7 More Unconventional Productivity Tips for Freelancers
By: Donnabeth Aniban
Tags: Freelancing, Lessons, Productivity, Education, Freelance

Photo by Peggy Anke on Unsplash

Waking up at 5 AM is still not on this list.

Since you loved my 7 Unconventional Productivity Tips, here’s more.

1. Own less

“The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.”

― Joshua Becker

The things you own takes up your time. You spend time deciding when you buy them. You spend time buying them. You spend time maintaining them. Even just looking at them can waste your time. So own things that are worthwhile.

Spend so much time deciding what to wear? Maybe you own too many clothes. You don’t have to be as drastic as wearing only one kind of shirt like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerburg though. Well, it won’t hurt if you want to, but the point is choosing what to wear shouldn’t take up a bulk of your time and mental energy. Unless you are a model or clothes endorser, what you wear should be the least of your concern (especially if you work at home).

Give away or sell stuff you don’t need. Better yet, stop buying useless things.

2. Trust more

Trust people enough so you can delegate tasks to them. Trust that they can also the job just as good or even better than you.

Trust yourself that you can do what you intend to. Trust yourself that you can follow through. Trust and act like it.

When we always doubt ourselves and others, we move more slowly or we don’t move at all.

3. Eat less

Your productivity depends on your energy. Your energy depends on what and how much you eat. When it comes to food, more is not always better. But starving yourself is not good either. Eat less. But don’t starve.

A heavy meal will cause your blood sugar to peak and drop. When your blood sugar drops, so does your energy.

You need to eat the right amount. If your culture’s usual diet consists of mostly carbs like mine, the right amount probably means eating less. Eating the right amount will provide a consistent flow of energy throughout the day.

4. Move more

Moving your body makes you more productive. Exercising regularly boosts your mind and gives you more energy. Physical movement stimulates the production of new mitochondria, the power plant, in your cells. This organelle produces ATP, a chemical that organs use as energy. Thus, moving more boosts your physical and mental energy for you to stay productive throughout the day.

Exercise comes in many forms. Choose an activity that you like so that you are more likely to stick to it. You can run, brisk walk, dance, do karate, swim, play badminton, or any other form of physical movement that makes you sweat and you enjoy. Start with something easy and readily doable. Don’t think of swimming if the nearest pool is 10 miles away.

I do jump rope or dance because it’s something I can do at home in between motherhood duties and working. I used to jog when I was working in Thailand because I had more time and there are nearby parks where I could jog. It is the most convenient option then. If I insist on jogging now as my exercise routine, I probably would have never started.

5. Care less

You cannot care about everything and stay productive. You cannot care about everything and stay sane. Choose a dozen things you truly care about. Give them your best and ignore the rest.

At any given moment, pick one thing to focus your attention on and forget everything else. Studies have shown how multi-tasking is mostly a myth. It’s task shifting, not multi-tasking. Yes, you can do two mundane tasks simultaneously with quality, but critical tasks need your full attention.

Caring about so many things clutters your mind. When your mind is clear from needless stress and worry, you can think and work better. Forget the issues you don’t have control over. Focus on what you can control and do it now.

6. Learn more

Technology has brought several amazing productivity tools. What used to be done in one day can now be done in an hour. These tools are useless if you don’t learn how to use them.

Investing time to learn a tool may consume more time upfront. But it will save you more time in the long run. Learn keyboard shortcuts. Learn about apps that can save your time computing, typing, editing, or organizing. For example, you can use phrase express for a block of words you frequently use or Grammarly to correct your grammar.

Learn your job deeply. Never think you already know everything about it. There might be shortcuts you didn’t know. Investing in your mind is investing in your productivity.

7. Scroll less

According to a study, UK employees spend an average of 13 hours a week during work time. Thirteen hours! In thirteen hours you can write around five medium articles, bake dozens of cupcakes, fly to a different continent, or run a marathon. Not that you should, but still.

Five minutes of scrolling here and there adds up. It’s not just the time you spend scrolling that you lose. It also takes time for you to regain your focus. Plus, the content you see can drain your energy without you realizing it.

Make your phone inaccessible when you’re working or at least not visible. Out of sight, out of mind. The harder it is for you to access it, the lesser you’ll be tempted to scroll.