anxiety and stress are about to crush me, knowing it has the potential to delay the timeline I have set for my projects.
As exciting as it may sound, freelancing is not all about rosy-colored days and happily waiting for your shift to end. It takes a lot of motivation and grit to get your constant productivity grind and avoid backlogs from piling up. No more in-office manager breathing down your neck, demanding updates of your progress every hour and by the hour, a plus, but also bad if you are the kind who sucks at self-accountability.
This doesn’t have to be the daily scenario of your freelance productivity; it doesn’t have to be a battle that you barely beat by the skin of your teeth. Some efficient and doable tips can help you stay productive while working from home.
Let’s take a look at some of the productivity tips that I lived by being a remote worker for the past four years.
Establish Your Processes
Establish and document a process for anything and everything you have done at least twice regarding your work. This method is not new, but many new freelancers still do not utilize it as much. That is when they start getting bogged down in their tasks.
There are a lot of benefits the moment you decide to process up. For one, it helps reduce errors by providing a definite guide. And if mistakes did happen, you have a document to review and backtrack what you have done and fix it. A process saves you time from trying to remember what step comes next. Not to mention how it allows you to maintain the quality of your output.
Your processes will also help you scale the moment your clientele grows, and you need to tweak some corners of your operation to accommodate more work. It’s a great habit to acquire to boost your productivity.
Your Workstation is Important
Stay away from your bed when working — a tip I should have taken more seriously when I was a freelancing newbie. From personal experience, I lose focus when I see my bed. Instead of thinking about work, I am more tempted to lie down, curl up with my favorite pillow, and binge-watch on Netflix.
Pick a corner where there is an ample amount of natural light filtering in. Vitamin sunlight is not only known to increase your immunity from sickness but also your motivation. And so it will also help boost productivity and accomplish more tasks.
Separate your official workstation from your personal living space. Doing so gives you a more professional mindset geared towards tackling your daily work tasks. When I am sitting at my workstation, my mind is set on working, and it helps me break my social media addiction, too.
Start with a Good Habit
This is the fundamental tip often overlooked by a lot of freelancers. What you do not know, getting the most out of your day begins with starting your day right. As simple as waking up at seven in the morning to perform your morning rituals can go a long way in prepping you mentally throughout the day and boost your freelance productivity.
If you ever wonder what successful business owners possess other than impressive business acumen, it’s because they develop positive habits and stick with them. It can be tough to follow, but when done right, it will help increase business productivity because, let’s face it, your freelancing is your bread and butter. It’s your business.
Developing positive habits is not an overnight miracle. It starts with small things, such as waking up early, doing your 30-minute exercise, and building your tolerance until it becomes second nature to you.
Motivation can come and go in a blink. You could be spitting output after output today, only to have your muse go missing tomorrow and have your productivity suffer for the next several days. Having solid habits to fall back on will help you function even when you are running on steam and coffee alone.
Learn how to prioritize tasks
Establishing a to-do list the night before is a personal favorite of mine regarding freelance productivity tips.
When you start gaining and managing more clients, accomplishing your mounting number of daily tasks can be quite challenging. You also don’t want to drop a client or two unless you are prepared for the income dip that will follow such a decision. List your tasks for tomorrow and ensure you put the major and most pressing ones at the top.
Tools Make Your Life Easier
Tools play a vital role in maintaining an efficient work-from-home routine. I use Google Docs for documenting all of my processes. This is what I also use when collaborating with other freelancers. It is where I write most of my blog pieces. To track the time I spend on each blog post, I use a tool called Pomello. It helps me focus by doing 25-minute sprints before taking a five to ten-minute rest. Rinse and then repeat the process.
I am a huge believer that one efficient tool, along with a solid strategy, can gain you an edge against your competitors. Tools definitely make your life as a hustling freelancer a tad bit easier.
I could go on and on about all the other tools that I consider essential for every effective freelancer. But that’s a topic best discussed in another blog post. A caveat, though the tool’s price shouldn’t be your basis in choosing it. Your choice should be based on whether it has the feature that will offer you the best benefit, not only because it bears a high price tag.
Reward yourself
Among all the tips for working remotely that I have tried over the years, this one has pushed me as a freelance writer to overcome my productivity challenges and aim to become more. Aside from the fact that I get to help a business thrive through my expertise, I go after my daily productivity grind. It’s because I know there is something good waiting for me at the end of all these efforts I spend.
In fact, I kept a list of my goals/rewards in a post-it note and had it taped beside my computer unit. Whenever I feel like not working or my motivation has taken a plunge, I look up, take a breather, and read these little Post-it notes.
I hope these freelance productivity tips I have mentioned will help you the way they did me.
Cheers, fellow freelancers, forge ahead!
Vira Marie
Vira Marie is a content enthusiast by heart and an aspiring copywriter. She loves to write about SaaS, productivity, and automation.
