Tips for Making You More Productive as a Freelancer or Entrepreneur

It has never been easier to run your own business. The internet has brought the world closer together, allowing us to trade with people in the same town and from another continent just as easily.

However, the internet is a double-edged sword. It has created an always-on world that sends us push notifications day and night, with many people expecting responses immediately. A culture of “hustling” hard has also led to many people working long hours to build up their business. It can also encourage people to improve their typing skills and become more computer literate to undertake the mechanical elements of their work quicker.

Unfortunately, this often means we don’t have enough time in the day to get everything we want to be done. It can also have negative effects on our lives too, reducing the amount of time we have for socializing, exercising, and sleeping. Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can do to make yourself more productive as a freelancer or entrepreneur, without having to work every waking hour.

Dedicate time to a hobby

There will be a theme among many of the tips in this guide, in that most of the ways you can make yourself more productive actually involve you spending less time at work. While it may seem counter-intuitive, spending time away from work can help you to “recharge your batteries”, clear your mind, and help lower your stress levels.

This leaves you feeling refreshed and able to get more done in the time that you do spend working.

One of the ways to do this is to get a hobby. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter too much about what the hobby is, as long as it is something you enjoy. For me, it’s open-water swimming and Surf Lifesaving, however, some popular options include drawing, reading, and playing a musical instrument.

Playing games is another popular option. A recent study in the United States found that more than half of all video game players do so to relax and/or relieve stress. Many games can require a lot of concentration and for you to memorize rules and do quick mental calculations.

For example, blackjack is based around probabilities, so players need to consider the likelihood of different outcomes while they play. Similarly, the racing game Forza requires players to concentrate hard on the position of their car on the track, calculating the most efficient line to take around each corner. At tracks like the Circuit of the Americas, there can be several different usable lines, so you’ll need to concentrate while you find the most optimum one to use.

Exercise regularly

Exercise is, indisputably, one of the best ways to improve your overall wellbeing. Many successful business people have worked exercise into their daily routines, with some choosing to exercise at the beginning of the day to help them wake up, while others prefer to do it after work as a way to destress.

The great thing about exercise is that it can be done alone or with others, so it’s also a great way to meet new people.

You can even combine it into a hobby. For example, swimming and Surf Lifesaving are both great workouts. I’m in the water all the time and go to 1 – 2 SLSC sessions a week, where we focus on swimming, board paddling, and beach circuits. It doesn’t feel like exercise because I’m having fun with my friends but it’s definitely a workout.

There are other things you can do though, even if you aren’t near the sea. Many people also enjoy cycling as both a form of exercise and a hobby, going on leisurely rides with their friends as a way to stay fit and explore the outdoors. Alternatively, you can try running or yoga.

Break up your day

There are countless different techniques that you can use to get more out of the time you spend working, but one of the most successful is to split your day into chunks. There are many ways you can do this, but an often-talked-about approach is to use the “Pomodoro Technique”.

This technique was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s and was named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that he used while trying it out himself.