What's your typical work routine?

Interview with Michelle, an organizer of digital nomad experiences

I get up around 7 AM. The first thing I do is morning stretches. I then engage in meditation and finish the morning by eating oatmeal and honey, and banana for breakfast.

Around 9 AM my workday starts. I set daily goals and a to-do list in Trello. I then track my time in Toggl and attempt to finish my daily tasks.

A solo backpacking trip led to Michelle organizing co-travel experiences for digital nomads—hear how she manages working while traveling.

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Interview with Taylor, a marketing director and intentional digital nomad

Currently, I'm based in Durham, North Carolina and travel approximately every two months. When I'm on the road, my routine is more atypical.

However, when I'm at home, this is my routine:

• 6:45ish am - I naturally wake up early, and ideally without an alarm. This time is when I'm at my best physically and mentally.

• 7:45ish am - I bike from my apartment to WeWork in downtown Durham. It's only a mile and a half away, and Durham's relatively temperate climate means I can bike to work year-round. Fortunately, I only feel like a popsicle sometimes.

• 8 - 11 am - This is time for deep work. I don't schedule calls before 11 am if I can help it.

My morning hours are sacred to me, they're the hours in which I feel most successful and effective.

• 11 am - 12 pm - I conduct calls with my team. This happens about three times a week. If I don't have a call, I'm usually taking this time to do lighter brain work. I may also FaceTime with a friend, or take a walk. Deep work is wonderful, but I have to give my brain time to decompress.

• 12 - 1 pm - This is my lunchtime. I usually work through lunch, unless I'm eating with a friend, because I like to finish my to-do list by mid-afternoon.

• 1 - 3 ish pm - I handle less deep work tasks related to communications, marketing, and operations.

• 3ish pm - I prepare to bike home. Sometimes this happens at five or six in the evening. However, I try to really focus in the morning so that I've accomplished what I need to in six hours, not eight.

After work, I handle side projects, play guitar, read, run errands, work out, cook, or hang out with friends for the rest of the day.

Taylor shares how co-working spaces, digital nomadism, and work flexibility gave her the work environment she always wanted.

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Interview with Andrew, a freelance writer who works remotely

My routine is about the same each day.

First off, I don’t work regular hours too often because I’m a night owl at heart. Working the 9-5 life was always tough because I hated having to get up in the morning.

I don’t really feel like I hit my mental peak until around 11 at night, so working freelance lets me work those hours no problem.

A typical work day starts with me checking my master list of work and figuring out which jobs need to be handled next.

I tend to work with checklists, trying to get a certain number of words written per day instead of focusing on working a certain amount of hours. Hitting number targets give me incentives to work quickly and more efficiently, as opposed to hitting an hour target.

Andrew became a full-time freelance writer after experimenting with freelance marketplaces. After the first month, he was already earning more than his full-time job.

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Interview with Chloe, a customer support freelancer and multi-project expert

My typical workday is pretty hectic. I have one project with a set schedule, and my other three are flexible. I don’t mind either type of schedule, so it depends on the project.

If the team is small, one or two people, flexible is preferred. However, with a larger team, I prefer a set schedule. Usually, my day looks something like this:

• 5 am to 7 am: Morning check in with my part-time projects
• 7 am to 3 pm: Set schedule project
• 3 pm to 8 pm: Night check in with part-time projects

Chloe uses the flexibility of freelancing to her advantage—see how she successfully manages multiple projects at one time.

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Interview with Kay, an independent software consultant who found freedom in remote work

Somehow my work-"day" begins the day before.

I think about a big chunk of work I want to do on the next day and then I go to sleep.

Then I wake up and drink a coffee at 12 and start working on the stuff I thought about the last night. Sometimes customers wrote emails in that time and I try to work on their requests before I get to that work I had planned.

Learn how Kay made the jump from full-time employee to full-time remote consultant

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Interview with Pamela, a travel writer adjusting to freelancing

I go to an exercise class in the morning, then get showered and dressed and start working. I don’t have set hours yet. Sometimes I work in the evening or on the weekends.

I’m spending a lot of time researching how other people do things as well as taking time to network.

Pamela is new to the world of freelancing. In this interview, she shares the ups and downs of adjusting to the gig economy.

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Interview with Cecilia, a content writer managing her remote career in Dubai

I like to plan my day the night before, so when I wake up the next morning, I'll have a pretty good idea of what I can expect and what needs to be done.

I wake up at about 6 or 7 am. Sometimes I may go for a walk if I wake up early enough, but most of the time, I just go straight to making breakfast and writing my morning pages. There, I write down my long-term goals and what I can do today to achieve them, and then I add whatever's on my mind at that moment.

Then, I start working at about 8 or 9 am, depending on the amount of work.

The first thing I do is to block all distractions and set a timer to work in blocks of 25 minutes. After one or two blocks, I take a break.

I eat lunch at home. Since I enjoy cooking, it's not a problem for me to make a quick meal. After my lunch break, I work for another couple of hours, until 5 pm. After that, I may go out for a run or to a yoga class.

In the evenings, I still have to work for about an hour for a client located in the US. But when I'm done with my evening tasks, I can relax or spend some time working on personal projects, like writing a blog post or a short story.

Cecilia got her start translating blog posts, and in 2018 she went fully remote. See her tips for managing an international remote work career.

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Interview with Emma, a freelance marketing consultant

Well, unfortunately, I think I’ve been groomed too much by the 9 to 5! So I tend to start work around 8.30 am as if it was an office job, take lunch around 1 pm and do the whole Monday to Friday thing as well.

My big non-office things, however, are that I make sure I get some exercise every day, and I do tend to do work on the weekends as well just because it’s quieter and there aren’t as many emails coming in.

Oh, and I find I work longer in the evenings as well, just because I don’t like to leave things unfinished!

Emma is thriving as a freelance marketing consultant—see her tips on managing client demands & making yourself marketable as a freelancer.

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Interview with Alyssa, a copywriter and content strategist

I wake up around 8:30 AM, have a cup of tea, and get to work around 9 AM. During the first few hours of the morning, I get most of my writing work done. Then I have lunch and move on to lighter work in the afternoon, such as admin, marketing and editing.

Alyssa has found her rhythm as a freelancer and founder of the blog, Freelancing Flow—see her tips for keeping it all running smoothly.

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Interview with John, an international business writer sharing 15 years of insights

I usually work Monday to Friday from mid-morning to late evening. And some additional work to prepare for the week – on Sunday.

For over a decade, John has worked as an international business writer. See his insights on the state of remote work, freelancing, and attracting clients who are the right fit.

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