Freelancing has so many pros: the ability to make money from home, becoming your own boss, and total freedom in your work hours and tasks to just name a few.
Along with these amazing benefits, however, is a major challenge – productivity. As a freelancer, every moment of the day depends on you. If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. And whilst that can be motivating, it also means all sense of drive comes from you and you alone.
Employees are given their work hours, daily tasks, and longer goals by their supervisors making the line between their work and personal life crystal clear. If they fail to meet expectations, there are immediate consequences with superiors or HR stepping in to make sure you are back on track.
For new freelancers especially, transitioning from the ‘normal’ 9-5 to total self-discipline can be daunting. So many freelancers struggle with finding methods to stay productive throughout the day, week, or year, and when they fall off or ‘fail’ to reach their productivity goals, feelings of shame can quickly appear.
In reality, learning the skills necessary for freelancer discipline and building sustainable productivity takes time. I recently shared Five Hobbies to Improve Self Discipline for Freelancers to help start you on that journey to healthier productivity habits.
Establishing hobbies, however, takes time.
If you are struggling with productivity TODAY and need actionable tips to hit that deadline or find your creative flow, look no further. I have created a list of the 30 Ideas to Immediately Improve Your Productivity.
How to make yourself productive today:
- Write down your daily tasks (even the small ones) and tick off each item as you achieve it.
- Find something that you can achieve immediately like doing the dishes or replying to an email. Find another small task to complete. And another. And another.
- Give yourself a break. Take one hour to do whatever you are craving right now whether it’s scrolling on your phone or going outside.
- Change location! Try Working from a Coffee Shop or sitting in a park.
- Delete TikTok and Instagram off your phone, and I mean now! You can redownload them as soon as you finish your tasks for the day.
- If you have access to a walking pad or treadmill, try to work whilst walking to distract your body physically from boredom.
- If you feel like distracting yourself with a TV Show, try blasting the soundtrack to a movie or musical you know inside out instead. You can follow the story in the background without it taking over your mind and senses.
- Eat lunch. Don’t make yourself wait to hit a certain word count or time, take an intentional break to refuel yourself for the rest of the day.
- Try the Pomodoro Technique by working for 25 minutes then taking a 5-minute break, repeat and keep track of the tasks you achieve in each 25-minute window of productivity.
- Put on a Lofi playlist and use noise-cancelling headphones to block out the distractions of the world outside.
- Work on your schedule Open your calendar and mark on each upcoming task deadline, then work backwards to schedule time to complete each task. Once you know exactly how much time you have to waste, it might feel a lot easier to get s*** done!
- Clean your workspace. Get rid of as much clutter as possible so there is nothing in front of you to act as a distraction.
- Take a stretch break to get movement into your body and remove any stiffness or physical discomfort.
- Have you drunk enough water today? Refill your glass or bottle and take 5 big sips.
- Open a blank page of your notebook and set a 2-minute timer. Now write anything and everything that comes to your mind on the page. Try to get out every thought that is filling your brain with distractions.
- Go for a walk. Get outside and let yourself let go of your focus for at least 20 minutes before returning to your desk.
- Find a few Positive Affirmations that inspire you and write them down somewhere constantly in view. Reread them anytime you need a reminder of your worth, value, or potential.
- Give yourself permission to start a version of your task with the intention of deleting it. What would you create if there was no pressure on this draft? Starting something bad is better than not starting at all!
- Change out of your comfy work-from-home loungewear and into clothes that make you feel like a professional.
- Make a tea or coffee and give yourself the time it takes to drink it to choose the next task. Once the coffee is finished, it’s time to get started.
- Commit to one cycle of the 52/17 Rule and work for 52 minutes then take a 17-minute break.
- List 5 things you love about freelancing and 5 things you are grateful to have because of freelancing.
- Call a friend and ask them to pep talk you with some tough love – sometimes you just need to hear it from someone else!
- Make a dinner reservation for tonight. You now have a hard deadline to get your work done for the day that just might kickstart you into immediate productivity.
- Try taking a 20-minute power nap. This can be dangerous so make sure to set multiple alarms and never sleep in the same room you need to work in later.
- Remind yourself of your ultimate freelancing dream and career goals. How can you get there? What do you need to do today to achieve that future?
- Practice the 5-Second Rule by counting down from 5 anytime you feel your mind wandering away from the task at hand.
- Switch up the type of work you’re trying to do right now. Vary between visual and written tasks or communication and logistics. Find the polar opposite of what you’re doing right now and try doing that instead.
- Test out project management tools like monday.com or notion.so to see your tasks visually in front of you.
- Verbally speak out the task you are trying to achieve right now, ideally to someone else. Within a few sentences, you might find yourself swept away in the project and ready to get to work.
If you are struggling long-term with productivity, you may be experiencing a need for additional accountability in your creative and work life. That’s where a Creative Coach comes in. A good coach will guide you through goals, tasks, and deadlines making sure to regularly check in and support you in finding your own productivity rhythm as a freelancer.
To learn more, read my post What is a Writing Coach or reach out to me directly.
Got another productivity hack that I’ve missed? Leave it in the comments below!
Like this? Read Related Posts:
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Writing practices to help you align with your creative voice, connect to your true feelings, and more clearly express yourself.
How to Deal With Post-Trip Blues
10 Tips on overcoming post-travel depression and going back to reality.
How to Disconnect from Work and Start Living in the Moment
A freelancer’s guide to putting down your laptop and being present outside of working hours.
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