Tips from freelance writers for staying focused and productive during social distancing
Note from Jennifer: If you weren’t able to join the Content Strategy kickoff call with me and Carol Tice, you can listen to the recording HERE. I am offering a 4-week bootcamp with Carol in April to teach you how to increase your income with content strategy, click HERE for more information and to register. If you decide to join us, which would be awesome, be sure to use my link to register. I am donating my profits to my dachshund rescue, which saved over 200 dachshunds from kill shelters in NC in 2019.
Most of us freelance writers are accustomed to working from home, but with schools closing and many businesses sending employees home to work remotely or laying them off entirely, many of us are now working with kids and partners at home at the same time. How will we manage? I asked writers in the Freelance Content Marketing Writer group on Facebook about their plans, and learned some great advice. Here are some of the best tips to help you stay focused and on track.
1. Work together with your family and come up with a schedule that works for everyone.
“My family had a meeting on Friday and agreed that we’d all work from 9-12:30 every day. Then 90 minutes for lunch/walk, and my husband and I go back to work while the kid hits his screens. So far it seems to be working.” -Debbie Koenig
2. Keep getting dressed as if it were just another normal day.
“Today my plan is to shower and get dressed so that I feel more ‘at work.’” -Lauren Arcuri
“I always forget how much more focused and professional I feel when I put on actual clothes! I’ve been working in my pajamas for the past who-knows-how-long, but I just showered and put on jeans and a nice T-shirt for a video call with a new client. It really does make a difference.” -Zoe Fenson
3. Prioritize your mental and physical health.
“When the anxiety starts getting bad, I stop and list everything I physically feel right here, right now. ‘Right now, my coffee is still hot and delicious. My back hurts a little, but my desk is a comfortable height. It’s warm in here, and gloomy out the window. Right now, everything is okay.’ Then I breathe for a few seconds. Sometimes, I get my partner to do the “right here, right now” exercise with me and say how he feels in the moment. I’m also using the “breathe” app on my Apple watch much more than usual.” -Dava Stewart
“Exercise. I’m shutting down my computer now and taking the dog for a walk. Where I am, it’s sunshine and fresh air. But if the weather were worse, I’d still try to get some vigorous physical activity in.” -Elizabeth Hanes
4. Pick your battles, especially when you create your task list.
“Prioritizing what really should get done today to meet deadlines and then giving myself some slack if the “nice to be done” doesn’t get done.” -Kelly Boyer Sagert
5. Use focus and productivity techniques while you’re actually working.
“Pomodoro and focus playlists.” -Ruth Hamberg
“I second Pomodoro (though I just pick a period of time like 25min and set a timer). Also since my husband works form home now, I’m finding it super helpful to dedicate specific amounts of time with him to check in on business stuff (we work on some of the same projects) and let him know when I’m taking a ‘head break.’” -Leanna Johnson Lee (who hosts a mental wellness podcast for freelancers)
“I like listening to music designed to help you focus (tons of YouTube playlists for this). I’m not the type of person who can work while listening to music with lyrics, but if it’s totally quiet I’ll get distracted by every little noise. This has helped me a lot.” -Melissa Whitten
Are you using any other strategies to maintain focus and keep your productivity up right now? What’s working for you?
Hi Jennifer! I just watched your intro webinar with Carol; you have clarified for me what exactly it is that I want to do with my new writing business. Thanks for your informative and concise presentation!
As I am just beginning my business after teaching multiple ages and grades for 27 years, I find that I am easily distracted by not only the noise of life, but even more so by the silence of a home on the verge of expectancy, anticipating new opportunities but unsure of the forms they will take. Because my husband is now required to work from home for the foreseeable future, I am having to restructure my daily schedule to accomodate his presence and his equipment! I have begun using a daily focus worksheet, which helps me clarify my most important tasks for the day, and creates a schedule which allows for multiple “brain breaks”, as well as encourages me to recognize my successes in achieving my goals when I need to be more flexible and realistic in my approach to determining exactly what constitutes a successful day. Flexibility is the by-word these days in our home; as the “lemons” have begun piling up, we are learning to make lemonade, instead of falling prey to the bitterness of the outward appearance of our circumstances!
We writers and freelancers should see this pandemic as blessing in disguise. Now we have more time to get things done and more eyeballs to write for.
Can’t agree more with the second point regarding getting dressed up. It surely increases your productivity and takes away all procrastination and laziness.