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How to Work from Home & Keep Your Sanity

Tricks to keep on track while being your own boss and working from home.

Advice, All Posts, Life as a Freelance Designer

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June 4, 2013

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  1. Thanks for the info! You need to make sure that you are managing your time and tasks well to ensure your productivity especially when your working at home. Using web-based time tracking tools is an effective way to make sure that you are handling your time well. Websites like https://www.clockspot.com/ can help you find the best time tracking tool for your projects.

  2. Bev says:

    I recommend changing up your settings. I like to get out of my house periodically and do work in a local cafe. I also joined some meetups, so occasionally we get together to do work. It can be hard to be myself all day during the day, and some human interaction (even if it’s just to order a coffee) can make a huge difference in my motivation!

  3. Henry says:

    One thing that I strongly recommend doing is tracking time, and not just for client work. Track the time you spend doing administrative tasks, marketing, networking, continuing education, or whatever. I’m even tracking the time it takes to write this comment, because I think it’s important to put time aside to engage with others online.

    At the end of each week, I look at my data and see how hard I worked and to make sure I didn’t spend too much time in one area and not enough in another. I set certain goals and see if I met them.

    There are tons of time tracking tools out there so take your pick, but I use Harvest. (http://www.getharvest.com/)

    • Ciera says:

      I am so good when it comes to tracking client time, but can’t make myself track all my other time, I really need to start!! Kudos to you for making it such a part of your everyday, I know it helps!

  4. Ffion says:

    Something I’m currently also struggling with, seperating my home and work life as a freelancer. I really need to create fixed work hours, especially as the number of projects pick up. I can still get away with laziness right now 😉

    Being clear on what I want to accomplish for the day and week really helps me stay on track, I set the tasks that have to be done today and when they’re done I can tackle a few more if I feel like it, or else go and do something else. Deadlines are also a great motivation, it’s amazing what I can accomplish when I know a project is due soon.

  5. Bethany says:

    I absolutely love having a work space- keeping my things organized, making sure it stays clean, decorating it with things that inspire me. But I seriously rarely work there. Very rarely. It’s so weird. I get 90% of my work done on the couch! But it is lovely to have a place where I can store my supplies and inspiration and no one else can put their stuff there- it’s all mine! I guess I just hate working at a desk. Maybe I should just get an office with my own couch in it? Now that would be lovely!
    And I totally agree about setting work hours. It’s essential if I want to keep my work and my personal life separate, not to mention keeping my sanity! And it also keeps me motivated to get started by a certain time and not sleep in (like I sooo want to).

  6. I really need to work on setting specific work hours. I also need to get myself organized. I’m usually such an organized person, but lately I feel like everything has been a complete mess! Great tips. Thank you.
    ~Kim

  7. Sarah says:

    I’m terrible at setting work hours. I work two freelance jobs right now so I work part of the day, teach a class, take a break, work more, and generally end up working at night – half because I love it and half because my to-do list is long.

  8. These are all great tips! Let me also add that it may be very tempting to sleep in later than you normally would for a 9-5 job, but getting up around the same time ensures that you’re on the same schedule as most of your clients and helps you move projects along quicker in some cases – win;win.

  9. Amanda says:

    sometimes working from home is the easiest thing, and sometimes (like today) i can’t seem to get going… thanks for all the tips, and the playlist! i’m listening now. hopefully it will help :]

  10. alicia says:

    I just quite my full time design job, I’m on my last week! I’ve done the freelance thing before and lost my sanity. I learned form that experience what to do differently this time around and this post was a great reminder.

    I’m productive in the mornings and usually pretty useless in the afternoons so I will make sure to schedule my workload accordingly as much as possible. I get very antsy and need fresh air so I may start taking little walks during my “lunch break” or go to the community center for a quick swim.

    I believe in needing structure to allow for creativity to grow. I will definitely try to set hours every day of what i am going to be doing/working on, whether it’s design work, paper work or even reading blogs or tweets.

    Very excited for my regained freedom coming up next week!

    • Ciera says:

      congrats Alicia, how exciting! and thanks for your additional tips!
      I find I am more productive/creative later in the day, I think that is why I have trouble sticking to traditional work hours.

  11. Mariah says:

    Love these tips too! I’m definitely a list person & it helps me stay sane. And taking a break every once in a while is hard but definitely necessary too!

  12. Erin says:

    Definitely agree on setting work hours! Though sticking to them can be quite tricky! A few other tips:

    Keep your work area clean–it’s hard to work on a desk full of junk. Spend 10 minutes every evening cleaning it off and getting ready for the next day,

    Make checklists of things you need to get done each day–I do this and I find it helps “push” me through the day. When I complete my checklist, I’m pretty much done for the day! This frees up time to go do things you want to do without feeling guilty.

    Take a break when you need it! Sometimes you just HAVE to get away from the computer (or whatever) and get some fresh air. If you’re getting frustrated with something, step away. When you get back to it, you’ll be less frustrated and able to tackle it!

    • Ciera says:

      thanks for the extra tips Erin! I can NOT stick to my work hours, ugh! I’ll keep trying though!
      and a clean desk and daily checklists are also MUSTS for me.

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I'm so glad you're here, stick around, there's so much to see, xo Ciera

Stay 
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