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10 Easy Ways to Succeed at Freelancing: #2, Get Comfortable

February 2, 2022 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

It sounds obvious, but hear me out. It’s not enough to set up a home office for your freelance career. You need a comfortable space that will encourage you to work.

As a freelancer, the more you work, the more money you make. The longer you can stay at your desk, the more work you can do (thus, the money). That’s why it’s so important to create the most comfortable, productive workspace for your freelance work.

Here are a few things to consider:

  • Desk height: For maximum comfort, your elbows should be at 90-degree angles, so it’s important to find the right height desk. Too high or too low will put strain on your arms and joints. That leads to pain, which gives you an excuse to leave your desk.
  • Chair height: You’ll also be the most comfortable if your knees are at a 90-degree angle when sitting at your desk. You mean I have to match my chair to my desk? That’ll take forever. Don’t freak out yet! Err on the side of too tall; you can always get yourself a foot rest to elevate your feet.
  • Computer monitor: Laptops are convenient for traveling but not everyday use—looking down/hunching over is hard on your neck and shoulders. Instead, you want your monitor to be at eye level. You can still use your laptop, just put it on a riser to get the right height. That actually leads us to the next consideration…
  • Ergonomic keyboard and mouse: If you elevate your laptop, you’ll need an external keyboard and mouse, but don’t settle for any keyboard and mouse. Check out the different types of ergonomic options (some of which are more drastic than others). They take a week or two to get used to, but they’re worth it when your wrists and forearms stop hurting.
  • Atmosphere: After you’ve made yourself physically comfortable, take care of your mental and emotional comfort by creating a space you want to stay in. For example, I love light, bright spaces so my office has windows and light blue paint on the walls. If my office was enclosed and dark, I wouldn’t want to stay there.

Creating a comfortable work environment won’t make the freelance life easier, but it will make it easier for you to spend time at your desk doing the work.

Stop back again in March for more freelance tips!

Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and signup for my newsletter for more writing, editing, and publishing tips throughout the month.

Filed Under: best practices Tagged With: freelance, freelance editor, freelance life, freelance work, freelance writer, home office, work space

7 Tips for Balancing Work and Family While Working from Home

September 12, 2016 by Karin Beery 1 Comment

home-office-336377_1920When you work full time, it can be hard to find a good balance between your work life and your family life. When you work full time from home, it becomes even more difficult as you live and work in your office. You don’t want to become a workaholic, but you also can’t afford not to finish your work.

If you’re struggling to balance work and family – or if you’re transitioning to a home office – consider these things:

  1. Give yourself a designated work space. A private office is preferable, but anything that is specifically your work zone will work (I have a desk in the living room). However you do it, make sure you have a spot that’s for work only. Don’t let your family intrude, and don’t take your work to the kitchen table. Make the distinction.
  2. Make a work schedule. Your hair stylist doesn’t work whenever she feels like it. She has set hours. You need to do the same thing. Know when you’re going to work, and make sure you’re at your desk when you need to be.
  3. Clock out. Maybe you prefer to work four, ten-hour days. If that’s the case, don’t work on your day off. Let your work time be work time, and reserve your family time for family. Yes, we sometimes work overtime, but it shouldn’t be the standard.
  4. Make the most of your breaks. It’s tempting to sit at your desk all morning and work, but it’s not healthy. You need to get up and stretch your legs, so why not make the most of it? When I need to move, I empty and reload the dishwasher. During my next break, I’ll take the dog on a 15-minute walk. When I do these things, it clears a little more time in my schedule so I can spend time with my family when we’re together.
  5. Work together. When I started working from home, I struggled with the idea that – since I was at home – I should do all the house work. That led to an immaculate house, but then I had to work after hours to complete projects. Now, I wait until my hubby comes home and we cook and clean together.
  6. Pack a lunch. The biggest time-suck for me was lunch. When the kitchen is ten feet away, it’s tempting to make lunch and grab a snack whenever you’re hungry, but if you don’t have anything prepared you can easily lose an hour or two in the kitchen. Like #5, when that happens you end up working late and losing time with your family.
  7. Talk about it. Once you’ve done 1-6, talk with your family about it. If you all know the plan, it will be easier to stick with it.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: freelance, freelance work, home office

Holding It All Together: Your Home Business By Donna Schlachter

July 18, 2016 by Karin Beery 1 Comment

white board 20160606_155008Running any kind of business out of the home is never easy. There always seem to be so many potential distractions, including well-meaning friends who think that because you are at home means you’re available; spouses who see no problem with you running errands during the work day; children who expect you at their beck and call, particularly in the summer; and a mountain of household chores that call from nooks and crannies.

But I’m preaching to the choir.

We all know the problems. Now, what are some solutions?

Over the years, I’ve found the following 5 items to be mandatory to maintaining my schedule, my professionalism, and my sanity.

