Working as a freelancer is great, but what if you lack motivation some days or just cannot keep up with the deadline? Be it office or home– the pressure to meet the deadline always stays.
But fret not because freelancers on Reddit have some productivity tips for you that are worth your attention:
1. “Having big task days and little task days. It feels great when you can complete 10 short tasks in a day and feels better when you know you have all of tomorrow to focus on 1 task.”
2. “Change locations. Your brain associates locations with what you do there. So, if I have trouble being productive, I change computers or move my laptop to another part of the house. This location change basically says, “Oh, we’re someplace else, we’re doing something else now!”
3. “Put all your tasks into your calendar, creating realistic time blocks with adequate breaks for walks, lunch, etc. Allow notifications to remind you when you’re getting to the end of a block. Stick to it!”
4. “Journaling stands out for me: Just note down everything you did that particular day on every workstream. If you can do it digitally, it could work as a historical record as well.”
5. “I would really make a task list of ACTUAL tasks, not things you hope to get done. That means, instead of applying to jobs, you have a task of “apply to 3 jobs. One of the biggest things you will learn while freelancing is that you have to set *concrete* and daily attainable goals to keep yourself grounded and on task.”
6. “Get up one hour earlier. I’m much more productive early in the morning. Put the phone in another room. Turn off email notifications. It takes the mind 20 mins to get back into a productivity flow. If you think about something important or urgent you’ve got to get done. Just write it down in your diary. I don’t use to-do lists, they don’t work for me.”
7. “Also have learned to just take a break when not being productive. For me I have found it worse to push myself when I am not being productive anyway. Like if you find yourself watching videos instead of working just get up walk then come back. In an office you have sort of built-in breaks with people passing by, talking to you, etc. None of that exists at home so you need to make those breaks.”
8. “Google Calendar + notifications, set up like a scrum board. Set aside time for yourself, and work no longer than 2.5 hours straight at a time when taking a break takes it away from all work-related stuff. I have a laptop for work and a desktop for play so the laptop gets hidden when I’m not working.”
9. “Schedule everything a week or two in advance so I know exactly what I have coming up. Follow the schedule and do not overwork yourself.”
10. “Cut your work in different blocks. Morning, evening, afternoon 2-3h. It’s normal to be tired after 2-3h of focused work – you are not lazy or unproductive. You just have to find different blocks of time that will fit your schedule and will let you rest in between.”
11. “Choose a time when you are most productive and more likely to stay dedicated towards your task. Avoid eating junk if you do and eat something healthy that gives you long-lasting energy to work on your task.”
12. “Even though there’s no single solution, the vast majority of prolific workers (artists, writers, entrepreneurs) often point to the “get your most important work done first thing.” Essentially, you need one habit: take on the 3-4 hours of critical work and do it in the morning. Then you’re off the hook the rest of the day unless you need or want to work. That is unless there’s a pressing deadline or you have spontaneous energy for it. Everything else is time off.”
13. “Remember that in order to work effectively you also have to rest effectively (no guilt, no thinking about how much work is waiting for you, just focus on relaxing and doing what you want.”
14. “Wake up early in the morning, do some meditation, calm your mind, stretch yourself, and set a target early in the morning you have a high focus level so set your target you want to do in one go and do it.”
Read more: 14 People Reveal Why They Don’t Want Work From Home To End.