I love being able to work from home, but it’s been a big adjustment from working in an office. There are fewer meetings and no one knocks on my door to bug me throughout the day, but there are distractions of another kind. The internet kind…
I can’t avoid the internet completely because my job is the internet. I need Google to do research for blog posts and for the copy writing work I do for clients, I need email to stay in touch with my mom and my clients, and I need social media to promote blog posts.
So even though I can’t turn off the internet when I need to hunker down and get things done, I have come up with some really helpful freelance productivity tips to boost my efficiency. I’ve been thinking about writing a post like this for a long time, but I kept stalling. Will it even be credible if I’m still working it all out myself? But aren’t we all just figuring life out day by day?
So without further ado…
Productivity Tips for Freelancers!
Tips for those who just need a little nudge to stay on track:
If you work from home, keep your work in your office. When you’re not working, leave your computer at your workspace to create separation between work time and leisure time. If you don’t have an office with a door you can close, try to designate a small corner just for your work, ideally with a table and chair.
When you’re working, put your phone on airplane mode in another room. If you can’t do that because of kids or other potential emergency situations, do this:
- Turn off all your push notifications. And I mean ALL.
- Add important people as “favorites”, then change your ringer settings so that only calls from people saved as favorites will ring through.
- While working, keep your phone on mute and flipped upside down so any popups on the lock screen won’t distract you.
Remove social media bookmarks from your browser bookmarks bar. If you need social media for your job, edit the bookmark’s URL so that it directs you to your work-related social media page when you click on it. Here’s how:
Here’s how to edit your bookmarks for optimum social media productivity
Turn off desktop notifications for everything. Yes, everything, including email. You don’t need them. If someone needs you that urgently, they can call.
Decide on an email checking frequency (every hour on the hour, every two hours, etc.) and stick to it. I’m watching you. 👀
Get organized in general. Here’s a post where I shared my favorite organization apps like Todoist for keeping track of tasks and TripIt for organizing travel plans.
Hardcore tips for incorrigible internet addicts like myself:
Designate specific email checking time slots and only check it during those slots. I mean it!
And la pièce de résistance…install and use SelfControl app. This app is indispensable for the times you really mean business and need to limit your access to internet-based distractions.
In the settings, you tell SelfControl which sites to block, then you set a timer for as long as desired. Until the timer runs out, the app blocks your internet access to the blacklisted sites, and there’s NO WAY to get around it. This app is the answer for those times your brain just feels like hopping around on social media when you really need to get things done. Highly, highly recommend it.
The SelfControl blacklist is on the left (preset, but you can add or subtract sites as needed) and the timer is on the right.
SelfControl is for Mac only, but here’s a Chrome extension version and an alternative called Cold Turkey that works for both Mac and Windows (though I haven’t tried these).
So tell me, what do you do to help combat the allure of the internet while you’re working?
It is so hard to stay focused when on the internet. Next thing you know, I’m watching cat videos on YouTube. ahh!
I love self-control for Mac. I don’t use it as much as I should and need to work on that. Thank you for the tips. – yolonda
This is my issue sometimes. I start off eager to finish all my deliverables and then I get tired and say, “I will browse my facebook for a few minutes – then I find out it is half an hour passed already. Thanks for these tips! I will have to change my game from now on.
Great tips! I can’t work in my office, however. It feels too isolating so I work in my living room. However, I do use the tip regarding checking email & social media at set times. Makes life so much easier.
Oh my gosh, I have got to change the way I do things. I really need to work on working in the office part of our house only and not my bedroom lol.
I work with two computer monitors so it is so easy for me to get distracted. I will have to disconnect the other one and just FOCUS. Thanks for the reminder and the awesome tips.
I so need to do all of this. I get distracted quite easily when I’m working. 90% of my job is on social media so it does happen often.
Preach! I love that people think that when you work from a home office it is some kind of ‘work utopia’ it’s NOT and there are just as many distractions. The internet as vital as it is, you are right, can sometimes be a great distraction to productivity, these are great tips!
Yes, it can be difficult to handle all those distractions. I love the idea of turning off the notfiications on the desktop. I am always getting distracted by an incoming email.
I’d be bad at working at home because I’m like a magpie – oooh, something shiny, something shiny. It’s good I spent my working days in an office.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing your best practices! I think that is one of the biggest detriments to working at home alone, you don’t see how your coworkers are getting their stuff done efficiently to borrow their best practices! Always be learning. Always be improving!
These are such great tips! I have trouble staying productive when I am working from home.
Now that is what app I need! I get side tracked so often, I do use my calendar, but that does not always keep me on task. I could use the chrome extension since I don’t have a Mac.
It is crazy what a distraction the internet is!!!! I need to get this app!!
Great tips! It’s amazing how easy it is to get distracted and zap your productivity. Even doing things that you feel are good, you can start working around in circles, leaving your original plan far away!