  1. A good calendar: to keep all my projects and appointments organized. I used to be exclusively paper, before I had any technology that enabled me to go beyond the calendar on my desk. One year I used one of those large blotter-type calendars, but soon found that was inconvenient to take with, so the next year I switched to a book type, two pages per month, that laid flat on my desk. But I struggled to take that one with me. So last year I upgraded my cell phone and am now using that calendar exclusively, except I still have a paper one on my desk where I track my blog activity and other in-office things, such as newsletter dates and birthdays. I only take the paper calendar with me when I travel, because otherwise I’m in the office every day and can check if there’s something I need to attend to. In my cell phone calendar, which I also sync with my husband’s cell phone and my tablet, I color code each activity. Coordinating calendars is imperative, and you and whoever you coordinate with should make a commitment not to add anything without checking the calendar first. You might prefer an online calendar such as Google calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar or Windows Calendar: http://www.wincalendar.com/desktop-calendar .  There are plenty of online choices.
  2. A digital filing system: Since I’m old school, I learned to create and use paper filing systems, and honestly, my digital filing system closely mimics a paper system. I create a major “filing cabinet”, such as Business, then I create subfolders that I treat like “drawers”, such as “Writing”, “Accounting Stuff”, “Government Stuff”, and so on. In each “drawer”, I then create subfolders that are like “sections”. So in the “Writing Drawer”, I have “Editing Clients”, “Non-Fiction”, “Fiction” sections, for example. And so on, down to the final folder with the piece of information I am saving. I store all of this in a section of my computer called “My Files”. There is only data in this section. No downloaded files. No programs. Nothing with an .exe extension that could interfere with my data files. Software should be installed in “Program” folders, and any programs you download from the internet should be stored in “Downloaded Program” folders, all kept separate, so there is less chance of one corrupting the other.
  3. A backup system: I back up “My Files” on a regular basis. In reality, these are the only files that are changed on a regular basis. Program files are either on disk or accessible online, so you don’t need to keep backing them up.
  4. An external drive for photos: If you’re anything like me, I take thousands of pictures. To keep them safe and not clutter up–and therefore slow down–your computer, I store mine on an external hard drive. I sort them into folders by their subject matter, then into subfolders by their location. For example, I have a folder called “old houses and mansions”, and in that folder, subfolders such as “Avery House”, “Harvey House”, and so on. In the “Avery House” folder, I have several folders because I’ve been there a couple of times.
  5. A deadline white board: I keep this propped up on my desk, and I make notes of things I specifically need to do today and this week, with an estimated time to complete. Here is a picture of a recent board. I can add, cross off, erase when done, change the due date when necessary, leave an item there to deal with later, such as with an editing client who I’ve sent work back to and am waiting for their next installment. And the coolest thing of all is I can take a picture of the board when I’m going to be out of the office for a few hours or days, and I have my To Do list with me.

I’d love to hear about your must-have organizing tools. Leave a comment and share with us!

IMG_6534  Juggling the books - smaller—

Donna lives in Denver with her husband Patrick, who is her first-line editor and biggest fan. She writes historical suspense under her own name, and contemporary suspense under her alter ego of Leeann Betts. She has published four cozy mysteries and a devotional for accountants under her pen name, and a collection of short stories, a book on writing tips, and several devotionals under her own name. She is currently under contract with Barbour Books in a novella collection on the Pony Express. Donna is a ghostwriter and editor of fiction and non-fiction, and judges in a number of writing contests. She will be teaching an online course for American Christian Fiction Writers in March 2017, “Don’t let your subplots sink your story”. Donna loves history and research, and travels extensively for both. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter, and online at: www.HiStoryThruTheAges.wordpress.com and www.HiStoryThruTheAges.com. Her books are available at Amazon.com in digital and print.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: freelance, home office

6 Tips for a More Comfortable Home Office

January 25, 2016 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

 

7K0A9914When I started working at home, I hit the yard sales for inexpensive furniture. Not a bad idea, but when you spend 8+ hours at a desk, you need to be comfortable. It didn’t take long before my back and shoulders started to hurt. Then I started dreading going to work. Then I stopped writing as often as I should – I could always find a dozen other things to do instead of sitting at an uncomfortable desk.

The spiral continued until I finally started investing in my furniture (and myself). It doesn’t have to cost a lot to make your office more comfortable, and therefore more functional. A few inexpensive tweaks to your desk and chair can make a big difference.

Your Desk

  • Elevate. It’s easier on your neck and back when you’re looking straight ahead instead of down. Don’t put your monitor or laptop on your desk – buy a riser/shelf and keep your screen at your natural eye level (Bonus: this will give you extra storage space on your desk, as you can put your stapler, tape, and tissues under your screen). I purchased shelves at the office supply store for less than $20.
  • Externalize. When I bought my first laptop I loved to convenience of carrying everything with me and working anywhere I wanted. Now I can’t type on my laptop for longer than a day or two without the tendinitis in my wrists flaring up. Solution – external keyboard. Better solution – ergonomic external keyboard. (If you have a laptop and decide to elevate your screen, this is a must-have.) If your budget is tight, buy a corded keyboard for less than $20.
  • Multiply. Invest in a second monitor. I don’t know how I ever functioned with only one. Side-by-side screens let me compare pre- and post-edited documents; I can research without closing my work-in-progress; I can watch reruns while scheduling my social media without having to minimize either screen (that last one may not apply to everyone). Don’t forget – if you elevated your main monitor, you’ll need to elevate this one as well. I bought my second monitor during back-to-school sales; that’s a great time to save money on your office!

Your Chair

  • Adjust it. When you put your hands on your keyboard, your elbows should create a ninety degree angle. Too much more or less than that can cause strain on your arms, so don’t be afraid to raise/lower your chair.
  • Support it. Someone gave me a free office chair – the perfect price for a new business owner! The problem: it’s not very comfortable. The solution: a lumbar support pad ($15-20) and a seat cushion ($30-40). Now I can sit and focus without the discomfort.
  • Give yourself a lift. After you adjust your chair, you may notice that your feet dangle. Even if you can touch the floor with a flat foot, you may be stretching, which can cause pressure points. I didn’t believe it at first, but then I tried a foot rest – amazing! You may need to experiment with a few different heights, but start with 4-6 inches and see if you can feel the difference. You can buy an office chair foot rest, or make one for yourself (we used some scrap wood and a few nails).

Working from home comes with enough distractions as it is – don’t let your office space deter you from doing your work. Make yourself comfortable, then get back to work!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: freelance work, home office

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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