If you are a busy freelance writer, you know that if you’re not working, you’re not making money. Freelance writers get paid by completing assignments or projects rather than on an hourly rate in most cases, and so the fingers really need to fly along on the keyboard for freelance writers to earn a living. Yet few freelance writers have the ability to focus uninterrupted throughout the day to complete a solid day’s worth of work. Often, a typical workday is filled with not just one distraction but several. Here are some of the top time drains you may run into during the course of a workday, and how you can avoid them.
Spouse, Kids, or Roommates. Many freelance writers share their home with other people. In your home, you may share your space with a spouse, kids, or a roommate or two. When you work at home as freelance writers do, your office doubles as their home. There are bound to be some times when the TV is on too loud, when they have things they want to share with you, and so much more. Yet these distractions can interrupt your train of thought and really cut down on productivity. Your best option is to try to work as much as possible when these people are out of the house. It may not be ideal to work around the schedule of others. However, you cannot control other people but you can control yourself.
Stress. There are a lot of things a person may be stressed out about from time to time. In fact, on any given day, you may be worried about something or another. You may have financial concerns, be worried about lab tests you got done the other day, be stressed about dealing with the insurance company about a claim, or any number of other things. You can take some efforts to minimize stress in your life. It is known that getting extra sleep and regular physical activity can decrease stress. However, everyone will have things going on in their lives at one point or another. So often simply finding ways to block out other things while working is a great solution. It can take time and effort to learn how to do this, but the effort will be well-reward.
Technological Distractions. Technology sure does provide for many conveniences in our lives today. Between email, social media, and basic web surfing combined with apps, texting, and even old-fashioned phone calls, technology can really pull freelance writers away from their work. A great solution to consider is to put your phone out of hands’ reach. Then provide yourself with periodic work breaks every hour or two to check your email, respond to texts, and more during this time. After your little break, you can get back to work and focus fully on your writing assignments.
These are just a few of the many distractions that can pull you away from your work throughout the day or that otherwise can reduce your ability to focus. Consider taking time today to identify the biggest distractions in your life and take efforts to minimize them. You will find that your productivity level increases significantly.
