OPINION AND SUGGESTION

Organising Schedule as a Freelancer

Many freelancers who work from home feel they have no boundaries. Rather than working fewer hours, they work more

What is the number one challenge we experience while working from home as a freelancer? This question received thousands of views and hundreds of replies. What is the most common issue that people experience? An inability to disconnect themselves mentally and emotionally, and occasionally, physically from work.

1. Keep Work Hours in Balance

“Working endlessly is a bit like being a hamster running on a continuous treadmill. Let us get off that treadmill and get us into the mindset of a race”

Unlike a treadmill, a race has a starting line and a finish line. There are a definite beginning point and a clear endpoint. We also want to create a clear starting line and a clear finish line to our day. Freelancers are not given established work hours by their employers. Typically, there is a great deal of freedom and flexibility. We want to take that freedom and flexibility and make a conscious choice about our working hours and then stick to them.

Let us start at the beginning of the race. What is our starting line? To answer this question, think about our sleep and health needs. The average person needs about seven to nine hours per night to function each day healthily. The more consistent we can be when we get these hours of sleep, the better the benefit of sleep will be. Let us assume we are in the middle, that we need eight hours of sleep each day. Let us say that we can reasonably sleep at a reasonable hour of 10:30 each night. That means we will need to wake up at 6:30 each day.

Consider how much time it is going to take for us to get ready, eat breakfast, and do whatever we need to do in the morning. After considering all that, let us say that we determine our starting line for each day will be two hours after we wake up, so 8:30 a.m. We want to create an appointment in our calendar every single workday just before 8:30. So 8:25 titled Starting Line. This establishes when our workday begins. Now, let us consider the more challenging step, creating our finish line.

At what time each day are we going to turn our brains off about thinking about work? We are going to say we are finished, we won the race for today, and we will not start it until tomorrow? For example, personally, our finish line is at 5:00 each day. At 5:00, we are no longer check email messages or do work-related activities.

That may be unrealistic for us, so start somewhere.

If we have been working until 8:00 every night, then perhaps establish our finish line at 7:30 p.m. That way, it helps our stretch just a little bit but is a reasonable expectation. Whatever finish line we want to establish, create a brief, recurring appointment in our calendar that work ends at that time. We are not done yet; in any case, we have found that freelancers find it difficult to make the mental transition from work to personal or family life.

When we work from home, we lack the natural transition that those who travel to work have a commute. The travel time from the office to home gives us the ability to decompress and stop thinking about work. So we will likely want to create our mental commute.

We call it transition time.

For example, since the finish line is at 5:00 p.m. each day, we also schedule transition time at 4:30 each day, giving us a half an hour to decompress from work. For transition time, we can play video games. It helps clear our minds. Find something that works for us and clears our mind, like listening to an audiobook or watching a Netflix show, or going for a jog, whatever works for us. Find an activity that signals to our mind and body. It is time to stop work, and it is time for our brain to calm down.

“Sometimes, we will want to start and finish times, not just to our day, but to our weeks and months”

For instance, we might say that our finish time on Friday starts at 5:00 p.m. and extends until our start time on Monday at 8:30, meaning we will not allow ourselves to do any work over the weekend. If we are someone who travels frequently and has some control over our schedule, we might create a maximum amount of time that we are going to be away from home. As a public speaker, we limit the number of days that we travel a month to no more than eight.

Create a plan that makes sense.

The point is we have control over our schedule. We can create boundaries for ourselves. Once e create those boundaries, respect them. As we do that, we will find that we have a greater focus and exceptional ability to be productive during our daily race.

2. How to Find Peak Productivity Time

“Productivity is more about rhythm than perpetual motion”

It is not realistic for freelancers to continuously perform at the same level of productivity consistently, relentlessly without a break. They perform better when they have periods of high activity, periods of low activity, and rest periods. When working from home, this principle becomes even more powerful and necessary for success. Why? Because of productivity, rhythm extends just beyond our biology and tendencies. No, we must also account for things like people, coming and going at certain times when a family member needs our attention when people at our office, at the main headquarters, want to have meetings with us. Our days and weeks will be continuously peppered with interruptions.

It is unavoidable to a degree.

However, there are a few things that we can do to minimize them. For now, we want to pretend that there is nothing we can do. That there is just a pattern that’s going to happen each day. Create a blank calendar, or print one out that shows the days of the week and the hours each day. Now, consider our last week. When were people at work sending us lots of quick questions? When were people at home interrupting us? At what time of the day did that next-door-neighbor do that noisy thing that distracts us?

As we consider this, highlight the periods of open time between those interruptions. While it may appear to be random, we will begin to see a pattern developed. The least amount of interruptions to our focus will occur. These are the hours that are most valuable and critical. It is during these hours that we want to focus on our most valuable activities. This is a concept we explore in-depth in time management fundamentals. Just understand that our most valuable activities are the one or two things that we do that are worth the most per hour.

By identifying the pattern of when we are least likely to be interrupted, we can begin to develop a framework for our days and weeks. When we plan work and meet with employers, try to schedule lower value activity during the times when we are most likely to be interrupted and try to schedule the highest value activity during those pockets of time that can be most focused. Now, a caution. Even after discovering our pattern, expect that we will occasionally be interrupted during those times, which is unavoidable. It is impossible to say that there is a time where we will never be interrupted. When those interruptions occur, we will need to deal with them. That is life. Occasionally, we will be less likely to experience frustration when they do occur if we expect it to happen.

