We've all witnessed the freelance faux dream. It's less about the work, and more about the Instagram worthy coffee art ran through several editing apps. I should know, I'm just as guilty as everyone else when using the #freelancelife hashtag on social media. Who wouldn't want to trade a regular, rent covering income for the freedom to do their morning (caffeine) run in the middle of the afternoon?
That said, I do love working as a freelance photographer. I feel lucky that I get to do what I love everyday, and enjoy the flexibility it offers. Occasionally that does include things like choosing which bill to ignore, but on the whole it's a very positive experience and my office can be wherever I plug in my laptop.
Coffee shops are wonderful, but they can easily become an expensive habit. I much prefer working from Sweatpant Central, where I can roll out of bed at 7am and be staring at my email, in my pjs, with a cup of tea by 7.15.
It can get a little lonely though, and perhaps more critical, it's very easy to get lost in a cute-article-click-hole. There are two websites which have helped to overcome these issues and made me a much more productive person in the long term. The first is called Coffitivity, a site which generates the gentle, ambient noise of a coffee shop. It doesn't distract me in the same way that music does, but manages to make me feel less alone. The second is a game changing Chrome extension called StayFocusd. It blocks all websites other than those you tell it not to, so when I'm really swamped, I use it's "nuclear" option to bar everything other than my email and calender for a set amount of time.
Your tools for working are also key, especially when dealing with large files for editing. The XPS range of laptops from Dell are a freelancer's dream, with a large, high-resolution screen and Adobe RGB profile being brilliant. In addition to being portable, they also have clever back-lit keys which are perfect when working late into the night.
What are your top tips for being productive? I need all the help I can get, so tell me in the comments!
Until next time,
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