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How to Improve Your Freelancing Productivity

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I do a lot of my work from home. While this is great in many ways, there is one where I have a lot of trouble: productivity. It is just so easy to lose track of time, or to begin procrastinating. There are some days where you just can’t get started, and before you know it you realize it is one in the afternoon and you are still in your bathrobe, without a single bit of work done.

One of the reasons it is so hard to be productive at home is that it isn’t easy to feel stressed or like there is a time constraint when you aren’t in an office. Some days it is absolutely impossible – which is why making your home a place for relaxed productivity is a great way to fix the problem.

Here are some tips:

Get Quirky With Your Seating Arrangements

Sitting in an office chair all day can be such a pain, whether you are at home or elsewhere. But they are also a necessity, so if you want to mix it up it is better to add another couple of options around you so you can move around, get comfortable, and even improve the look of your work space.

Have a sofa in your office against one wall for breaks. Or get really quirky and throw in a couple of bean bag chairs.

Have a Dedicated Work Space

Have you ever heard people say that if you want to sleep better you should make the bedroom a place only for night activities? That same principle can be applied to your office. Treat your freelancing business as a real business.

Have a place where you always work, whether it is a full room or just a small segment of the house. Only use it for productive things (no playing games or browsing Facebook), and let that association boost your work output. It is a nifty little trick of the mind.

Using a hosted contact center is a good idea if you want to improve your productivity and take your business to the next level.

Surround Yourself With Serenity

A burbling waterfall art piece, a stereo playing gentle music, a couple of house plants, relaxing lighting….all of these can give your workspace a feeling of serenity that improves mood and keeps you loose and happy through the day.

You can even section off a portion of your office for stretching, yoga or workouts to help you de-stress and free your mind of unwanted thoughts.

Decorate With Bright Colors

Bright colors will trigger a reaction in the brain that makes you feel more energized and focused. Red, oranges, yellows and golds are great. So are brighter versions of usually cooler colors, like an electric blue or green.

You don’t necessarily want it to be so busy that it is distracting, but a splash of color can do wonders.

Have Everything You Need Within Reach

A coffee pot, some healthy snacks, your work phone, hand wipes or lotions, chapstick, a sweater or blanket; fantastic items to have on hand just in case you find yourself needing something and don’t want to leave the room.

Having the little things that improve your mood will keep you from getting too tense, of having to go out for something. Try a weekly checklist to make sure before the workweek starts that everything is fully stocked and ready for you.

Create a Schedule

A schedule is your best friend for keeping calm and on track through the day. Set a times for work in blocks through the day, working in any meetings, conference calls or emails you have to do. Add in plenty of breaks, a decent lunch time, and maybe a time for something active like a quick walk or workout. Here are a few cool calendar plugins for WordPress to always keep your schedule handy.

This will keep you at your best. Make sure you also have an end time for the day, and don’t work beyond it. Working from home, it can be really tempting to push things to the end of the day and overshoot our schedule, or just get a few more emails in.

Do you have a tip for making your home a place of relaxed productivity? Let’s discuss!

Beach Notes: Symmetry in Motion

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By Suzie Cheel & Des Walsh

Kites were flying at Kirra Beach at a Kite Festival, only the challenge was there was no wind, the larger kites were beached, but these 3 kites , so light that they were able to fly.

kites flying

Authors’ Bios: Suzie Cheel is the Heart Whisperer at Suzie Cheel You can find Suzie on Facebook and on Twitter as @suziecheel

Des Walsh is a Digital Disruption Navigator at Des Walsh Dot Com You can find Des at LinkedIn and on Twitter as @deswalsh

Having the Right Business Mentor Can Make All the Difference

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cross-armed leader looking at camera in working environmentDo you have a business mentor?

When you’re starting out, the chances are you’ve thought of everything from your marketing to your cash flow to finding the right premises. But have you thought about finding a mentor for your business?

A mentor is a big boost for business owners at all stages, but especially those just starting out.

So what can a mentor do for you?

Business Knowledge

When you work with a mentor, you’re working with someone who knows their way around the business world.

Their business knowledge is invaluable for your business. Whether you’re trying to find your way through the maze of taxes, or trying to figure out how to get started with employing people in your business, a mentor can help you.

Even if they don’t have experience in your specific field, they’ll know what it’s like to meet the day to day challenges of running a business, and will pass that knowledge on to you.

Wisdom from Experience

As the article, “Why You Need a Mentor and Where to Find One” says, real life know-how comes with experience. No matter how well educated or trained you are, nothing beats the wisdom you gain from experience.

