Whether your One Woman Shop is one year or one day old, there’s a lot that goes into running your business. There are the behind-the scenes tasks that keep your business moving, there’s the client work that brings in the money, there’s the self-care that makes it all possible. And while no two solopreneurs’ days look the same and there are differing takes about what’s best, one thing’s for certain: working from home is a whole different ball game.
I used to be a cubicle dweller until recently, when I decided to take the leap and become a full-time freelancer. Going through the transition from office life to working from home, I’ve learned some things about how to succeed in your home office, and how to help streamline your One Woman Shop into a blossoming career.
1. Get organized
Working from home (or from wherever you have a WiFi signal) means you have an unconventional work space. But just because your new environment is unconventional doesn’t mean it should be messy...
In order to master working from home, you’ll need to get organized and keep your things in order. That means everything: from your appointments and meetings to emails and documents, as well as the office supplies in your work space. Here are a few tips:
- Make folders on your computer for each and every client, project or publication. Even better: keep these folders in Google Drive or Dropbox so you can access them from anywhere if you’re a frequent user of multiple devices.
- Get in the habit of renaming all documents and photos specifically, and saving them in the correct folders.
- Buy yourself a good planner and keep track of due dates, meetings and tasks.
- If you deal heavily with social media, invest in a good scheduling system like Buffer, Hootsuite, or Edgar.
- Although everything today is predominantly digital, you might benefit from having binders or physical folders to keep your contracts, agreements, or research in one place.
- Keep your workspace clear, with only the essentials on your desk. Less distraction = greater focus.
There is nothing more unprofessional than having an unorganized space. It’s entirely possible that no one will ever see your home workspace, but the clutter there will show up in your attitude and work.
2. Make a schedule
This might be the most important tip I can give you. Create a set schedule for yourself for each and every week.* This might vary depending on the type of work you do, but each day should follow a similar pattern. Perhaps it’s emails and social media in the morning, writing your articles after lunch, graphic design work in the afternoon, and so forth. Break up your work into types and assign them to different parts of the day. (Editor’s note: batching works wonders here!) Don’t save your day design for the morning: you’ll spend far too much time scrambling to organize your tasks, and most likely feel overwhelmed at when you’re going to possibly fit everything in.
If your brain processes that Task 1 is to be done in the morning and Task 2 & 3 is for the early afternoon, then you’ll have a better approach to tackling your day.
*This doesn’t apply to only your work-related tasks. Since you work from home, it’s easy to lose a normal routine. Figure out everything from when you want to take lunch; when to workout; when to just enjoy the nice weather. You don’t work a normal 9-5, so you have the liberty to make a custom schedule.
3. Stick to it!
If you don’t stick to your schedule, you’ll never have a grasp on time management and you certainly won’t have a healthy work/life balance. And you’ll have just wasted your time making it!
It’s easy to forget about a lunch break or stay in your pajamas until 12 noon every day. There have been days where I’m so consumed with my work that I look up and it’s already 3:00pm and I haven’t ate since 7:00am. It’s not healthy to sit at your dining room table desk for hours on a laptop. Yes, you’re working from home. But that doesn’t mean you have to work the entire time you’re home.
Stick to your new schedule. Or, at the very least, assign the tasks that you’ll do each day, and then delegate them based on your energy.
4. Rally your team
Since you work from home and you’re not in an office each day with coworkers and employees, you have to make sure you effectively manage everyone on your “team.” Whether it’s multiple clients, interns, accountability partners or even just your pets, whoever you interact with on a daily basis becomes part of that team.
How can you rally them around you? First, make your schedule known. If you only answer emails in the afternoons, let your clients know that. Keep in mind that your clients might not see or speak to you every day, so, where applicable, send “weekly update” emails or remind them of the timeline you’re working on. Your clients are running around on their own schedules, and you can’t assume they’ll remember what their freelancer needs. Friendly reminders can help keep everyone in check, and show that you’re organized and on top of your game.
Celebrate the flexibility
You can only truly enjoy the flexibility earned and master working from home when you get organized, make a schedule (stick to it!) and keep track of your team. Go get ‘em, ladies!
What else do you incorporate into your work-from-home life that sets you up for success as a freelancer?
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- How to Master Working from Home as a Freelancer - September 4, 2015
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