How an Independent Worker Can Establish a Routine

The best part of working on your own is creating your own schedule. But making your schedule also means you have to take responsibility for your work. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, overschedule or forget things when you don’t have a routine to keep you in line.

This is why independent workers must create structure in their day-to-day lives. If you’re a freelancer looking for new ways to stay organized, here’s how an independent worker can establish a routine.

Write It Down

In the digital age, it’s easy to jot down little notes on our phones and computers. But when you start taking down all of your important notes on your devices they can easily get lost. Whether it’s closing a tab or just forgetting where you stored everything, it’s easy to lose track.

This is why writing down important information is a great way to start a routine as an independent worker. Once you start writing things down in a notebook, you can be sure that they will all be in the same place.

1. Set A Schedule

If you ever worked in an office, you would be required to be in at a certain time and leave at a certain time. Even though you create your schedule you should set specific work hours for yourself.

When you work freelance you can work wherever and whenever you want. But if you let your work hours flow late into the night, you’ll never have time for anything else in your life. Setting a schedule is another step towards creating a great routine as an independent worker.

Outline Your Day

Now that you have a set working schedule, it’s time to break it down even further. When you work on your own, even if you have dedicated work hours it’s still easy to get distracted.

Take your schedule and start creating chunks dedicated to different types of work. For example, in the morning you can set aside the first hour of your day to answer emails. Then, the next two hours are for meeting clients. After that, you can create a chunk just to work. This way you are using your time wisely and still sticking to a routine.

Use Project Management Tools

When it comes to project management there are plenty of tools that can help you make your routine. Once you set your schedule, you can add reminders into your project management software to keep you on top of your routine. You can also use this to create different tasks and deadlines to keep you even more organized.

Project management tools don’t have to just help you throughout the workday. You can use them to send you reminders, schedule meetings, and set deadlines and goals for yourself.

Sometimes when you are in the thick of it as a freelancer it can be easy to miss the bigger picture. To utilize these tools to make sure that while you’re getting work done, you still know what goals you are moving towards for you and your business.

Set Aside Time for Yourself

When you work as a freelancer you may overbook your day with client and collaborator meetings. While these are important in running a business, it is equally important to take time for yourself. Whether this is creating a chunk in your day to cook a big breakfast or take a short walk it can be important to add time for yourself into your routine.

You can also try scheduling meeting times with yourself to go over the tasks you need to get done uninterrupted. We all need time to feel centered and take a break.

Working independently can be stressful, so you can save yourself a little trouble by not worrying about benefits. There are many different affordable benefits that you can tap into as a freelance worker.

Conclusion

When you work as a freelancer you can break out of the 9-5 and follow your passions. But working alone means the only one holding you accountable, is you. That’s why it is important to create sustainable routines as an independent worker. When everything is scheduled, you’ll have more time to actually do your work and move your business further.