Virtual Reality 1 – Get real | Freelancing and More!

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Virtual Reality 1 – Get real

December 9th, 2008 | 1 Comment

No, this post isn’t going to be what you think it’s about! It’s more to do with managing your new ‘status’ as a freelancer, working alone, at home and often in your PJ’s.

One of the biggest mistakes that many freelancers make is thinking they’re automatically going to do the ‘right thing’ and work 8 hour days and earn every possible dime that they can. It’s not going to happen without some discipline. That discipline might be a lot more complicated than you think it is … follow me….

Give yourself a break!

Now it’s a pretty basic thing here – when you work in a traditional brick and mortar company they set your hours for you complete with breaks for ‘coffee’ and breaks for lunch. You don’t have a lot of control over that. You do at home of course, but therein lies the problem.

One of the biggest flaws with working at home is the ‘sense’ that you can take breaks whenever you want them – in reality though do you really take a break?

Stop and consider the last ‘break’ you took from ‘working’ and what you did during that break. Did you:

A) Look for another ‘assignment’?
B) Read the news online?
C) Read a blog by your favorite poster?
D) Check your emails?

Chances are you did one of these things! If you did, then you really didn’t take a break. Here’s some ideas:

The next time you decide to take a break, walk away from your computer – in fact leave the room where your computer is! If you’re a smoker, take a walk out on the back porch and have a cigarette (even if you’re not a smoker a walk onto the porch for some fresh air can renew your energy), if you’re a pet owner grab their favorite toy and toss it around for a few minutes, take the dirty dishes out of the sink and load the dishwasher or even take a shower if you haven’t already.

The secret here is actually *take a break*. Don’t spend your ‘downtime’ staring at something on the computer – even if it’s not ‘work’ you’re not really giving yourself a break and a few minutes to revive yourself.