One of the most significant benefits of being self-employed is the ability to set your hours. However, even with all of this freedom, it is critical to have systems in place to ensure that you remain productive and complete all of your tasks.

Here are the top ten tips to help you stay productive throughout the day:

Get Up And Out Of Bed Early

Getting up early in the morning, according to research, helps you be more productive throughout the day. When you get up early in the morning, you have more time to strategize and plan out what you want to accomplish for the day. If you’re a night owl like me, there are many things you can do to get yourself out of bed earlier in the morning.

Try going to bed an hour earlier and turning off your phone 30 minutes before bed to improve your sleep quality and productivity. The blue light emitted by our electronic devices stimulates our brains, making it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep. Try shifting in 15-minute intervals to see how it works.

Go to bed 15 minutes earlier today and set your alarm for the next day 15 minutes earlier as well. Continue doing this every day until you reach your desired wake-up time.

Make A List Of Things To Do

You should set aside some time to determine exactly what you need to accomplish for the day ahead of time. This can be done at the start of each week, or you can do it one day at a time as you get the hang of it. In either case, making a to-do list can help you stay focused on the tasks that need to be completed for the day.

If at all possible, try to keep daily and weekly to-do lists that you can update regularly. It’s fine if you don’t complete everything on your daily to-do list, but making a list will help you stay on track, and staying on track is important.

As a self-employed individual, your to-do list should include both professional and personal tasks and obligations. One of the most difficult aspects of being your boss is managing your time effectively and efficiently. If you’re anything like me, you may find it difficult to switch off from work and focus on other activities on some days.

Get Some Rest

The ability to sleep well is critical for staying productive. Getting enough sleep is important for replenishing the body and staying energized for the following day.

Using Sleep Cycle, you can keep track of and analyze your sleep, which will help you get a good night’s sleep. To ensure that you wake up feeling refreshed, they can track the phases of your sleep cycle and make recommendations for changes to your sleep schedule.

Maintain Your Cleanliness

To ensure that your workspace is clean at the end of the day, it would be best if you could do so at the beginning of the day. Eliminating clutter can assist you in increasing your concentration so that you can complete all of your work more quickly.

If you have a dedicated workspace in your home or as a separate office, it will be easier to distinguish between work and leisure activities.

When you are in your workspace, you will be more productive because there is a variety of energy and environments to choose from. Organize your workspace in a way that is most conducive to your preferred method of working.

You may find that you stay tidier if you hire an office space. So it might be a good idea to look at rent prices for office space in NYC. 

Continue To Be Physically Active

Exercise is not only beneficial to your health, but it is also beneficial to your ability to remain productive. It has been shown to reduce stress levels, which is beneficial for maintaining concentration while at work.

It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate; simply carving out 15 minutes of your day to engage in some physical activity will suffice. Keeping yourself physically active can take many forms: taking a walk around the block, riding your bike, or even performing an at-home workout.

When I’m out walking, I enjoy taking phone calls. Nothing is disrupted, and you are crossing something off your to-do list while getting some exercise and fresh air at the same time.

Provide your body with nutritious foods.

It may sound cliche, but what we eat determines who we are. It is critical to fuel our bodies with clean, healthy foods to maintain concentration, strong energy, and a positive attitude throughout the workday.

If you prioritize eating and eat foods that are good for you, you will be able to stay more productive and focused for a longer time. Being your boss entails taking care of one’s own needs. You are the face of your company, and as such, you must be in peak condition.

Take Some Time To Meditate And Relax

Stress is common among freelancers and other self-employed individuals. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and disorganized when you have a hectic schedule and a lot on your plate.

We often forget to take time out for ourselves, to relax, to turn off, and to reset our internal clocks. Taking a few minutes to clear your mind and relax in the morning, the middle of the day, after a stressful situation, or in the evening can go a long way toward assisting you in remaining productive.

Keep Track Of Your Contacts

As a freelancer, communication with clients is essential, but it can easily become disorganized. It is critical to effectively manage your contacts to maintain effective communication with clients.

Apps like Covve are powerful business relationship management tools that use artificial intelligence to assist you in managing your contacts and converting them into customers. Covve automatically notifies you when it is time to contact clients and when you are losing touch with customers.

Additionally, the app allows you to store notes about clients after business calls, ensuring that you never lose track of important information! Do you require background information to begin a conversation?

The news feature scans the web and notifies you of relevant information about your contacts so that you always have something to talk about and can add value to every encounter.

The 90/20 Rule Is Another Important Rule To Remember

After experimenting, the United States Navy concluded that we are most productive when we work in 90-minute blocks. Working for 90 minutes on a specific task and then taking a 20-minute break is extremely simple.

When you are self-employed, it is easy to lose track of time and become exhausted after working on a project for several hours. When it comes to productivity, the 90/20 method is specifically designed to increase it by ensuring you are operating at peak mental performance.

Once your brain has worked for 90 minutes on a specific task, it begins to lose concentration and become easily distracted.

The simple act of going for a quick walk or eating a healthy snack can have a positive impact on your mental state throughout the day, allowing you to be more productive all day.

Maintain A Thorough Calendar

A well-organized calendar, much like a to-do list, is a good first step toward increasing your productivity as a freelancer. Make a point of highlighting deadlines and important dates so that nothing catches you off guard—set meeting reminders and even color-code your calendar to make it easier to see what you have on your plate each day.

Google Calendar has a unique feature that allows you to create multiple different calendars that can all be displayed on a single screen, which is particularly useful. You can now easily distinguish between your personal and professional calendars while still viewing them all on the same screen.

This guide should help you to remain productive when self-employed. Do you have any other tips that could help? Please share them in the comments section below.