How to Keep the Best of the Office Life as a Freelancer
Nearly five years ago, I said goodbye to the day job and hello to the work at home lifestyle. I’ve never regretted it. I don’t miss commuting, office politics, kowtowing to the boss or the lack of control over my time.
However, there are some things about office life that are worth keeping. A sense of structure, interaction with other people and a feeling of security are a few perks of the day job that many freelancers feel like they’ve lost. Here’s how you can have the best of both worlds.
Structuring Your Workday
Although office workers chafe at a 9 to 5 workday, there’s something to be said for knowing when the workday starts and when it ends. When you work at home, your workday tends to creep outward to fill any free time. You may find yourself writing from 6am one morning to 2am the next. Long term, that’s not good for your health or your relationships.
Think about creating a structure for your workday that fits around your other priorities. It doesn’t have to be traditional, but it gives you a start and end time and separates work life from home life. My work day starts about 6 am and ends at around 8pm, but I take time out to get my daughter ready for school, to have a lunch break with my work at home hubby and to spend some time with my daughter after school.
Critical Feedback
When you work in an office, there’s always someone there who can look at your latest project and be a critical friend. Everyone needs someone to bounce ideas off, and it’s easy to find those people in a large office. Don’t worry; you can find them online too.
There are lots of forums for writers, designers and other work at home professionals where you can show off your stuff and asked for an informed opinion. Though it may seem strange at first, you’ll soon be talking to these people as if you have known them all your life, which brings me to the next point …
The Water Cooler/Coffee Machine
The third important aspect of working in an office is bonding with your colleagues around the water cooler or coffee machine. It’s a chance to talk about things other than work in a relaxed and non-judgmental setting. When you are working on your own, that can be the hardest thing to replicate, but it can be done.
When you make contact with people on blogs and forums, you’ll soon find them cropping up all over the place. I connect with a lot of writers on Plurk and sometimes Twitter, and the conversation ranges from stuff about kids, to hair, to movies. This is an essential part of human interaction and you don’t have to miss out just because you work at home.
The Lunch Hour
Remember those times at the office when you would plan to have lunch with colleagues at a fab new place round the corner? Or take your lunch to the park so you could bask in the sunshine? Well, those are two things that you don’t have to give up when you work at home. Check around to see if any of the people you connect with online live near you. If they do and you’re feeling social, arrange to meet them for lunch. It will be just like taking a lunch break with one of your office colleagues. And it’s even easier for you to plan lunch with your friends and loved ones.
Since you can work anywhere, you can take your laptop to a beautiful location, pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the beautiful weather. Or simply decide that once every so often, you’ll reward yourself with a long lunch hour with people who are important to you.
Pay And Bonuses
One of the things that friends say they miss is a steady paycheck and bonuses. Even as a freelancer you can have the best of both worlds. Steady pay for freelancers means repeat business from regular clients. Although I am never quite sure of the volume of work I will get, I write for three sites that provide steady work throughout the year. If other work is in short supply, I can increase the amount of work I take from these agencies, so that I’m sure of having a minimum amount coming in.
As a freelancer you do have an expense account – the only trouble is that you are the one paying it off, so that’s no fun at all. But you can really score with bonuses and you can get them more than once a year. Just as office workers get performance related pay, you can reward yourself when you land a new contract or complete a new project, especially if you manage to get paid a bit more than you thought. (It does happen sometimes). Take some money and spend it on something you really want. You won’t miss the office at all.
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Nice Article Sharon, I can give you my 100% vote for Coffee Machine as i personally cant do or end without a nice cup of coffee.
Also as a freelancer i like the idea of “Pay And Bonuses” too.
DKumar M.
Hey! Thanks for the pointers. Am just starting out as a freelance web designer and it hasn’t been easy. The 6 am to 2 am thing is so me! Great article. (added by Mobile using Mippin)
Sharon,
What excellent advice! I was just thinking the other day (in the midst of my design sessions) how it would be much nicer for me if I scheduled out my days to put a barrier on my time.
This is so good! Thank you very much for your insight. This helps a ton! Bookmarking this page right this minute!
BP
I understand this all and really live on the fact of a structured day….. but really up at 6 am? I used to work for a design studio that started at 10. That is when i begin at home now. I really don’t know how you do it
-Rich
Life as a freelancer (working from home) can be great…
1. I don’t have to listen to mangers saying “good, good”, “let’s touch base”, “blue sky thinking” etc. etc.
2. I don’t have to listen to inane telephone conversations about putting the cat out
3. I can skip to the gym anytime I feel like it without asking permission
4. I get to choose my work
But I guess the downside is….
1. Christmas parties aren’t much fun. Just me, a beer and a party hat.
I worked at home for a year and tried hard to separate ‘home’ and ‘work’ by using the spare room as an office, and maintained a regular work schedule (9-7pm). But being a graphic designer (working with 2 widescreens and a tower) I couldn’t really go and work in a cafe on a whim (freelance writers, I envy you!).
