5 Must-Know Tips For Freelancers To Reduce The Stress During Work
<p>Nowadays, freelancing and working remotely has become a normal phenomenon with many employees switching to this mode. Nevertheless, there are some downsides to being a freelancer including the fact that you will have to deal with stress by yourself. To help you cope with it, here are five must-know tips for freelancers to reduce the stress during work.</p>
<h3><strong>#1 Adjust Your Schedule</strong></h3>
<p>Though being a freelancer means that you will be able to work whenever you feel like it, it also means that you will have to organize the work process to be productive during the day. By adjusting your schedule and setting work hours for yourself, you will be able to regulate when exactly you are supposed to be working.</p>
<p>In turn, this will reduce the amount of stress you experience because you will clearly know when you can rest. Besides, you will not be restricted to a standard nine-to-five schedule which means you will be able to work for certain periods of time during the day and enjoy breaks between these periods.</p>
<p>When you create your schedule, try to include all the possible tasks that you will need to do during the day. For example, if you check your emails twice a day (in the morning and in the evening), put that on your schedule. This will prevent you from forgetting to complete these tasks and will show you when you will be busy.</p>
<p>Making a schedule with tasks you have to complete can also help you reduce anxiety and pressure due to the small achievements that you will be marking on the schedule which will act as a to-do list. After all, completing small tasks is much easier than trying to tackle a huge project right away.</p>
<h3><strong>#2 Be Focused</strong></h3>
<p>Instead of trying to jump over your own head, try to stay focused on the task at hand. It is very easy to feel overwhelmed when you have to meet all the numerous deadlines, so overthinking too much can lead to disastrous consequences.</p>
<p>What you should do is try to calm down and take everything one step at a time. Make yourself some herbal or green tea that will help you calm your nerves and then assess your situation with as much objectivity as possible.</p>
<p>If there are some tasks you need to do as soon as possible, start from them. Everything that can wait should be left behind for the time being. Once you are done with your most urgent projects, then you can move on to the ones whose deadlines are further away.</p>
<p>In other words, always try to approach your problems and responsibilities rationally instead of panicking right away. If you can’t do it yourself, there are always friends and family members who can help you.</p>
<h3><strong>#3 Say No</strong></h3>
<p>As a freelancer, you will probably have one particular thought always present at the back of your head: “If I don’t work right now, I will not earn any money. I am wasting time and losing money by doing nothing and resting. I should get back to work immediately.”</p>
<p>This is actually a huge problem for most freelancers, especially the ones who have been working remotely for some time. They know that their earnings directly depend on how much they work, so they have a constant urge to work, work, and work again. It comes to the point when they start guilting themselves for taking even a small break.</p>
<p>One of the reasons for so much stress can also result from freelancers taking on too many tasks at once and not being able to meet the deadlines. They get offered different projects and they simply can’t say “no” taking on more and more responsibilities.</p>
<p>You need to learn to decline projects and say “no”. You can outsource some projects if you want to. For example, if you do translations as a freelancer, you could use an online translation service like <a href="https://thewordpoint.com/services/translation-service">The Word Point </a>to do some of the tasks instead of you while you take your time off and get some quality rest.</p>
<h3><strong>#4 Always Have Breaks</strong></h3>
<p>There is not enough stressing the importance of breaks. You won’t believe how effective they actually are for restoring your mental health and reduce the risk of you having a mental breakdown. In fact, if you exercise during such breaks, you will also be able to keep your physical health in shape too.</p>
<p>Once again, as a freelancer, you have a lot of freedom when it comes to organizing your day, so why not spend regular periods of time resting from work? You are not limited only by the lunch break – you can have as many as ten (or even more) breaks a day as long as you feel better after them.</p>
<p>Resting before and during work can also significantly improve your productivity. Because you won’t be stressed as much, you will be able to focus better on your task and do it a much shorter period of time.</p>
<h3><strong>#5 Get A Hobby</strong></h3>
<p>All those jokes you hear in movies about a certain character needing to get a hobby and stop focusing on their work too much? Yeah, there’s more than just a grain of truth in them. Getting a hobby will not only give you something to look forward to but will also make you <a href="https://headtohealth.gov.au/meaningful-life/purposeful-activity/hobbies" target="_blank">more motivated to work harder</a>.</p>
<p>For example, if your hobby requires some significant financial investments on your part (e.g. extreme sports, travel, robotics), then you will probably want to earn more than you already do to be able to afford it. This will keep you more motivated and inspired to do your job because you will know that there is something you can enjoy during your time off.</p>
<h3><strong>Final Thoughts</strong></h3>
<p>All in all, coping with stress while working remotely or freelancing is not as difficult as you might expect it to be. As long as you believe in yourself and follow the tips from this article, you will be able to get rid of anxiety and live a happier life.</p>
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<p><em>Thomas Lore is a 23-year old translator. He is also a creative and diligent freelance blogger, who is always seeking for new ways to improve himself. Thomas is very versatile and he wants to reach the tops with his writing skills.</em></p>