Since my early twenties, I have been an entrepreneur and have been working for myself. I’ve learned a lot over the past few years about being your own boss (which isn’t easy, especially when you’re young) and wanted to share a few of my tips on keeping productive while working for yourself! And if you don’t work for yourself but blog on the side, then this post is definitely for you too!
1. Create a schedule and stick to it
The hardest part of being your own boss is motivating yourself to work. Sometimes all you do is procrastinate and then nothing ever gets accomplished. A key start to successfully working for yourself is creating a schedule and always sticking to it! When it comes to my day job I have my days of work, hours and what days I have off all scheduled on a company calender like an employee. When it comes to my blog schedule I always set which days I am doing what, the time I am doing it and what exactly I’ll be doing.
I personally don’t use anything to schedule myself for my blog, because I set myself into a consistent routine and that works for me (which is usually shooting looks on days off and working on everything else mornings and evenings)! But, using a physical planner or using your calendar on your phone is a great way to keep track of your work and time!
2. Turn off all your distractions
And when I say distractions, I mean your phone! My phone is personally my biggest distraction and I always find myself trying to grab it to scroll through my emails or Instagram. When you are working on something that is important or with a deadline, turning off your phone or putting it on airplane mode is always a good idea! I can’t believe how much more work I get done when I turn off my phone or leave it in another room! Try it, trust me it’s your number one distraction too!
3. Give your eyes a break
When you stare at a screen all day long your eyes need a break! One of the ways I help the strain on my eyes is with these Coastal glasses with Kodak Blue Reflect lenses. And guys, do they ever work! They make it so much easier to work on the computer and on my phone. Plus, you can pick from any frame and put the blue reflect lenses in any style and colour that you’d like!
Find out more about protecting your eyes from digital burn here.
4. Keep a list
If you’re anything like me then you’d probably forget your head if it wasn’t attached to your body! I have so much on the go all the time that I couldn’t possibly remember every single thing even if I tried! Wunderlist is seriously my favorite app when it comes to organizing my to-do lists and getting them done. Putting all my to-do’s on a list helps me focus, work smarter not harder and helps lower my stress. Cause your girl get’s STRESSED when there are a million things to do!
Wunderlist is free and so easy to use! I highly recommend it for anyone who works for themselves or is a blogger.
5. Surround yourself with things that motivate you
If you have a full-on schedule and have no idea how you’re going to accomplish it all then surround with things that motivate you. Try playing your favorite music or create a YouTube playlist! Or, even your favorite podcast or an educational video to listen to as you work is a great idea too. If you have busy work that is repetitive (uhm… boring), then grab your laptop and put on your favorite movie or tv show. I mean, what’s better than working in front of the tv?!
Do you guys have any tips on how to stay productive? Comment them below!
xo Lauren
Thank you to Coastal for collaborating with me on this post!
Great tips for maximizing productivity. I love Wunderlist and it helps me tremendously. I’ve never heard of those lenses that reflect the blue from digital screens, but it sounds like I need some! Will definitely check out. Thanks for sharing.
Great tips, I enjoyed reading your blog, best regards Angela.
Schedules are so important!
xx Lisa | lisaautumn.com
It’s all about sticking to my schedule and weekly routine that keeps me going!
Great tips! Right now its not in the cards for me, but one day I would love to work for myself. I know these are all things I would struggle with.
So many awesome tips!! You are such an inspiration!!
I’m struggling with this today! Going to have to get back to schedule-making…
all so very true! Finally one the goal hunting train doing all of the above!
http://www.iternallifestyle.com
Definitely removing distractions is a big one for me!
Creating a schedule is so important! I would be lost if I didn’t have each little aspect of my day mapped out.
Great ideas! I make a lot of lists, and sometimes I listen to podcasts. TV is a distraction, so I prefer audio.
Hey Lauren, these are such great tips! As a full-time blogger/translator I work from home and these come in very handy. My biggest struggle is probably giving my eyes a break. I tend to forget about this rule qite often. Then for a few days I’ll remember to make some eye exercises or even eye yoga… only to fall back in my bad habits. I also loved tip number 5 and I’ll try to implement that starting today =)
Love these tips, the scheduling really helps and getting rid of distractions. Thank you for this.
Great points! When I first started working for myself from home, I made sure to take a shower and get dressed first thing (stick to a schedule), just like I would if I worked elsewhere. It was really helpful. Thanks for all these good reminders!
These are great for the office too! I personally use Wunderlist and love it! I like that I can share my list with my husband!!
these glasses fit your face so well, you look so cute!
http://www.layersofchic.com
I loved all your tips! Makes me motivated just reading it. Definitely going to try that app!
I loved going through this list of advice to keep yourself motivated and productive! I’ve also been using the computer glasses since working on the computer and using my phone all the time tires my eyes out. Your glasses are so cute!!
xo Samantha
This is such a great post! All great tips! Keeping motivated is one of my issues – there are some days you feel on fire and other days when you need to sit down and just crank it out. Thanks for being real!