10 Tips for Self Employed People to Stay Organized & Productive

f you are self-employed and regularly work from home, then you might sometimes find it difficult to stay organized and productive. When you work for a traditional employer, it’s a simple matter to settle into “work mode” and to get your tasks done every day, but working from home requires quite a bit of discipline. Here are 10 tips to help you stay organized and productive.

1. Keep a Tidy Workspace

If you have a messy workspace, then you can feel less motivated and more stressful. It’s important to have an area dedicated solely to work and to keep that area free from clutter.

2. Set Goals

If you know what you need to do every day, then you are much more likely to accomplish it. To-do lists are a must for the self-employed person. You might want a daily do-do list as well as a weekly to-do list.

3. Exercise

It’s tough to stay productive if you are always feeling tense and stressed. Exercise not only helps you get your mind off your work for a time, but it also keeps your brain in top shape to help you solve the important problems that come up in your work. By the time you get back to your desk, you will feel refreshed and ready to tackle anything.

4. Keep Busy

Even if you don’t have any current assignments, there is always something to be done. You could work on improving your website, on new ways of promoting yourself, or on sprucing up your resume. As a self-employed person, your work is never done. The last thing you want to find yourself doing is watching television all day.

5. Walk Away

If your work starts to become overwhelming, don’t hesitate to simply get up and walk away. Since you’re your own boss, you can decide for yourself anytime you need a break and whether you would be better off taking a walk or grabbing a cup of coffee. You’ll be much more productive when you decide to sit back down.

6. Treat it Like a Job

Treating your work like a job means that you should keep a strict schedule and stick to it. This may sound more rigid than you’d like, but doing so can help you to become much more productive in the long term.

7. Prioritize Income Activities

There are so many things you could be doing every day, so it is important to prioritize. You should focus first on those activities that generate the most income for you, then shift your attention to activities that generate less. You should seek to avoid activities that do nothing for your bottom line.

8. Keep a Daily Log

By keeping a daily log, you’ll be able to track where you are spending most of your time so that you know the areas in which you need to improve. Most self-employed persons overestimate the amount of time they actually spend in productive activities, so this will help you see if your results match your aspirations.

9. Limit Email Checking

Checking your email every 10 minutes can be devastating to your productivity. It can distract you from the tasks you ought to be doing, and it puts you into a response mode. It’s a good idea to set aside 2 or 3 times each day to check all your email at once.

10. Get Some Good Office Furniture

There’s a good chance that you’ll be spending an inordinate amount of time at your desk, so it’s a good idea to get some good furniture. A good chair is good for your back and will help you keep healthy.

Staying productive and organized when you are self-employed is a tough task and certainly takes a bit of self-discipline. If you follow some of the tips above, then you can make the process a lot easier.