These are definitely some great tips when it comes to working from home. I find that I get distracted with my games on my phone.
I don’t think I could work full time from home, but kudos to those who do!! I am waaaay too much of a procrastinator and wouldn’t get a thing done!!
Oh, I’m totally guilty of going down a rabbit hole when I’m supposed to be working. I need to try that bookmarking tip! It’s genius!
Great tips. Thanks for posting
So helpful! I know I get distracted so easily, and those small distractions can waste a whole day. You really have to learn to focus and make sure nothing gets in the way. Great tips!
That is so true, great tips! I get distracted all the time with my phone, the dogs…oh gosh, I need to turn it all off and focus!
It is so hard to concentrate when you work from home. I’m going to have to use these tips.
I agree with everyone that it is so hard to stay focus when working from home. But thanks to this tips, I will surely follow this to be more productive while working from home.
This is great! Thank you for all of the wonderful ideas. I find myself getting a bit distracted so if I am on Facebook I only have it on the page of my fan page OR if I am doing tasks. I will check out the places you mentioned for the to do list etc. I really appreciate your post! It is so easy to get distracted.
Definitely agree with all of these tips – Self Control seems really useful… especially on days when you have to be extra productive. Must check this out!
This is so great! I also work form home so it’s important to get up and move. My afternoon is when I hit the gym, that’s also important to me.
I can get so distracted while working online. I need to use some of these tips and get better about not getting sucked into the web.
It really is so easy to get distracted when you have to work online. One click leads to another and before you know it you’re knee deep in crazy cat videos on Facebook. I definitely need a little SelfControl in my life!
I get so distracted by the Internet and social media! I cannot wait to move into our new house where I will have an office space.
It’s not easy but it’s possible when you really want to finish working! I think these tips are great. I find that following a schedule really makes me more productive especially when I have a lot of work that needs to be done by the end of the day.
This is a great read. This is also my job, and at the same time, my trouble spot. I do sometimes get addicted to FB and news sites when I should be focusing on my blog work!
I love this post so much because this is so me! I so need to set timers for myself for each task!
a standing desk has been my saving grace. It is so easy for me to walk around and go do a chore or help my animals.
It can be so hard to focus from home sometimes! The internet makes it so much worse too! These are perfect tips to stay focused.
The internet is like a black hole that will suck all your time if you’re not good enough to fight the distractions it brings! Lol. These are great ideas on how to be more productive when you work at home. It’s really important to create a space where you can concentrate on work!
Those are really great tips. There are distractions galore working from home. I may have to give the SelfControl app a try.
Turning off the push notifications is such a great tip. I get so sucked in when I get notifications.
Oh my gosh! I so need the self control app. Now that my kids are in school I get like NOTHING done!
I work from home as well, and it’s a little different when you have kids who shout “MOOOOM!” often, lol. But you’re right about keeping the work in the office. I find that I am more productive when I’m in my little space at home.
I started setting a timer to remind me when it is time to log off for the day. Without it I was working to late and not taking some time to relax before bed.
I work from home and find it a lot easier now that i have my own office. It was hard to stop working when the computer was in the living room.
I love these tips! Being a Solopreneur can be very time consuming and distractions be at every turn! I think I have to try this app out, to keep me grounded!
Turning off push notifications has really helped me. I really need to limit how often I check my email.
Turning off all notifications is a fantastic tip! I just can’t seem to resist checking once I hear that *ding*. I think this one tip alone could probably save me hours a day! LOL
YES!! LOL as a blogger myself I know the pain! I was just telling someone about this the other day! I use many of your tips already but am going to use those I am not! Thank you – you are not alone!
I do have an office that I only use for working and that does help. I love your suggestion for having certain times to check e-mail..I can get so distracted by that!
OH YES it can be hard to be a freelancer and work from home – but I have made it work for me for the past 5 years and honestly, I am a very work-oriented person so it’s kind of easy for me to stay ON TASK!! That being said, writing TO DO lists and having a designated room for WORK is very very important!!
Thanks for the great tips! My biggest distraction is the TV, I am bad about working on my laptop in the living room with the TV on.
I am in front of my computer 12-16 hours a day so I can’t escape the internet and when I work out I am on my phone. I like all your ideas and will take some into consideration like SelfControl.
This is definitely a good way to make sure you stay productive while you are working online. And I have quite a number of friends that do a lot of work online including me and I could do something like this to keep myself from being distracted.
Oh how I wish I had an office. My office is my sofa, so it’s hard not to get caught up in a Netflix binge when I work.
It can be sooooo hard to be productive when your job is literally to sit in front of the internet. I mean, come on… cat videos!
All fantastic tips! I work from home and find social media to be (by far!) my top distraction. The SelfControl app seems to be exactly the type of strict discipline I need to stay focused.