One of the benefits of freelancing is the freedom and flexibility it brings you – you’re free to work whenever suits you and you’re given more freedom on the projects you undertake. But despite this, striking the right work-life balance can be hard and you can often find yourself becoming overworked and unproductive.
To help you better find your work-life balance, we’re sharing some of our top tips.
Switch off When You’re Not Working
Emails and messages can become a distraction when you’re not working, making it hard to relax and enjoy your off-time. That’s why should get into the routine of turning notifications off at a set time each evening when you are finished with work for the day. There are plenty of apps you can download which will integrate with your inbox and allow you to turn off email notifications for a set number of hours.For example, Quiet for Gmail could offer a quick and easy solution for you.
If you adopt the mind-set that your messages don’t have to be answered immediately it can help you to establish a healthy work-life balance and allow you to unwind when you finish for the night. Remember: it’s unlikely that anything will be so urgent that it can’t wait until the morning for you to respond.
Get into a Routine and Stick to It
The ability to work to your own schedule is one of the biggest perks of self-employment, but this luxury means it can often be easy to work long hours and not know when to finish for the day.
Setting hours can help to make the distinction between work and leisure time more easily. Just like the standard 9-5 workday, establishing your own work schedule will allow you a better work-life balance and will help you to determine when you should work and take time off.
Get Help Where You Can
Just because you work for yourself doesn’t mean that you always need to work alone. If there are areas where you believe that you need help and assistance, don’t be afraid to reach out.
According to research by SJD Accountancy, only 7% of contractors and freelancers employ a professional to help with their finances. Despite this, almost 70% admitted that doing their own accounts was a source of stress. This illustrates the importance of asking for help with some of your workload. This doesn’t necessarily have to be with anything as significant as with your taxes – even hiring a helping hand to deal with your admin could do wonders for your work-life balance.
Keep Your Work Separate
Working as a freelancer allows you the opportunity to work from home, but this means that it can be hard to see where work ends and home begins. It is likely that you will spend more hours in an office than a company employee, so you should prepare your home workspace.
If possible, designate a specific room in your home to work and leave once your work is finished. If you can’t spare a whole room, try to keep your work devices off and out of sight once you’re finished for the day.
Author’s Bio
Judy lees is a super-connector with AYC Web Solutions who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.
