“The sky’s awake, so I’m awake. It’s time to play”. ~Ana
Anyone remember that statement from the movie Frozen? No, just me?
Being your own boss has its pluses! For sure, in the summer months when you finally can get outside, you can just give yourself permission to go for a walk, play hooky and go to the beach, read a book in the yard.
But how are you guys balancing the summer months? Do you continue a full content schedule? What’s your summer goals or rules for yourself to stay somewhat productive?
Hi,
I am not freelancing now, but when I did, I used to travel a lot in the summer. I sometimes hitchhiked.
Currently, I am employed as a content writer for a food company. Although I have been given the option to work from home, I am too tired to travel .
Still, I am waiting for the new crop of grapes to come in early September. Then I might be able to leave the lair.
PS. I liked the expression Digital Nomad.
I work extra hard in the colder months so I can enjoy summer. I also have the mentality that not everything has to get done in the summer. If I write 1 blog post/week instead of 2… I let it go.
That’s a great plan though. There’s something about being intentional with working less. If you plan for it, you feel good about the decision because something else is intentionally getting your time. But when you don’t consciously plan for it, it feels disorganized or like you aren’t succeeding. I like that you’re planful.
Oh yes, working from home is certainly not so easy. I personally find it hard to organize myself and get up early, as I did when I worked in the office. when the weather is good outside, it’s also hard for me to force myself to sit at the computer, I take the dog and go for a walk. Plus, for example, when I go to make a cup of tea, I see, for example, that the stove is all dirty and I start cleaning it
Guilty here too of those things. Working at home can be a challenge but in my mind, still such a blessing over an office. So I try to do small chunks of very productive work, do that walk with the dog, then dig into another chunk of time to accomplish the next thing. Hopefully that also trains me to stick with that format.
I also have to be aware of the noise around me. Sometimes jazz music, because it doesn’t have words is good. I can’t have a show on most of the time - it’s too distracting. If there’s kids in the house, I have to do other kinds of work. So many things to navigate but it’s doable!
This was such an interesting conversation. I just wanted to follow up and say that rest and down time, and doing things just for fun are also very valuable. We tend to only think that we “have value” when we’re being “productive,” but your brain actually needs rest and fun in order to continue being creative. Following your intuition and flowing with the seasons is going to allow your mind, body, and spirit (if you’re into that) to expand. Forcing yourself to work constantly when it feels all wrong could actually hurt your growth. So yeah, go for a walk when the sun is shining. Just because you’re not working doesn’t mean you’re not doing anything. Take care of yourself.
Yeah, I’ve been reminding myself that 15-30 minutes of time away from my desk outside or on a walk or bike ride, even at the park with kiddos really refreshes me to finish the day strong.
I struggle with this but have made it a priority to go for a walk or run before I start working on my website/recipes and make sure I go for a second walk once I am done. On nice days I actually sit in the backyard editing photos while my dog chases imaginary squirrels
When you’re a freelancer working from home, it’s very important to spend time away from home to generate ideas, that’s true. When possible, I ride a bike, it is great, go out of town to other places, it helps a lot to fresh up.
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