Working at home is a dream of many people, however, in practice, it requires very proper organisation in order to make it really cost-efficient. This is particularly true for the freelance writers whose income depends on finishing tasks rather on the time spent on finishing them.
This article will give you a number of useful suggestions which will help you to organise your work better so that you will have enough time for yourself and will be satisfied with your income.
There is no working space at home
In order to work efficiently, you should create a special working zone. Otherwise, you will constantly be distracted from your job and you are also risking not being able to switch from the home mode to a working mode. Having a separate working space will make you a way more organised especially if your job demands using a large amount of extra materials which really need some room for holding. This will be rather troublesome for you to go around with such an amount of things from one corner of your flat to another one.
For one-room flats, one can use folding screens for separating their working place from the rest of the room.
There are no set hours for work
Establishing working hours is crucial for the productivity of your work day as well as for the satisfaction you will get from the free time after work. There are three possible negative scenarios which frequently meet remote writers.
The first one is not being able to start working and automatically stretching a working day too long so that one actually does not have any proper rest either. Another scenario is overworking hoping to be more productive which is actually not good for the effectiveness of your work. Finally, there is also a possibility of not being able to divide your time into work and rest as your employer or clients might contact you at any time of the day. That is why it is crucial to set time frames for your working day so that everyone will know when you are working including your friends and family who might be willing to talk or chat with your when you are supposed to be working on your projects.
Lack of motivation
Many people working alone at home have less motivation to deal with their tasks than those who have to go to work every day. While people working in a separate working place just have to do their work anyway, people working from home and especially those who are doing it on a freelance basis, can really avoid their responsibilities for some time.
It is normal to be less productive from time to time, however, if the period with the lack of motivation is prolonged, it is high time to find a reason why it is really happening to you. It might be the result of your job itself not being attractive to you anymore, so then, you will have to think about finding something new. Others might be just suffering from a poor organisation of their working day which is not necessarily their fault. For instance, they might be suffering from not being able to spend enough time on the tasks themselves as they constantly have to talk to other co-workers. In such a case, you will need to set some rules for your work time. For instance, you can turn off all the notification after a conversation for an hour so that you will be able to focus on the task itself.
Getting distracted by children
Needless to say, working with a small child at home can be a huge challenge. In such a situation, you will not be able to use set time frames for your working day. Certainly, there is no sense in counting on having a couple of works without any breaks if there is a toddler at home.
In such a situation, you should divide your tasks into two major groups. The ones which will require your maximum attention will definitely need more concentration from your side so you should work on them when you have a chance to be alone at home or your child is asleep. Quick tasks on the ones which are possible to be tackled with while talking to your child at the same time, can be made when the kid is at home and not asleep.
With older children it is certainly easier to work at home, however, they will still require your attention. It is recommended to make a break for five-ten minutes every hour and spend it with your child. The best way to spend this free time is having a couple of physical exercises together.