What's your typical work routine?
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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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 Audrey, a military wife thriving as a marketing manager
Working with Boldly, I have the opportunity to structure my day in a way that works best for me (flexibility for the win!) The leadership of the company realizes that in order for team members to be able to do their best work, their schedule has to be set around times that are most productive for them.
For me, that's the mornings. I feel most energized, most creative, and most motivated early in the day.
I start around 7:30 am after I drop my two kiddos off at school. I settle into my home office with a cup of coffee and whatever Spotify playlist matches my mood for the morning (Mondays is normally peaceful piano, while Fridays are usually Top 20 hits.
And I'm not going to lie, if I'm going to be on a webinar or Facebook live which I often do, I listen to a little hip hop beforehand to pump me up! :))
I try to schedule my meetings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday mornings—that way I have large chunks of work blocks on Mondays, Thursdays and Friday afternoons to delve deep into involved tasks or writing projects.
I usually take a short lunch break to walk the dog around the neighborhood or go for a quick run. That helps me stay energized for my afternoon, which I normally wrap up by 3:30 pm to pick up the kiddos.
It's so nice to spend the afternoons with them and beat the 5 pm pick up rush — probably one of my favorite parts about my job/schedule!
I do leave my Slack notifications on until around 5 pm in case anything urgent pops up, but after that, I try to be really diligent about staying offline.
When you can work from anywhere, I think it's important to be intentional about drawing the line when it's time to unplug.
Marrying an active-duty army officer sent Audrey on the search for a remote work position—see how she has established her career while staying on the move.
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Interview with Danielle, an author who found the benefits of coworking
I’m usually most creative in the AM, but no, there isn’t a typical flow. Once I start my day, I am typically good.
I don’t have issues picking up where I left off, so errands and other appointments are actually a welcome break throughout the day.
Danielle's remote work journey led her to become an author—see how coworking with other remote workers and digital tools have helped her to fulfill her passion.
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Interview with Tammy, founder and CEO of Workplaceless
I usually wake up between 6 and 7, when I have coffee and breakfast.
I start my day by journaling, which helps me focus.
I start work around 8. My workday usually consists of meetings, strategy work, instructional design, and course development tasks. I work out in the middle of the day around lunchtime, then get back to work around 1:30. I try to finish the workday between 5 and 6.
Learn how this founder and CEO of a remote work resource and certification program handles the triumphs and trails of location independence.
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Interview with Vernon, a freelance technical writer
I try to maintain regular working hours. I wake up between 6 am and 7 am and go through my morning routine of meditation, exercise, shower, and breakfast.
I then head out to my office. I used to work from a home office, but I find it's difficult to maintain discipline while working at home.
Home is my sanctuary away from work.
When I get to my office I look at my outstanding assignments and prepare a to-do list for that day, breaking up large assignments into smaller, manageable chunks, then I have at it.
I work until lunch, take an hour off, start again and continue until sunset.
As a freelancer, lists are essential. I make lists for everything. You need to stay organized and on top of multiple projects with multiple clients. Missed deadlines and incomplete jobs do not reflect well on you, so you have to stay frosty. Lists will help you to do that. At the same time, however…
When you do mess up, and everybody has, you need to move on as quickly as possible. Don’t beat yourself up, obsess about it nor allow it to make you second guess yourself. Your confidence is an important component in building your business. So forgive yourself often and keep your eyes forward.
Always be aware of the things you need to know that you don’t know and make an effort to learn them. Don’t have the time to properly invest in it? Doesn’t matter, learn what you can, when you can.
It is better to have a cursory knowledge of a topic than be completely ignorant of it. Besides, once you get into the habit of learning (yes, make it a habit) you’ll eventually get up to snuff on whatever you need.
Take frequent breaks, if you can. Most remote work is knowledge work, and knowledge work is intense. Don’t burn yourself out. A Pomodoro timer is excellent for this.
The best things about freelance remote work are that my time is mine to control, but I have to be disciplined about it. That being the case, many times in my life things will come up which mean shifting up my schedule to accommodate other missions.
This is, again, where my lists are invaluable. They allow me to organize my work and time allotments to maintain my priorities, a key one being to provide my clients with their deliverables on time and at good quality.
Regarding good habits, waking up early is always a good idea. The earlier I wake up, the more work I get done. Also, as I said before, keep lists. I will encourage everyone to keep lists. Lists help to keep you on top of your work specifically and your life in general.
Be optimistic and stay positive. As a freelancer or entrepreneur engaged in remote work, you need to maintain positivity, especially when things aren’t going so great, because a positive attitude may be the only thing that can pull you out of a slump.
By and large, though, the greatest aid to a remote worker is self-discipline. Being a remote worker can be lonely. It’s just you. No one will be pushing or prodding or encouraging you. There’s no one keeping you on track. Only you can make sure that the work gets done well and on time. You’ll find that as your discipline increases, everything runs smoother.
Vernon is a freelance software technical writer that uses lists to organize his hectic freelance schedule—see how he maximizes his time throughout the workday.
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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 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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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 Phil Strazzulla, an entrepreneur enjoying the health benefits of remote work
I get up around 7:30 am, have breakfast, check emails, and then go heads down on 2-3 high priority projects from 8:30-10:30 am. After this dedicated period, my day usually gets broken up by meetings, a workout, cooking dinner, and other shorter periods of deep work.
A curiosity for remote work led Phil to make it a primary work arrangement. Hear how it has helped to improve his health and impacted his approach to rest.
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