Uwe Dreissigacker — November 15, 2017 Efficiency is key when you are a freelancer. There are a lot of obstacles you need to overcome to enjoy the luxury of being a successful freelancer. This type of employment offers many benefits along with some hardships.
Your income as a freelancer is based on your efficiency. Hone in those skills, stay focused on your projects and you will see yourself do great things.
Focus
Focus can be an ever elusive thing that will be hard for some to catch. Without focus, you will struggle accomplishing even the simplest tasks.
We all sometimes stray off course, and begin looking at things unrelated to the work we are supposed to be doing. That is part of human nature. Internet access has granted us the ability to access information that will benefit your work as well as enhanced our ability to procrastinate tenfold.
Stay committed. Don’t falter. Treat yourself after you have accomplished small tasks. You may have some delicious ice cream waiting for you in the freezer, beckoning for you to eat it. Use that as motivation to get a task done and then go enjoy the ice cream or whatever you want to treat yourself with.
There are also focus apps and programs that you can use to increase your productivity. For example FocusMe. With that program you can lock your access to certain webpages until you get your work done. This might be a good idea for some who may be tempted by their social media pages or the abundant cat videos waiting on YouTube.
Schedule
Create a schedule for yourself. As a freelancer, you may have free reign on how you work, but scheduling your own tasks that need to be done will keep you productive and motivated for the future.
Don’t be afraid to break up large tasks into smaller more manageable pieces. Segmented tasks will make you feel less overwhelmed and more motivated as you complete them faster.
As you keep going through your schedule, cross of the things you have already done. In no time at all, you will notice your things-to-do shrink and your confidence growth further increasing your productivity.
Breaks
Don’t sit aimlessly looking at a blank computer screen if you have no ideas that come to your head. If you are struggling to put down quality content, maybe a well-deserved break is in order.
Don’t think that just because you stopped working you are being unproductive. Giving yourself a break will not only give your brain a rest, but your quality of work will actually increase. A tired brain is a not a productive one.
Change Location
Being a freelancer, you are blessed with flexibility most can only dream of. Use it to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to try working in a new setting.
I started writing this post in a coffee shop. I am finishing this post at my home. One moment ideas flow well in one area, the next minute they stop and I relocate to help my creative juices flow again. Experiment with your setting and see if you have different results.
You will be surprised to see how differently you think and feel when you are sitting someplace new.
Talk to Someone
You might be gassed and run out of ideas completely. That is a real possibility for a freelancer or anyone for that matter. Don’t be afraid to talk to people and see what they think about what you’re doing.
It’s always great to get a fresh perspective on things. Might make you look at your task in a new way you didn’t think about before. I am sure most of your friends or family would gladly give you their opinion and share some of their thoughts on what you’re doing.
Use Online Tools
This is by far the the easiest thing to implement to increase your efficiency as a freelancer. Scrap the old ways of downloaded software or pen and paper.
Using online tools, you can keep all of your data and plans synced amongst all of your devices. Think how much time you save using this approach? No matter if its Evernote for your note-taking or Gmail for your emails or Buffer for you social media management. By moving all those tasks into the cloud you save a ton of time.
Time to Get Efficient
Small, simple steps will increase your efficiency along with your income as a freelancer. Try implementing these solutions and see how well they work for you.
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