“One day, offices will be a thing of the past”
The wedding bells had just rung. We had moved to a new city and I was having a tough time finding new work. That is how it all started. Soon after, I decided to give my writing spree a chance to grow and started a freelancing business in Upwork.
Things have been great so far. Yes, there were rejections and failures, but I was enjoying every bit of it. I spent hours researching, exploring, reading, writing, and improvising. It felt like ‘fun had just begun’.
I don’t remember exactly, it was around 8 months that I had been working as a freelancer when suddenly, things started going downhill and I realized I was losing motivation.
The mornings were awful. I felt aimless as soon as my husband left for work and in spite of having multiple projects queued up, I simply didn’t want to open my workstation now and again. I slept more, ate more, cried more, watched television for hours, wound up crankier, and had to ask clients for extensions. I was doing everything that was made me feel worse.
I knew that something wasn’t right with me. I was ready to make things right, however, didn’t know where to begin. After a few good reads and long discussions with family and friends, I finally discovered my method for beating the loneliness and demotivation as a freelancer. It was only a little change in my daily schedule that made all the difference.
Related Posts:
Here is how I did it, and you can do it too.
I went out every day
It really helped. I started my work early (by 9 am) and went out after lunch. I took a short walk nearby, bought some groceries when I needed to, got myself a coffee and came home within an hour, resuming work thereafter. I also joined yoga classes to maintain my physical fitness. Taking a break from work did two things to me – I was more motivated to complete a major chunk of my day’s work before lunch, and I got re-energized when I started working after coming back.
I worked outside
Once I decided to explore and enjoy the benefits of freelancing, the loneliness started to subside. Twice a week or so, I would take my laptop and go outside for work. I worked at the beach on sunny days, at the library or my favorite coffee shop. Changing the work atmosphere increased my attention and I could accomplish my tasks with much ease.
I communicated often with my clients
It truly helps the freelancing business when you are receptive to your customers. Speaking with my customers helped me pick up clearness over the work and fabricate a decent working compatibility. I was accessible for facetime or voice calls and responded within 24 hours. My customers were glad which encouraged me to work harder and keep their trust unblemished.
I delivered before the deadline
I continued driving myself to finish the work at hand before the deadline, with the goal that I got more time for myself and my family. Each time I met a due date, it felt like an accomplishment that helped me to hone this without fail. I discovered self-reward to be an awesome thought for curbing the loneliness. Now and again, I remunerated myself with little treats like a cheat feast or an unwinding spa for effectively finishing a task inside the time period.
No work on weekends
To beat the monotony of working from home, I tied it in a time-frame. I worked right around 7 hours every day and made a point to complete the week’s assignments by Friday night. I delivered my undertakings before the end of the week and then there was the entire weekend for me to appreciate. Returning to chip away on Monday wasn’t that terrible any longer.
I found my niche
I had found my niche when I began outsourcing and this is something that I would advise all my fellow freelancers out there. Discover your specialty of work, your specialized topic, something that you know you are great at. Working in a particular niche is constantly rewarding as you are doing what you adore. It brings a feeling of satisfaction from inside, and you will achieve success much sooner than you anticipate.
Building career as a freelancer requires the same amount of exertion and devotion as any other profession. So keep up your awesome work, de-stress yourself as often as you need to, have a great social life, and appreciate the flexibility freelancing offers you.
Evaluate Yourself
- Have you ever experienced loneliness as a freelancer working from home?
- Were you able to motivate yourself to overcome the loneliness?
- What strategies do you follow to keep yourself motivated as a freelancer?
