Thoughts on Working Freelance

My 2018 resolutions this year came in the form of a happy list. My aim being, to do more of the things that make me happy (with a little help from our new Acer Linea Tablet*). On the list were simple things from listening to more podcasts and drinking good wine**, to broader goals like getting up earlier and being more organised with my freelance work. Today’s post, my friends, is on the latter.

In case you don’t know my work set-up (if you’re interested!), I work part-time in a permanent marketing role for an independent cinema, and freelance as a blogger/writer/social media type the rest of the time. I love both of my roles and the lifestyle I live but I’ve realised that I work smarter and am more organised for my permanent job than in my freelance work.

Primarily, I work from home for both jobs so it’s not about the environment – there is definitely a disconnect as to how I use my time on days I work for myself. So here’s what I’ve discovered in the past month (I was too ill in January to care) and how I’m learning to get my shizzle together on freelance days.

Be specific | Write x blog post. That’s what I used to write on my morning list and that’s how I got into trouble with my time. Writing a blog post is more complicated than that. First you need the idea, the research, the planning, the photography, the writing, the editing and then the promoting of the post so someone can actually read it. Writing these individual tasks on my to do list over the past month has made me feel more productive and organised with my time already.

Work you enjoy is still WORK | I don’t really buy into the statement that you if you find a job you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. I LOVE my jobs but I’ve never worked harder and although my work is more rewarding nowadays, I do love my free time more.

Like a lot of bloggers that started out years ago (Mathilde heart Manech is 8 years old this year!) my blog, and all the other opportunities that came with it, started out as something I did in my free time. The transition from hobby to work (even if part-time) is still new to me and not always straightforward.

Even though I feel happy, challenged and rewarded by my work I still finished 2017 feeling frazzled. But after a restful Christmas break, I realised I need to take a break from work that I enjoy too. So now I’m determined to have my evenings and weekends free for quality time, non related to my work. A break (even from the good) is great for productivity too.

Environment | I love my home office. The room gets great light, is a good size and keeps me away from all the other household chores (I ignore them 90% of the time anyway). I can’t stress enough how important your work environment is, but what I need to get better at is keeping it as a creative and relaxing space. This month’s focus is spending money on storage for all the things that live in this room (namely, books) but moving them to the attic bedroom. Also, a new addition to the room is a Chester office chair c/o Lakeland Furniture. I figure a proper office chair will help me take my freelance days more seriously. Isn’t she gorgeous? I love the vintage style of this chair!

Non-productive days | Accept that there WILL always be unproductive days. Stop with the guilt!

Just like in my permanent role, there are days when things go wrong. But at the cinema, I seem to be more logical about my response to a problem.

What I’ve realised is that I need to have items ticked off a list for me to feel productive. So I now have a backup go-to list that I can dip in and out of to make sure my day hasn’t been a total write-off. It includes admin tasks (things that usually stay at the bottom of the to-do pile), so I can stop dwelling about non-productive days. P.S If you’re a blogger, I have an offline blog admin list for days exactly like this.

Know when you work at your best | I prefer to do more visual work in the morning (photography, graphic design and editing), admin stuff midday and writing/editing in the afternoon. The beauty of working for yourself is that you can have the flexibility to do this. I try to keep this in mind now when I write my list for the day.

Make time in your day for inspiration | I’ve been using my Acer tablet to listen to podcasts, read articles, watch videos about blogging/writing/freelance life etc but I make sure my device notifications are turned off. Plus, I don’t use any social media apps on it so it’s completely distraction free. Making time in my day to learn about my work, even if only for 15 minutes, helps me feel more confident about the industry I work in.

Do you have any freelance tips when working from home?

*Disclosure: Collaborative Post

**I can happily declare I’ve had many a bottle of fine wine