Contents
When I tell people I work as a freelance writer, the most common question I’m asked is about how I find my clients. The thing is, my work isn’t all that inconsistent. Yes, I make varying amounts of money each month, but generally, I don’t have the same consistency of clients as most agencies do or those with a salaried jobs. But working on a marketplace helps a ton so that I’m able to have a good amount of orders on a monthly basis.
One of the best things about freelancing is that you have complete control over your schedule. You get to decide when you work, where you work, and what you work on. While that degree of flexibility is great, I quickly learned that implementing some sort of structure for my workdays and weeks was important. So, here’s how I do that.
I answer all messages before 9am!
While psychologists would say it isn’t healthy to reach for your phone in the first hour of waking up, it’s necessary as a Marketplace Freelancer because I have clients from all over the world! Although the time changes can be drastically different, it’s important that I answer any overnight messages first thing in the morning so that I’m able to maintain good communication with clients.
Head to the coffee shop to work from 10am-3pm
Although I love the concept of working from home, I find that my best work happens when I leave the house and am surrounded by other people. When I don’t have big projects to work on, I may stay in the house and work from my desk. I usually have clients reach out to me throughout the day, so no matter where I’m working from, I always have my phone close by so I respond promptly. Depending on what the client may need, they may schedule a phone or virtual meeting where we discuss the project in more depth. It’s great being able to make my own schedule, so most weeks, I don’t work every day, but maybe every other day if I’m not slammed with orders.
Plan for the next day and enjoy the evening
Ever since high school, I always found it helpful to plan for the next day, so I know what to expect. These days, I have the help of my iPad, where I have a digital planner and can see what’s to come. As a Marketplace Freelancer, I’m also able to download the platform’s application and use that as a guide as well.
Figuring out a schedule that works for me has been a bit of a struggle, especially because for so long, I was told my schedule when I worked for someone else. But as a Marketplace Freelancer, I’m able to take back control of how I work, and it feels great!
