The freelance lifestyle offers freedom and flexibility that is so much harder to find when working in a traditional 9-5 job. It means you’ve got more control over how you spend your time and how much you can achieve in a day.
Working from home makes it easier to balance workloads with parenting, housework and other commitments. It also gives you more freedom to plan a healthy lifestyle but it’s easy to forget when you’re juggling client work and motivation crashes.
Here are a few things to remember when working from home:
Maintain a healthy diet
You might have planned long lunch hours where you prep and cook fresh food everyday but the reality is, you might not have the time or will to do this every day. With your own fridge at your disposal, it’s easy to end up stuffing your face with unhealthy snacks throughout the day.
Instead of spending time each day preparing lunches and dinners, try to prepare food in batches. Some people will cook a week’s worth of meals on Sunday nights and freeze them so that the weeknights are free for relaxing and family time. Remember that it’s okay to snack, so long as it’s the good kind. Try swapping the crisps and chocolate for fruit and nuts.
Get enough exercise
Working from home means you can set your own hours. So why not join a gym and take advantage of special off-peak memberships. That way you can then go when it’s both quieter and cheaper.
If a gym’s not your thing, then take up running or find a sport that you love. If you have a gym friend or are part of a team, you’ll find it’s easier to keep to a routine. Try to make any kind of exercise fit into your regular routine.
Take breaks
While some freelancers struggle with the motivation to work, others don’t know how to switch off. Without the office routine, with others going on lunch and taking regular breaks around you, it’s sometimes easy to forget to take some time away from the work.
You might not even realise how long you’ve been working, especially if you’re busy. Being productive and focused is great but without regular breaks, work can start to suffer.
It’s a good idea to stick to a routine, even if it’s completely different to one you’d usually have in a job. Base your routine on when you’re most productive in the day and schedule breaks when you know you’re not going to be working at your best anyway.
Separate home life and work life
One of the problems with working from home is knowing where the separation is between your home life and your professional life. If the two blend, it can be difficult to maintain healthy working hours and switch off at the end of a working day.
You need to make sure the people you live with are aware of your boundaries and respect your working time. If you can, set aside a designated work space so that your brain knows automatically that when you sit down there it’s time for work.
How do you keep healthy when working from home? What other tips would you give? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
