I’m a freelance writer. That means I get to work pretty much wherever I want, whenever I want - providing I have my laptop and a wi-fi connection.
Sounds great, doesn’t it? In many ways, it is. I work to my own schedule. I’m not having to complete weekly shifts in order to get paid. I get to do what I love for a living.
There are plenty of positives, but there’s also one major drawback. I have nobody telling me what to do. Other than myself, there’s nobody to keep me in check.
To you, that might sound like a fantastic thing. But if you’re a work-from-homer like me, you’ll understand that working to your own schedule can be quite problematic unless you’re very firm with yourself. It’s easy to fall out of a steady routine, bad habits like sleeping in and eating junk food slowly creeping into your life.
With my fiancé in hospital, too, my routine has been all over the place - so I’m fixing it. And it feels fantastic.
I’ve given myself a daily schedule, and here’s what it looks like:
7:30: Get up
8:00: The Daily Grind Email
8:30: Gym
10:30: Mind Cafe socials
9:30: Daily Medium article #1
11:30: Daily Medium article #2
By planning out my day-to-day tasks, I’m able to be far more productive than I usually would. Everything I need to do has a dedicated time slot, and I’m motivated to get each job done within that slot to prevent the entire schedule from crumbling.
Already, after a couple of days, my life feels like it’s back on track.
Whether you’re working freelance or not, try it. Try giving yourself a daily structure. You’ll be surprised at the impact it has on your life - both in terms of your peace of mind and productivity.