I found that after a 5 day week at home, I had rarely left the house, and depending on weekend plans I may not have left the house much all weekend either! In addition, my home wasn’t becoming a relaxing sanctuary, as ‘work’ was only footsteps away.
So I took back an element of office life I hadn’t realised I missed so much – I rented a workspace in a shared office. Its in the CBD, which means that there is always something to do and see if the inspiration isn’t flowing or if I just need to stretch my legs. Sure I have to share a space with other people and there is inevitably politics that go along with that, but on the up-side, I don’t have to work on projects with them, and I can still come and go as I please. There are still all the freedoms of being a freelancer, but my work is more separate now, and my time ‘at the office’ is more focused and (hopefully) more productive.
Great tips,
Thanks Sharon
calvin-t.co.uk
The lunch hour tip is really essential for your sanity, and why not use it as a business networking opportunity? Shoot the breeze with other people in your industry, and meet up with sister industry freelancers to see if there is any crossover. Simply drop them an email with a link to your portfolio, and say “I think there might be some crossover lets meet up for a starbucks”
You too can be doing power lunches in a freelance, bo-ho, i-love-my-job, life is fun, way.
Everyday the lines blur even more. Home… work… It can make you crazy. I live and work in a 900 SQ FT house with my stay at home wife and my 1 year old. There are no doors in the house and the office is in the dining room. Though I love it, it certainly poses its challenges. I do get to see my son all day every day so I’m pretty happy. But when times get stressful its like a plague. I’d love some advice on how to control stress a bit better in a smal lhome office environment….(get an office right?)
When I first started freelancing I gloried in the idea of being part of the “bathrobe economy.” I was going to work when it suited me and how. But after the first six months, I found myself in a deep depression. I was either working too much or not enough and couldn’t figure out what time was mine. Applying structure to the day saved my sanity. I realized I was missing two things: the ritual of going to and from work, and having office mates. Now I treat going to work the way any employed person does: I shower, I dress for it, and I show up on time. Same thing with leaving work: I shut down the computer, put away files, turn off the lights, then hit the gym. As for office mates – I took the old TV and set it up in my office. When I start to feel lonely, I turn it on to a talk show station, and keep the volume low so I don’t get involved in the show. I call it my “electric co-worker.” It really does help. (Of course I talk to real people, too.)
Another bonus about having a work day: clients love it. They like to know when they can reach you. I know some of us are night owls or early birds, but keep in mind we’re a customer-service industry. Make it easy for them to get you.
Great article. Thanks Sharon!
Thank you for sharing these tips, Sharon. One thing I haven’t done is get out much and I’ve been working to change that. I’ve ventured out to a local coffee shop a few times and I’m also thinking about traveling to a writing conference in a couple of months. It’s definitely something I have to do more of!
Great post! I gave it a stumble.
*smiles*
Michele
I’ve never been accused of being a fashionista, so this whole “dress for work” thing eludes me. But, in almost 15 years of self-employment, I have moved beyond the wearing of pajamas to work.
However, I think this tendency runs in the family. My father is a research engineer. Works from home (with the lab in the basement). It’s an ongoing family challenge to make sure that he doesn’t leave the house wearing his lab clothes.
If you’re not familiar with the concept of lab clothes, think of what you’d be wearing if you were painting your house.
It’s just a matter of getting out of the house for me. Pack my laptop and go off. And it’s better to take just work and nothing else otherwise I’ll start with the entertainment, and when my coffee is done, I realize I have done nothing!
Another way is coworking! I am really in love with the idea. I am starting a coworking space in Sacramento and I plan to rent one desk just for me! The idea to be among other creatures of work is very attractive. I also like that it means I have to get out of the house. Also having to pay the rent is kind of a driver to work efficiently!
I love the “Pay and Bonuses” paragraph!
Great tips as you pin pointed most of the small issues we are dealing with when we decide to go independent. I decided to go independent not too long ago and as weird as it sounds, I found myself dropping a tear when I was watching a show we have on national television in the US called The Office as I missing bullying and having the social life of work.
Thanks Sharon!
I also highly recommend going out to breakfast a couple of days a week if possible.
Leaving the house for lunch really ends up knocking a big hole in my day, so frankly I don’t do it too often. It’s fun, and I do it with old work friends, but it always ends up taking 2 hours when you factor in driving and parking and driving back.
But I find that if I get up, get dressed and cleaned up, head to a local family restaurant, read a magazine and have some eggs, I’m much more ready to come home and hit it. I’ve had a break from the house, forgot about work and home, I’m full of good protein and caffeine. Just generally charged and had a change of scenery.
Great read Sharon!
I think I miss the background noise the most. Hearing others in the office running about talking about this or that. I find that setting up at a coffee shop once a week kinda fills that void for me. I’ve also read some good tips over at graphicdesigntwist.com.
I’ll have to try out twitter for the water cooler effect, I’ve been hearing that from a lot of people.
Cheers!
9-5 job provides no security any more! People get today salary cuts, not the bonuses! Plus quarterly reviews, so that company could justify letting you go without severance pay.
