Read time: 1 minute

Came across an excellent article on figuring out when your freelancing day is over by Nicole Dieker.

Check it out here.

It’s a super important topic when you freelance as it can be very easy to allow yourself to get overworked.

In essence, the article breaks down the different ways freelancers can structure their work day.

• Hours-based
• Project-based
• Income-based

Not every method will work for you and it may take time to adjust to your goals.

Dieker explains:

At first, it took me close to 50 hours a week to hit the $5,000-month income goal I’d set for myself. Then, as I began building relationships with higher-paying clients, it took fewer hours to earn the same amount of money.

Whatever way works for you, it’s important to stick to it. You need to be a bit strict on yourself. The moment you stop, you’re putting your work at risk.

But at the same time it is totally understandable that some freelancers, at the very beginning of their careers, accept work when they can get it and so it shapes their work schedule.

Again, Dieker explains what it was like for her when she first started:

Since I completed assignments as I received them, this meant that some days I’d have three hours of work to complete, and other days I’d have 12 hours

Personally I feel that freelancers should try to work their way out of this and strive for a more conventional way of working. Too many long workdays takes its toll.

I also found Dieker’s work routine quite interesting as well.

Currently, my freelance career runs on an hours-based workday; I begin at 7:30 a.m., work until 4 p.m., and take a 30-minute lunch break.

For me, this is a big plus when working freelance; the ability to choose your own working hours.

I find that I am far more productive in the mornings than later on in the day and so starting early for me is also a quite important.

Check out the whole of Nicole Dieker’s article here.

Your turn

What did you think of this post? Let me know! Leave a comment.
Read more posts here!