Being a freelancer has its ups and downs. Staying motivated is one of the key things for success in freelancing career. Here is a few tips for being motivated, that I have personally found to be really effective.
Make a To-Do List Every Day
To-Do List generally has bit wrong sound to it. What I have found to be effective is to every evening make a small, 2 to 4 things you should accomplish tomorrow. Just something small and achievable, like f.ex. “email a client” or “make a Photoshop mockup”. Don’t try too hard and make too big tasks for yourself every day.
Work Like In a Cubicle
I know that working from home has its disadvantages. To overcome this, try to work as if you were in a standard, 9 to 5 workplace. Put the alarm clock to wake you up at 8am, dress up in your “work clothes” and make some coffee for yourself. If you have cell phones for work and leisure, just keep the work phone on when you are working.
Turn Off Distractions
When you really need to focus on something, turn off your IM, email notifications, maybe even cell phone. Just focus on the task at hand. If you are working from home, turn off the TV, shut your workplace’s door if possible and so on.
Leave Some Time For Yourself
Of course, you can’t just work all the time. It’s important to let yourself relax at some points. I have found the 5/25 Rule to be really effective. First, get a timer for yourself. You can use a standard egg timer or 0nline timer service like e.ggtimer.com. Set the timer to 25 minutes and keep on working. After the time is up, put the timer to 5 minutes. These 5 minutes is your leisure, just forget about all the work and maybe surf or listen to music. This method is really great; it keeps you motivated for work but will also grant you enough leisure time.
Vary your tasks
Who says you have to just write emails whole day? Vary your tasks as much as possible throughout the day. Write emails, paint something, create Photoshop layouts and code your own projects. Being a freelancer means nobody is there to order you to do anything, it’s all up to you.
Posted in Freelancing
Written by Kristian
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WoW
Awesome tips , Thanks for sharing this nice post.
Helpful tips. I’ve become a fan of the 25/5-Principle although I know it as the “Pomodoro Technique” and therefore you should have a look at http://tomatoi.st – it’s like e.ggtimer but with the 25/5 rules.
[...] カナダから帰国し、1月から日本でフリーランスWebデザイナーとして働きました。（多分またどこかに就職しますが）フリーランスの知識はなかったので「フリーランスのWebデザイナーとはなんぞや？」と思っていたときにこの記事に出会ったので翻訳してみます。他にもいろんな記事を読んだので今後小出しにしていくと思います
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One word for you, Thanks.
p/s: will subscribe your rss feed and gimme more freelancing tips.