If you search for “the biggest challenges of a freelancer” on Google, you’ll realize that more than half of the results will show up productivity as the biggest challenge. To reap the rewards of being a freelancer, productivity is the most important metric that they need to excel at.
If you are among those who consider working from home to be a leisurely experience which involves relaxing, kids enjoying cartoons in the next room, a sibling listening to hard rock music on full volume, and guests treating their workspace as a thoroughfare, think about it.
Deciding to work from home as a freelancer is not a cakewalk. It needs a whole lot of self-discipline and focus. If you are not able to perform at your best and feel distracted almost all the time, we have a couple of tips for you that can help you reorganize and take become the master of your realm. Read along…
- Workspace
It’s always good to have a dedicated workspace for you to work. Make sure it is away from all the distractions in the house. No television, a stable internet connection, a proper table, and chair. Stay away from bean bags, though, they may look cool, but your back will thank you for not using a bean bag in the long run.
- Put a leash on your smartphone
Keep your phone on silent, and turn the social media notifications off before you start your day. Instead of switching between your work and WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and other things, allot a specific time, sort of a break.
- Don’t multitask
Contrary to the belief, multitasking can actually waste around 2 hours of a day. Nothing kills productivity faster than multitasking. Prepare a “To-Do List” so that you can segregate tasks on an urgent and not so urgent basis, and proceed accordingly.
- Schedule your breaks
You should never be too hard on yourself, or you’ll eventually ruin your productivity as well as your health. We advise you to follow the Pomodoro technique: work for 25 minutes, and take a short break of 5 minutes. After completing 4 Pomodoros, take a longer break of around 20-25 minutes. Do some stretching in the short breaks, and treat yourself to a healthy and light meal in the 25-minute break.
- Utilize the golden hours
We all know that we have a particular time in a day when we are supercharged and are able to work in the superhuman mode. Grab this time and make the most out of it. This is the time when you need to keep everything aside, leave all distractions behind and just get on the task at hand and nail it!
The best idea to figure what your golden hours are would be to analyze your working pattern and see the time window when you were able to complete the most number of tasks. Once you’ve figured it out, you’ll be able to bring your A-game every day, incessantly!
Apart from this, maintain a healthy diet, get a good amount of sound sleep and exercise to keep you body in shape. As they say, a sound mind in a sound body, you can’t expect your brain to function properly if you are sleep deprived and not eating properly. Lethargy is also another enemy of productivity, so stay active!
