Freelancing Accountability Tips to Help You Stay on Target
Posted November 7, 2010 in Accountability, Productivity
Many complain about the inconvenience of working corporate hours, but freelancers understand best how having a rigid schedule can help with focus and productivity. The advantages of working your own hours and sitting wherever you call your “office” also bring many detractors and a constant need for self-imposed focus. Here we offer tips for moving forward–rather than sideways –with your projects.
Change Projects
If you’re sitting at your home office desk spinning your wheels, staring at a blank piece of paper, and your mind is going in a thousand different directions, give yourself permission to stop and work on another project. If you don’t, you could still be staring at a blank piece of paper when your spouse and kids get home at 5 p.m.
As a freelancer, you may be balancing three to five projects with three to five different clients. This is an advantage because you can switch off to project #2 when your tires are (temporarily) done spinning on project #3.
Give Yourself Rewards
Both new and seasoned freelancers need motivational tools ranging from stickers marking off the completion of project segments to buying a new laptop (if you’re a rich freelancer!). Don’t wait until you can buy a laptop, however, to reward yourself. Buying a laptop is a long-term motivator. To be a successful freelancer, you need daily, sometimes hourly, motivators to keep your engine roaring on the highway of production.
Maybe you have a weekend fishing trip planned with the family. This is a great motivator because you can relax more completely if that project is in the can when you pull away from the house Saturday morning with all the fishing gear in tow. Maybe the house mortgage is due…that’s a really good motivator.
Get a Buddy
Get a buddy who also works at home and use him or her as your accountability partner. Call each other in the morning and evening for regular motivation. That phone call will help remind you of why you need to keep going when you just want to lay your pen down and go play.
Break it Down in Palatable Bites
Don’t let yourself sink by thinking of all the things that are on your desk to do. Break every job into bites that you can easily swallow so you can sustain productivity throughout the day rather than short periods in the morning or afternoon. If you want to write seven pages one day, stack seven blocks on your desk. After you write one page, throw the block in a bag. If money motivates you, break your work into bits based on pay:
- How much do you make per page?
- How much do you make per article?
- How much do you make per client?
If you make $10 per page and you want to write 10 pages that day, place 10 $10-bills in a clip on your desk. For every page that goes by, put one $10 bill in your billfold.
“Cowork” Without Official Coworkers
If you’re freelancing and working from home, chances are you feel uninspired for part of the day and yearn for human contact. Since you’re lacking others in your home office, it’s natural to feel as if you’re hitting a creative block and not working to the best of your abilities.
There’s a way to get the benefits of coworkers without actually moving someone into your home office and having them invade your territory. There are plenty of buildings across the US that act like one big unorganized office. There’s two ways these can work.
- You pay a monthly fee to rent out an office space within the building, so you’re working among others, but not “working” with them.
- Some are open to freelancers without needing to pay a hefty fee. You’re free to go in and work side by side with other freelancers.
What are the benefits to this? For one, you get out of the rut you’re in just by sitting in your home office or Starbucks. You also get the benefit of bouncing ideas off another person. It doesn’t matter if they’re in your industry or not. Having fresh perspective can help you get past a block you might have.
Another benefit? If you’re working among others who are grinding down on their work, chances are you will too. This is great for motivation and to stop yourself from slacking in your pajamas on the daily.
You may not need all of these in conjunction, but keep them in a bag of tricks for days when you need extra pushes. Working these into your daily routine will help you get your work done AND benefit from crafting your own schedule–a nice reminder of why freelancing can be one of the luckiest positions to be in as a professional.
Your Turn
How do you stay on track? What accountability tips do you have?
Share your answers in the comments.
Image by viZZZual.com
Related posts:
- Ten Tips To Stay Motivated — Even When You Really Don’t Feel Like Working
- 5 Reasons Every Freelancer Needs An Accountability Group
- 8 Tips for Success When Freelancing On the Road
- 3 Tips to Help Your Family Benefit from Your Freelancing at Home
- Why You Need To Meet Your Target Audience Where They Are
About the author: Sonia Tracy is the content editor for PsPrint and editor of PsPrint Design Blog. She likes to write, do yoga and make nerdy “Star Wars” and “Simpsons” references. PsPrint is an online commercial printing company specializing in brochure printing. You can follow PsPrint on Twitter @PsPrint.
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19 Comments
Chris @ SyracuseCS
November 7th, 2010 at 8:40 amGreat article! One of the hard things as a freelancer, as you pointed out, is accountability. When you are working for yourself, you don’t really have anyone to answer to. Besides your clients, you should be answering to yourself. Create rules and schedules so you stay on track. I’m a big fan of to-do lists. There are some great apps that you can get, but nothing is more rewarding than making your today’s to-do list on a scrap sheet of paper and crossing them off throughout the day. At the end of the day you can look back and see how many things you crossed off. You should also be doing a lot of goal setting. Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals are very important to keep you on track and for you to reward yourself when you reach them.
-Chris
Madeline
November 7th, 2010 at 10:42 amGreat article. Like the poster above says having a list of tasks keeps me on track because I may have a million ideas that can have me spinning and get off track. I may be thinking of design, work on marketing or going out to a job. A list keeps me focused. Also as far as design contact I chat with other designers in gtalk to help critique my work, just to chat, or if I need any help etc.
Kelsey
November 7th, 2010 at 9:46 pmI love the idea of co-working and would definitely look into it if it was offered closer to my house.
marjuk
November 8th, 2010 at 12:45 amI love freelancing but its so hard for a new freelancer.
Brad | StartWebDevelopment.com
November 8th, 2010 at 6:02 pmCall anyone that has an 8-5 and ask them about their day. This most likely will motivate you.. Freelancing is hard work and it doesnt come easy. There is always obstacles to overcome and staying motivated is just one. Great article!
Jeremy Green
November 9th, 2010 at 2:53 amThanks for the sharing. I just started my freelance career and it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who struggles with motivation throughout the day. Breaking projects down into small tasks like you mentioned helps a lot.
Issa @ Ajeva
November 9th, 2010 at 4:23 amHey, I love the idea you have on coworking and I think I’m going to find a place where I can do that, for a change. Now, to answer your question – I simply take a time off and get me a nice hour or two in this favorite park. I bring with me my personal journal where I just write anything that comes to mind – and I do this while I’m having a cup of my favorite tea blend.
Johan R
November 9th, 2010 at 4:53 amCo-working was something I’ve planned to do for a while now. This is definitely a good source of motivation. I’ve already used the other points with more or less success but as someone said above motivation is always something you struggle with as a freelancer. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Thomas Cross
November 10th, 2010 at 8:39 amNice blog!! i also know a very good site for Freelancer
You50.com Buy & Sell
November 12th, 2010 at 3:39 pmI personally enjoy the type of sites that have alot of prices you can charge and a wide range of catergories.I think this maximizes profits.
Adam Bluhm
November 17th, 2010 at 2:52 pmExcellent article! I use rewards to keep myself on track and productive. If I find myself spinning my tires I usually switch to a different task to give myself a break or step away from things for a moment to clear my head.
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