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Working as a freelancer comes with so many benefits – but these benefits, such as working from home, managing your own workday and being responsible for your personal workload can also make it difficult to be the most productive. So what are 3 areas you can focus on if you want to increase your productivity?
1. Your allocation of time
Speak to any freelancer and one of the top areas that they struggle with is how to manage their time. When you work for yourself it can be tempting to try and squeeze that little bit of extra work in at all hours of the day, but this is often not what is best for your productivity. Now, many people turned to freelancing as a way to escape the 9-5 so we’re not suggesting setting these rigid ‘office hours again’. Instead. spend some time noticing when you are at your most productive in the day, are you a morning person, do you peak at midday or are you a self-confessed night owl? Understanding when you are naturally most productive will help you to allocate your working hours. You may be wondering if you need to allocate working hours at all, and for some people a completely flexible approach will work for them, but for most of us we need to separate work and leisure not only in order to be the most productive we can but also to ensure that our work does not negatively impact our mental health.
2. Your working environment
For many freelancers productivity directly relates to the quality of their working environment. The way you like to work will differ from person to person but the important thing here is to notice what kind of space you like to work in and to ensure that during your working hours you are present at it. Some people like an office space, a set desk with everything they need to hand, others prefer the background noise of a local cafe and others may find that they’re most productive at home surrounded by their creature comforts. Another thing to consider when looking at your working environment is if you are going to be getting regularly distracted, working from home can be blissful but not if you have pets, children or other family members continuously breaking your flow. Finding the balance between a space you like to work in and a space that is good for you to work in is key.
3. Your equipment
As a freelancer, you are often responsible for all of your own equipment, which means that it’s your responsibility to ensure that your equipment isn’t hindering your performance. If you spend a lot of time writing on a computer then having one that continuously freezes is going to slow you down, make you frustrated and impact your productivity. Purchasing the right equipment for your job is a necessary investment if you are serious about working as productively as possible. If you spend a lot of time online, perhaps you manage a few employees and really want to take this to the next level then consider seeking proactive IT support so that you can spend more time focusing on what matters and not on your IT, visit quicktech.ca to find out more.