Thanks, Sharon, for presenting an extremely overlooked aspect of freelancing!
Lots of people make a mad dash for a work-at-home existance, thinking it will be an absolute utopia. But once they start sitting at home every day, they start to realize how many positives from the workplace they need to replace.
The two that hit me especially hard were structure and interaction.
With the lack of a structured quitting time to focus me on getting things done, I found it easy to divide my focus between the task at hand and a half-dozen other future options that I should have filed away as separate projects, each with their own designated times and focus. That was what led me to the 6 AM to 2 AM workdays you described (with me usually accomplishing less than I had accomplished in the office in a 7 AM-3 PM day).
The lack of interaction was probably even a bigger killer. If you’re the only one expressing an opinion on your ideas, you always get exactly what you want, but you never get anything better than what you want. The validation of bouncing an idea off of someone else and seeing them validate your idea frees you from that nagging doubt that maybe there’s a better way of doing this.
Similarly, bouncing an idea off someone else and having them bounce back an even BETTER idea puts you that much further ahead in your work.
I almost chucked it all and went back to the confines of the office just to get that interaction back. Fortunately, I found like-minded people to interact with online.
Good article and I agree that having a set time as a freelancer still helps out greatly.
Good tips… I’ve seen and experienced all of this. I think there is a lot to be said for physically interacting with other work related / talented individuals. There is something that happens there the online world can never replace, and I’m completely convinced of that. I just worry that people think the same caliber of work can be created working alone with a cable connected to other people. I started off freelancing with that very mindset, and don’t minimize the positive elements in that, but think alot of us would save a lot of time creating a workflow that balances more in person collaboration with online communication. That’s what I’m striving for more now. The reality is ideas can just get communicated / morphed / and physically created much more quickly in person. People might argue the power in web conferencing… which albeit is wonderful, but you could never have that person feel the specific texture of the paper in your hand. Haha.. this is sounding like a rant now. Oops.. I’m just happy about my new resolution to create more physically collaborative environments as a freelancer, that’s all!
@D Kumar M – a nice cup of coffee is essential, though I sometimes have tea
@Okal – I had to give up the 6am to 2am thing eventually, though sometimes, like tonight, I’m still working late.
@Bill; Glad you liked it
@Richard: I have a built in alarm clock that comes in handy – I think it came from sleepless nights when my daughter was young
@Patternhead – I hear you on No1. If you get to know other freelancers, then you can have a freelancers’ Christmas party, which is much more fun.
@Tess I’ve often wondered about using a shared office and I can see where it would make it easier to separate home from work.
@Calvin ‘ thanks
@Recession marketing Monkey – power lunches, freelance-style? Why not? I do enjoy meeting for coffee with fellow freelancers and enjoying the fact that we can do it mid morning
@Andrew Bossola – yes, that can be difficult. It’s grown easier as my daughter has grown. One year olds have no concept of parents needing to work. I sympathise.
@Margaret – I love having a structured workday. Even if it occasionally bleeds into ‘me-time’, it helps to know when it starts and ends. I still love the bathrobe part, though
@Michele – thanks for the stumble
@Martha – ok, I hate to admit it, but I have occasionally left the house in something that I should have kept indoors. It tends to happen when I’m preoccupied with a work issue.
@Emilie- I believe in rewarding myself. I know a couple of people who use the local coffee shop as their office, complete with free WiFi
@David Morin – I know The Office, but I don’t miss the bullying at all. Sometimes keeping in contact with others is about making the effort, which can be difficult when you’re bogged down by work.
@Andy Tanguay – I guess it’s all about finding a structure that works for you. I work best in the early morning, so going out for lunch can be a nice way to recharge (or end the workday)
@Chase – My hubby works from home (in a separate room) and occasionally I hear him on the phone or playing music. I’m not sure that I need the background noise, though.
@Jessica – you are right, though I think that provides opportunities for freelancers
@Jeff – having a network of trusted friends is great. I’ve come to realise that not all my ideas are good the first time and I may need some help with refining them
@Adam – thanks
@James Lyttle – funnily enough I’ve been talking to my network about collaborating on something more interactive. We’ll see how it works out.
You’re not the first to suggestion structure to my day or as they called it “bounderies” Because of articles like this I have decided to post my available working hours which are actualy non-business hours. They’re in the evenings from 4:30 to 11:00 CST which makes me available to do projects on an as needed basis.
Yes, yes.
Maintaining social interaction is the most important thing a freelancer needs to remember to incorporate in their new lifestyle.
Great article!
Thank u!
Nice article. This has been the biggest adjustment for me as a new freelancer. I really need to force myself to build a better daily structure. Thanks for the advice!
@Collette: I haven’t posted my working hours anywhere because I work with people around the globe. Generally my hours work well for people in the Eastern or Atlantic timezones, while I only work half the day for people in the UK and Europe. The real difficulty is with talking to people in Dubai, because their work day ends as I get up and vice versa.
Great article.
I love freelancing more because of the bonuses and compliments that most clients give when you have done a great job for them.