Freelancing

Freelancing from home: What you need to know

No commutes, no noisy offices and no sad desk salads – there are many benefits of freelancing from home. For working parents, it also offers the flexibility to work around children’s schedules and family commitments. Working solo, however, can bring its own challenges - it can be a lonely business. If you are a freelancer working from home, here are a few tips on how to make your working environment happier, healthier.

Create your freelance office space

You don’t need to set aside a whole room in your house as your freelance home office, especially when you’re just starting out, but creating a dedicated workspace is crucial for successful home working.

And if your workspace is in a shared home, be that with a partner, relative or housemate, it’s important to ensure they respect your working hours and dedicated office space, even if that’s the kitchen table.

Working from home top tip: sit properly

Another consideration freelancers need to make when they set up their home workspace is body posture, especially for the back and spine.

A laptop is all you need to start freelancing from home, but investing in an inexpensive stand (or using books), a keyboard and mouse will protect your spine in the long run.

Use the flexibility of working from home to your advantage – see phone calls as an opportunity to walk and talk and embrace the privacy of being at home by doing regular stretches.

Advantages and disadvantages of freelancing

One of the joys of freelancing is working for lots of different clients and having a variety of projects going at once. However, juggling all those different deadlines can be stressful, especially if you’re used to having a single boss setting your targets or workload.

“It sounds really obvious, but have a to-do list before you sit down to work

It’s also equally important to set boundaries, as tempting as it might be to work until midnight every night, that’s a recipe for burnout. Take advantage of the fact you can work whenever you want and go for that bike ride next time you need to clear your head.

Join a freelance community

Many freelancers report struggling with feelings of isolation when they work for themselves. Annie recommends finding a freelance community to join - be that in real life or online. Not only do these groups offer support and a way to combat loneliness, but they can also be a great productivity boost as well.