If you find it difficult to focus on the task you are doing now, and your productivity is going down, you need to boost it with some tips we give you here!
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How Can a Freelance Writer Boost Productivity?
People need to measure everything in order to assess and estimate the results. When it comes to the measure units of our work, we often use the word productivity. Basically, it means the efficiency of our efforts. In the past, however, this word was used to describe the ability of livestock to give offspring.
Now we use productivity to even estimate the work efficiency of people who have creative jobs: writers, artists, project managers, etc. If you are a freelance writer, you know that productivity is crucial in your work because you need to take control of your time and efforts. In this article, we talk about productivity for freelance writers.
Enemies of Productivity
To begin with, let’s find out what are the worst enemies of productivity freelance writers can face.
Internet Surfing
Every text a freelance writer creates requires research that is usually conducted on the Internet. When you google something you need for your job, you cannot help but check your Facebook page, and that is where you get lost for hours.
Leaving the Tasks Until the Last Moment
It often seems that you still have time to deliver your task, but it is hard to make everything urgently. For example, one of the best essay writing services PaperCheap.co.uk indicates that the majority of orders they receive are urgent because people have the tendency of leaving everything ‘until the better time.’
Multitasking
Whatever you find on the Internet, multitasking is the worst enemy of productivity. If you don’t focus on one task, the time you spend on it expands, so you end up spending more time multitasking. It is difficult for our brains to deal with more than one task at the same time.
Ways of Boosting Productivity
Now that you know about the enemies of productivity for freelance writers, let us see what we can do to boost it.
Master Time Management
It’s a long shot, but it will definitely improve your efficiency. Time management will make your routine more organized. With a plan and list of tasks, it is easier to cope with tasks, even creative ones.
Here are some videos on time management than you will find useful:
- Laura Vanderkam, How to gain control of your free time;
- Brad Aeon, The Philosophy of Time Management;
- Rory Vaden, How To Multiply Your Time.
Say Good-Bye to Social Networks
This tip works immediately when you try it: if you log off your accounts until the task is done, you will see that the time you spent on writing is shorter than usual. After a while, you will develop a habit of putting your phone away while you work.
You can use some help at the beginning. For example, ask someone you live with to keep your phone away from you. If you are home alone, try downloading applications that help people focus, like Forest.
Organize Your Workspace
It may not seem essential, but the workspace directly influences your productivity. Of course, the ability to work from the coach is one of the main advantages of being a freelance writer, but it isn’t good for your productivity.
Make sure your workspace is comfortable for sitting for a long time, has everything you need to work (like the charger for a laptop), and is equipped with supplements (water and snacks). If you need to do handwritten notes sometimes, put a pen and some paper slips on the table.
It is also great to put your organizer on the wall, so you can see the tasks and the deadlines.
Don’t Take Many Tasks
We always think that we can handle more than we actually can, and it also affects our productivity. It is harder to concentrate when you know that there is a pile of tasks ahead of you and you need to work fast.
Estimate the time you spend on one task, and sum up the average number of tasks you can deliver in, let us say, a week. Then, subtract 10% of tasks, and you get your weekly amount of work. If at the end of the week you see that you have time and desire to work more, you can amplify the work volume, but do not make it a habit.
Set Up the Priorities
People tend to approach the tasks that are interesting for them before the boring ones, even if the latter are urgent. That is why freelance writers must set up the task priorities according to the deadlines, not their interests. It is easier to work on the tasks you judge as boring when you are not pressed for time.
These were our five tips on how to boost productivity for freelance writers. Follow them and become more efficient at your job!
