Most people go freelance for the freedom. You set your own hours, pick your clients, and work from wherever you want. After a while, though, a lot of freelancers notice that the freedom has turned into being on call all the time.
When your home is your office and your phone is your inbox, weekdays and weekends start to run together. These are the habits that help pull them apart again.
Nobody tells you to stop
In a regular job, the office closes, coworkers head home, and eventually a boss tells you to go home too. Freelancers don’t get any of those signals. Many end up working more hours than they did at a job, and they feel guilty taking time off because there’s always one more thing they could be doing.
1. Separate where you work from where you live
This is the biggest one. You don’t need a fancy office, but working somewhere other than your house draws a real line between work and the rest of your life. Going to work puts your head in work mode, and leaving lets you leave the work behind.
A coworking space gives you that separation without the cost of renting your own office.
2. Set work hours and keep them
You can answer email at midnight. That doesn’t mean you should. Pick your hours and treat them like someone is checking. Block your off hours on the calendar, set an alarm for the end of the day, and give yourself a short shutdown routine: close the laptop, clear the desk, and walk out.
3. Batch your messages
Checking email and texts all day breaks up your focus and drags work into your evenings. Check at set times instead, maybe 9, 1, and 5. Turn notifications off after hours, and tell clients when they can expect to hear back. Most clients mainly want to know what to expect.
4. Protect your weekends
Doing “just a few things” on Saturday has a way of eating the whole day. If you have to work on a weekend, give it a set window, and keep at least one day completely off.
5. Take real vacations
Freelancers are bad at taking time off, and burnout catches up eventually. Plan vacations ahead, tell clients early, and actually disconnect while you’re gone. Your business will still be there when you get back.
Why a workspace helps
Having a place to go gives your day a natural start and end. You get more done because less is pulling at you, and when you leave, the work stays there. Being around other people also helps with the isolation that comes with working for yourself. We wrote more about that in the benefits of a coworking space for freelancers.
Plans at hotDesksSBY
Our individual memberships are month to month. Basic is $45 a month for one day a week, Part-Time is $65 a month for up to three days a week, and Full-Time is $130 a month for every day of the week. Every plan includes 24/7 card access to our space in downtown Salisbury. The details are on our membership page, and if you’d like to see the space first, you can schedule a tour.