Taking the Big Dive Part 2 – Getting Used to Your New Life

You know you’ve made a conscious decision to be free from the chains of an unsuitable work schedule when you wake up on your first day as a freelancer at your usual 7:00 AM. Instead of your tried and tested method of prodding yourself to get dressed in 30 minutes (e.g. suddenly jumping out of bed and taking a mad dash to the bathroom to wake you up enough to give yourself a hot shower), you suddenly remember that no, you don’t have to go through that insane morning ritual anymore. You sigh in total relief as you close your eyes again and drift off into lala-land after you’ve correctly set your alarm to a later and more comfortable time.

The first few days of freedom as a freelancer may be spent trying to break your normal office routine. You may find it confusing and even difficult to wake up late, have a late breakfast, and work on projects at odd hours compared to what you’ve been used to, but this is all normal; your body is beginning to adjust to your new work schedule and ethic, so just give it time to do so.

Working freelance isn’t an excuse to live without a schedule; in fact, you’ll probably have to be more disciplined when it comes to your workday because of all the enticing opportunities for distraction and leisure activities. If you’re a freelance writer, tons of these interruptions are available on the net, and are admittedly very VERY fun. As such, here are some tips to acclimatize to your new (and hopefully more productive and interesting) lifestyle:

1. Write down your ideal workday – before even plunging into freelance, you might want to describe your ideal workday, which of course involves you getting what you want while still being productive. Get a desk planner at the local office supply store that has blanks per hour so you could give yourself a rough draft of how your working day would be like (e.g. awaken at 9am, have coffee/breakfast and check mail, begin working at 11:00am until lunch, eat lunch, continue working until 5pm, meet up with Sally at the pub for drinks around 8, etc.)
The idea here is that you’re training yourself to stick to a pre-defined work hour schedule. Even though you could deviate an hour or two once in a while, it’s crucial to get into the habit of sticking to it early on in the freelance game, lest you become accustomed to a chaotic workday where you get more play done than work. Think about putting food on your table!

2. Set a “I’m Very Busy Regardless of Who You Are” hour – it’s alright to work lightly in the morning, especially if there aren’t any pending jobs to be submitted. However, you should have at least an hour of what I call the “IVBRWYA,” wherein you should be working on something such as future articles, creative writing, fancy graphic design, layout samples for your portfolio, etc. This ensures that even though you don’t have any work required of you, you don’t break the habit of practicing your craft daily. This is also that time of the day where you’re not allowed any form of distraction from friends, relatives, or your high maintenance salt-water tropical fish.

3. Set aside some time to blog everyday – Let’s face it: blogging is the next big thing in marketing. As a freelancer, it’s often easy to still look at yourself as an employee working at home, which shouldn’t be the case. As a freelancer, it’s your job to properly market your talent and creativity, close deals, and basically make things happen! You become your own business, and therefore freelancing requires some entrepreneurial skill. Make a blog for your freelance career, and you’re that much closer to learning the ropes of self-marketing.

Blogging is a personal way to market yourself in an accessible environment. Whether it be the publishing of your latest works of art or simply a retelling of how you came up with that great line of copy, blogging keeps you in touch with other freelancers and employers who are looking for people to take on their job queues. Signing up for social networking sites such as Facebook allows you to market yourself and your blog to a network defined by you through your contacts.

4. Figure out how to work around your hobby schedule – if you’re a musician and you constantly have late nights out playing with the band, you obviously cannot bring yourself to begin your workday at 6am. Setting a freelance work schedule is all about balancing your personal life, hobbies and interests with work. If you really have to do your activities late at night, figure out if your work schedule could start late and end late, but give enough leeway for your evening duties. The best part about freelancing, once you’ve learned proper time management, is you seem to have enough time for everything!

Scour the net for some schedule management seminars, articles and quick tips that’ll help you out in the initial run of your freelance career. If you’ve taken the dip into freelance and find yourself to lack in discipline regarding your work schedule, try to write it down on paper, stick it on a wall in front of your work space and try your best to adhere to it. An organized workday gives you more time to do the things you want to do.