In the midst of covid, I faced what a million others had, and found myself at a crossroads. I could either continue being part of the corporate world, or strike out on my own, and start my own freelance practice.

and so, I became a Freelancer – An independent consultant – a digital nomad – a remote worker – and! an entrepreneur!
With God’s grace, and the support of a young mentor, Chhavi, I found the right course and guidance to get me started.

Some of my important considerations, apart from the finances were the flexible hours and the comfort of working from home, or working from anywhere (frankly), which I would be able to enjoy as an independent freelancer.

However, within months I found that, without a structured schedule, discipline and some good habits, it was easy to fall into a spiral of procrastination and inefficiency.

As a freelancer, reclaiming control over your time is paramount for productivity and success.

Here is a practical guide to fixing your schedule and maximizing your output from the comfort of your home office – These are the core habits that have helped me stay productive as a freelancer, while embracing a lifestyle far different than the one I had as a corporate gal! 9-9 X 6 into drama!

7 Tips to be Productive as a Freelancer who Works from Home

Define your work hours – Create your office and off hours

It is important to have set hours – so you, your mind, and your family, friends and clients know when you are available and where you are not.
This is also important if you are a serial procrastinator, like me! This defined schedule ensure that you are not having to use your will-power to motivate you to get up and sit at your desk. Rather, you make it into a habit which you follow without any thought or resistance.

Create 1-2-3 workspaces

So most guides will tell you to create one designated place which is dedicated solely for working purposes. But what if you are like me? A moody Gemini, who values comfort OVER discipline?! Also, what if you want to travel and have a workcation? Then the habit of creating multiple spaces that are comfortable and meant for you to work in/from, will be a convenient habit to have.

Plan your day & use time management techniques that suit you best

It is important to know what your important tasks and deliverables are for the day. As a Freelancer, it is easy to really get deep into a topic as you work. Which is great as it means you are learning and upskilling, however, it also means that you have not completed all the tasks for that day.

Different people prefer different techniques to plan their day and manage their time – I will say, use what works for you, and then just use it everyday, without fail!

You can use a paper diary to plan, or digital platforms like Notion and Asana – I use all 3, and sometimes an excel sheet too for good measure.

The Pomodoro technique and time blocking are the most often used as they help you focus on one task and complete it with efficiency and quality. This I find is a better approach than multi-tasking.

Here is a list of tools that I have personally used and found helpful as a Freelancer.

Minimize Distractions

This is GOLD!
As difficult as it may be, do not have a YouTube video or podcast playing while you are working.
If you can, put your phone on silent, or at least switch OFF the gazillion notifications.

and, my favorite, use an APP like FOREST – which helps you focus and NOT use your phone (app) or open distracting sites (laptop extension) during the time you have set to grow your plant.

I love the fact that as a user of the app, I am contributing to the actual planting of trees in the world, and as a plant lover, I cannot bear to let my virtual plant die – so basically, when I use the app, I actually do the thing I intend to do, and do not click away to anything else. A win-win in my opinion.

Regular Breaks

This is pretty self-explanatory – Take regular breaks so your brain can recharge and refocus. Sometimes we go off into rabbit holes or lose track of the purpose of the task, or sometimes, our eyes just start to glaze over! Taking a short break is helpful.

Remember – The Key is a SHORT break, and DO NOT pick up your phone to scroll social media or that super interesting book, or start just one more episode of that series!!! because, trust me, and I have done this more times that I can laugh it off, you WILL lose track of time, and WORK will NOT seem as important as the PLOT of the BOOK or SHOW.

Regular Movement Breaks

Schedule short breaks for stretching, walking, or other forms of exercise to keep your mind and body refreshed is another super important thing. I found this helps with aches, pains and stiffness that happen over time when you keep sitting in one position.
One form of fun exercise and break that I am now able to take as I am alone in my space is to dance to a nice peppy number – Its fun and it warms up all my joints! Another win-win – Don’t you agree?

Create & Enforce Boundaries – With others & yourself

As a freelancer, who works for herself, and is her own boss, it is very easy to get into the groove and lose track of time. Honestly, when you are enjoying yourself, can you really blame yourself? But here, it is important to stick to that schedule you defined in point 1.

These 7 things have helped me stay productive, complete my work on the daily, and enjoy my days, including weekdays.

These habits have allowed me to do 2 of my favorite things in the middle of any day –

1. Go meet a friend and chatter!
2. Sit in the Garden and read a book, daydream or just sleep in the sun!

and, my FAVORITE – I can travel anywhere, and still ensure I do my work, while also enjoying new experiences!

Have you found any of these tips to be helpful?

Do you want to try the freelancer – remote – digital nomad lifestyle too?
Do you agree with me that THIS is a sweeter life than my past corporate-gal life?

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla in collaboration with Mads’ Cookhouse.