There’s no short cut for experience and the knowledge it brings. However a mentor is as good as a short cut. A mentor can tell you the things they’ve learned over their time in business.

You’ll be able to learn from their mistakes and triumphs, avoiding the pitfalls that caught them out, and benefiting from the things that worked for them. You can take that knowledge and mold it to fit your own business.

Moral Support

Being in business can be tough, especially when you’re starting out.

From cash flow problems to struggling to get the right customers, there will be days when you wonder if you’re doing the right thing.

A mentor can help you through the rough spots.

They can offer a listening ear and empathy, from someone who has been there and knows exactly what you’re going through.

Your mentor can also give you hope that there is a way through the hard times, and prove to you that with dedication and determination, you can make it.

Fresh Ideas

Sometimes you just need a fresh perspective.

No matter how new or how experienced you are in business, sometimes you’ll hit a problem you just can’t see the way past. That’s where a mentor can help.

Regardless of whether they’re experienced in your specific industry, a mentor brings a fresh perspective to any situation. They’ll spot solutions and new approaches that you might not have noticed, because you don’t have an outside view.

It’s not just about solving specific problems, either.

Sometimes your mentor will spot an even better way of approaching something that seems to be working ok, making your business even better.

Motivation and Accountability

Motivation is key to success in business. You’ll need to keep going through the good times and bad, and keep your goals in mind.

A mentor can help you do just that. By helping you set goals and providing an example of success in business, a mentor will motivate you to keep going.

Working with a mentor also encourages accountability, as you talk to them about previous issues and what you’ve been doing to deal with them.

A good mentor is worth their weight in gold for your business.

You’ll benefit from their experience and wisdom, empowering you to make the best decisions for your business from the outset.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Tristan Anwyn writes on a variety of topics including social media, how to build customer relationships, content marketing and how to work with a business mentor.

How to do 2015

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Happy New Year!

crystal clear beach day

This is not a roundup, best-of, lessons-learned post.

This is not about setting goals, making resolutions, or dieting.

This is just a simple reminder that there’s nothing magic about January 1.

So yes, come out of the gates today full of hope and energy, full of plans and fresh ideas.

And on March 13 or so, or when that starts to flag, remind yourself that any old day can be January 1. Get back up on the horse, go back and re-read your goals, dream board, marketing plan, business strategy, all the things you wrote on January 1.

Heck, it could even be next Wednesday.

The most successful people are the ones who can create their own January 1 whenever they need it.

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for Social Strata — makers of the Hoop.la community platform. Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Avoiding Death by Cookie Cutter

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

Have you ever been doing one thing and found a correlation to another that sidetracks you? It happens to me all the time.

Cookie cutter man

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about doing what I love, it’s that sitting on my butt and working online for hours is all too easy. I’ve gone from running 5 to 7 miles a day to working 7 to 9 hours without ever getting out of my chair. It’s not good for me.

So two weeks ago, for the first time ever, I hired a personal trainer because I wanted some expertise and experience to help me avoid hurting myself while I got back in shape.

At our first meeting, I expected to be told how ‘the program’ worked and what I should be prepared for. Instead, we had an hour long conversation about what I wanted to achieve, any goals I was pursuing, how I ate and how much water I drank in a day. She was serious about food and water.

We talked about all the different nutritional plans out there – paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, raw, etc. Then she said, “I don’t want you to change how you eat, I do want you to keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat each day. Make a note on the days you feel great, get enough sleep and have a good workout, and make a note on the days where things aren’t feeling right for you. When you find the eating pattern that works best for you – stick with that. It’ll be the best Lisa Jenkins diet I can recommend.”

That’s where the correlation happened.

Most of us with online businesses look to others for support and inspiration to build stronger, more successful businesses. We seek out blogs like the one you’re reading now and conferences like SOBCon and Genius Shared to help us learn from people who’ve gone before us.

But that doesn’t mean we should blindly pattern our success on a cookie cutter version of theirs. We have to know what advice fits our needs and we need to know how to measure the effect of that advice against our unique goals. Here are a few simple ways to get started:

  • Create landing pages for each online campaign and track conversions using Google Analytics.
  • Collect email addresses instead of Likes, Follows and Connections and use them to segment customer markets for targeted campaigns you can track.
  • Use A/B testing.

Adapt the tactics of others, don’t copy their steps.

There’s nothing wrong with looking to others who’ve successfully built online businesses for inspiration and guidance to build your own business. It’s a smart move. Just make sure it IS your business you’re building and not a shadow of someone else’s.

Keep YOUR goals in mind. Track what works FOR YOU and what doesn’t. When you find what works best – stick with it. That’s the best strategy I can recommend.

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+