However, even those interruptions are inevitable, and we can take steps to reduce them dramatically. We can improve our odds of success by scheduling our most essential and most valuable work when switches are least likely to occur. Open up our calendar and create two recurring time slots when we focus on our most valuable activities. Then, during the next two to three weeks, assess how that schedule is working for us, and then adjust it if necessary. As we fine-tune this over time, we will be able to get into the groove and find our productivity rhythm.

3. Plan Meaningful Breaks

“Having some fun is a good thing, it helps to feel happier and be more balanced”

Having fun was not just a lovely thing, but it was also necessary, primarily related to work at home. When taking a break to do something relaxing and enjoyable, it releases just a bit of natural dopamine. Dopamine motivates, pushes forward, and makes it easier to learn new things. By taking fun, meaningful breaks, performance improves over time. However, when people work from home, they deprive themselves continuously. They tell themselves that fun is something that they get when they earn it, that after a project is complete. When that vacation arrives, that comes up once per year, and then able to take a break. Doing this degrades performance over time. It makes it less likely to find success. Instead, make it a top priority to take meaningful breaks, especially when working from home consistently. Suppose a break like this is an oasis. It is a place of refuge and refreshment for the desert traveler.

Many freelancers push themselves throughout their workday, depriving themselves of refreshments. When taking regular, meaningful oasis, it recharges ourselves and helps perform better. The first kind of oasis should create a work oasis. This oasis should last about 10 to 20 minutes and should occur about once every 90 to 120 minutes of activity. This cycle of taking a break is derived from something called the ultradian rhythm. Like the circadian rhythm, where people need a different amount of sleep depending on who they are, they will vary.

To begin, assume that we need to take a break every 90 minutes. We can adjust this over time. Looking at typical workday means we want to schedule one oasis in the morning after 90 minutes. Later, have another natural break for lunch. We should eat lunch every day to be productive. Next, having one more oasis in the middle of the afternoon. This may not line up precisely with the 90 minutes, but it is a good starting point. What can we do during this work oasis?

Anything meaningful.

No matter what activity we choose, permit ourselves to take the break. Schedule it, and when the time comes, stick with that schedule. We want to skip it neither, degrade performance, nor overdo it, perpetuating slacking off in the day.

Stick to the schedule.

There is another kind of oasis to schedule outside of work hours, the personal oasis. This is where we take a little more time, say a half an hour, if we can take that much, to do something fun and enjoyable. What kind of activity? Again, anything that’s meaningful. Perhaps there is a hobby that we used to like to do but forgot to do. Perhaps there is a show that we like to watch regularly. Whatever it is, schedule it and make it a priority to get it done.

This little oasis will boost the ability to perform the rest of the day. It gives something to look forward to. Some studies report that most people find themselves motivated to work harder and smarter simply because they have this fun, a personal oasis to look ahead. Scheduling and sticking to this oasis will not only boost productivity but will help maintain balance. We will become adept at transitioning from when it is time to work to when it is time to refresh and recharge our batteries.

4. Adjust When Schedules Collide

What if work requires doing something that breaks the schedule? Perhaps they require attending a meeting at a time that is inconvenient or outside of the schedule created? How should we handle that?

The first is to anticipate it.

So much of happiness in work and life depends on whether our expectations are met or exceeded. Part of working from home should expect that schedule will sometimes collide with the home office. Having that expectation will happen perhaps once a week or once every two weeks will go a long way toward helping feel okay with it. Next, as part of that expectation, attempt to have buffer time in the schedule.

“Buffer time is such a valuable principle in an information-overloaded world”

Because interruptions happen frequently and changes occur regularly, we cannot have our schedule on a razor’s edge with no room for error. In an average eight-hour workday, plan about an hour and a half of unscheduled time that gives some flexibility when these inevitable interruptions occur. Next, as much as possible, when unexpected changes happen, move but do not remove. For example, we have the most valuable activity time scheduled for Thursday afternoon from two to four.

At the last moment, work requires to meet during that time. If buffer time exists in the schedule on that day, move the most valuable activities. Consider moving it to the next day or the day after, but do not remove it from the schedule. In this way, we might take care of the most valuable things and remain flexible for the employer’s requirements. Finally, after a schedule collision like this occurs, examine whether this an incident or was it a pattern.

In general, ignore incidents and process patterns.

What does that mean? If something happens just one time, it means it is not that big of a deal. It may never happen again.

Statistically speaking, random stuff is just likely to happen in life. Unless it is a life-threatening or severe issue, it is not worth time and attention to focus on trying to solve it. And ignore it. If this happens multiple times, for instance, regularly getting interrupted at a particular time from work, then process it. Send a personal email as a reminder or write a note to take action on solving this recurring problem. Later, when we come across that note, process it.

Explore what the next step to making this change is? When can make that change occur? For example, if every Thursday at 3 o’clock employer has the habit of calling an emergency meeting because of Friday’s due dates, leave that space available, or even better, ask the employer what we can do to help the team get ahead of schedule in the future.

Conclusion

Some of the most successful freelancers are highly sensitive to negative patterns happening in their day. When they see something happening over and over, they do not let it continue to occur, but instead, they address it and take responsibility for making it better. With just a little bit of preparation and by cultivating stronger awareness, conflicts between work and personal schedules can start to happen less often and maintain control of the day.