What's your typical work routine?

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 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.

Read full interview from Interview with Andrew, a freelance writer who works remotely.

Interview with Michael about being an entrepreneur and freelancer

Here is an overview of my work routine:

• Personal, 1 hour morning routine (journal, meditation, etc)
• Exercise (run or resistance training) (30-60 mins)
• Write / Create content — can start anywhere from 7-9am. I prioritize my projects the night before always doing the hardest, most time consuming or least "fun" piece of work first. This builds momentum and makes sure I accomplish the biggest task first.
• I've found I write best fasted, only drinking coffee and water until noon. I break around 12 for a light lunch, walk the dog, get outside, and back to writing. Usually done by 2-3pm depending on deadlines.
• My writing usually takes place Mon, Tue, & Thur. I edit content, promote my blog, and do other projects on Wed/Fri (never write and edit on the same day).
• Rarely, if ever, write on weekends instead focusing on off time and creating urgency during my week to get everything completed. I try to set specific time blocks to complete my writing or other projects. Without a set time it's easy to procrastinate and make a small task seem huge.

My routine is constantly changing over time. I think it's important to have it adapt to create maximum efficiency and still mix it up. I write primarily in my office but do go to coffee shops and hotels to get out and mix up the environment.

Michael is an online entrepreneur, author, and freelance writer who specializes in self-improvement and personal finance.

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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 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 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 Leon, a journalist teaching the world to play chess

My first task of the day is to drop off my toddler to the nursery, something I was never able to do when I worked in central London because I had to leave too early.

After dropping off the little monkey, I get back to my house at about 8.30 am, sit down in my home office, and fire up my machine. With a coffee, of course.

I usually start the day by solving a few chess puzzles on Chessable to get the little grey cells working (chess puzzles are a big part of chess training as they keep you sharp) and then look into any emails we've received overnight.

This can be customer support, replies from authors or just general chat. An important part of my job is just knowing what's going on in the chess world so I can keep on top of new developments throughout the day.

As I work from home I'm rarely at the big chess competitions as going to them would involve flying around the world which unfortunately the company is not yet big enough to pay for. So interacting with people on Twitter and visiting various chess sites is very useful.

On days we release new courses I will spend most of my time preparing the marketing emails and a social media campaign. They need to be spot on, so I need to know the content of the course very well.

Our courses vary in cost, but my job is to let people know we have a particular book that we have converted into a course. On days that we do not have a new release, I will assist with the process of adapting the courses and getting our next one ready.

All through this, I will be trying to think of new ideas to get Chessable some publicity in the chess press by using my journalism background to find ways that we can talk about our training platform.

Leon James Watson is a former journalist who has found the intrinsic value of remote work while teaching the masses to play chess.

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Interview with Steven Wade, a software engineer working on a remote team

I'm married and have a toddler. I wake up by 7am, feed the kid, hang out with her for a while, then shower. I usually start work anywhere between 8-8:30. Then I'll work from my dining room table for a while so my wife can get ready for the day in peace (my daughter will just watch Mickey).

I like to keep my mornings free for remote remote work. That is, my wife and daughter will go to the pool, the mall, downtown, shopping, or to do fun activities. Sometimes I'll join them as an early "lunch" break, or most of the time I'll just take them there and then work from my laptop while tethered on my phone.

Lunch and the afternoons are pretty routine and I save most of my productivity and meetings for that time as I know those schedules won't often change.

Being able to spend time with my family little bits here and there throughout the day is important, so I usually end up taking 2 hours during the day for lunch and other things.

I have a hard stop at 5pm. That's when I do dinner, chores, spend time with the family, run errands, etc... After I put my daughter to bed and spend time with my wife, I will generally hop back online and work for another hour or so (depending on how much fun I'm having with the work at that time).

I keep a pretty consistent schedule, with times built in to be flexible.

Learn more about how Steven works remotely, including his work routine, habits and how he found his remote job

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Interview with Celine, a VP of People Ops and remote team member

I have a nice mix of being autonomous and being part of a team.

I usually start up in the morning by checking all messages in our instant messaging system and deal with easy to answer questions and emails.

Then I spend the time until the other part of the world gets up focusing on substantive work and the goals I set myself.

Late afternoons and evenings are usually dedicated to meetings.

Celine has experienced the highs and lows of working with remote and hybrid teams—see her tips for thriving as a member of a remote team.

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Interview with Tara, a remote director of research and administration

I get up shortly after my husband leaves for the day and get a workout completed first thing. We follow set work hours, and I take lunch around one, when I typically take our miniature pinscher, Frankie, for a walk.

I am flexible and responsive to the needs of the business, but I prefer to make any needed phone calls in the morning and save administrative work for later in the afternoon.

A move to be closer to a spouse's job led Tara to remote work—see her tips for staying productive and organized as a full-time remote director.

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