Comments on: The Freelancer's Daily Routine: Does it Exist?

By: Meryl Evans

Meryl Evans — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:25:18 +0000

Oh yes, I spend lunch time walking my dog (forces me to GET OFF the computer). I love doing that except when it’s cold, rainy, or both. I also sometimes do laundry at lunch — again, away from computer and guilt-free.

I work out most afternoons now. I’d love to start my day with a workout, but that’s when I am most efficient.

By: jtpratt

jtpratt — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:19:51 +0000

The schedule I have at home as a freelancer isn’t that much different from my old day job, just maybe more broken up with a longer lunch break. On the other hand – I don’t have any travel at all – w00t!

By: Anelly

Anelly — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:40:25 +0000

I’m sure that both freelancers and employees are scheduling their program. Of course there is a much more liberty in regard to the first category because they can choose to spent a day in a different way. The possibility that life to become a routine is decreasing.

By: Simon Mackie

Simon Mackie — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:25:21 +0000

I have a pretty regular schedule. 3 days per week I start by going to the gym to get some exercise and get me out of the house. Every day I start off with email, RSS and planning my day. I usually try to get WWD posts that have been submitted overnight edited and scheduled before lunch. Afternoon is usually writing. On non-gym days I usually try and head out to a cafe in the afternoon to get out of the house. Phone calls usually happen between 4-6pm due to timezones, then it’s editing any other posts that have come in.

By: Scott Blitstein

Scott Blitstein — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:45:50 +0000

I have fallen in to a routine of sorts with email, RSS reading and day planning in the morning from home. Breakfast and then off to my office.

Once at the office, it’s critical work first – providing updates, returning phone calls, etc..

My most productive time is the afternoon between 1-5 so that is when I devote time to extended project work or article research.

If I do work in the evening I try to have it be “me” work rather than client work but that isn’t always possible.

The beauty of all of this is that I can mix it up if a day isn’t going as planned, or I decide to meet a colleague for coffee. So while I do have a “schedule” it certainly isn’t set in stone by any means.

By: Meryl Evans

Meryl Evans — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:27:32 +0000

Mine is similar to GoEverywhereTeam. Start with email and work around everyone’s schedule. My schedule was all messed up a few weeks between sick kids and doctor’s appointments. I find that anything happening in the morning tends to throw the rest of the day off track. But if I have something that needs finishing, I get it done.

I know I do my best work in the morning, so I aim to do the bulk of that before lunch. Afternoon is for tedious tasks and I try to schedule my appointments in the afternoon before kids are out of school.

By: Emily Brackett

Emily Brackett — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:40:45 +0000

Adding kids to the mix has really changed things for me. Now, my work schedule has to fit around the childcare schedule. This means that I focus on certain tasks during traditional work hours (client calls, etc.) and am all over the place with everything else. I probably work about 30-35 hours a week, but it’s in much smaller blocks which is harder to manage.

By: Randall

Randall — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:23:08 +0000

I dream of having a friggin routine. Right now it’s “wake up, shower, eat breakfast,” and then all hell breaks loose.

By: Simon Mackie

Simon Mackie — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 16:34:59 +0000

Thanks Gemma, I should have spotted that. Now fixed.

By: GoEverywhere Team

GoEverywhere Team — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:36:11 +0000

I have a plan very similar to Molly. I wake up early to get emails out of the way, and often stay up late to clear up any lose ends. Working from home has its privileges, but I also have to work around everyone else’s schedule! Luckily even when I’m sitting at an after school activity, I can still get work done on my mobile phone. I just logon to my webtop and I can quickly send off a document to a colleague or catch up on email and social networking. It’s great having my documents and programs accessible anywhere I go!