Want to achieve greatness? Here are morning habits of successful freelancers so you can slay the solopreneur game
While you might not consider yourself to be a morning person (same!), it is still necessary to force yourself to function after sun-up if you want to make a success of your freelancing career. And sure, you might not have to get up *quite as early* as your office-job peers, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have a consistent routine in place. You definitely should.
Just because you are your own boss doesn’t mean that you don’t have to put in the hours in order to achieve great things. So how should your mornings look to set the right tone for the day ahead? Here are four ways to elevate your routine for a profitable freelancing career.
1. Make some moves
We get it. It takes a special kind of human to get out of bed early each day and get in a workout before the workday has even begun.
But exercising in the morning before you slump down in front of your desk for the day can have real benefits. Breaking a sweat — or at least slightly increasing your heart rate — at the beginning of the day can improve your physical and mental capacities for the hours that follow, which can help you to focus and perform to the best of your ability.
2. Get prepared
At the end of a long day of working, the last thing you want to do is spend time prepping for tomorrow when you could be tuning in to the latest episode of your favourite series. But making this a habit can stand you in good stead for a more organised career. Sort out your workspace, make a list of priorities for the next day, and the following morning tackle any pressing emails and planning, leaving the rest of the day free to do your money-making thing.
3. Avoid your phone
After our alarms (which are often a function on our phones) go off in the morning, many of us instinctively plug in and check for any updates and news. It is, after all, the digital age and our mobiles are like an extra appendage. But any bad news can derail you before you have even made it to your work station, and messages can be a distraction. Instead, try to concentrate on your to-do list, emails and any internal messaging and avoid your phone for as long as possible lest you find yourself on social media. Oops!
4. Start out strong
You know that task that you always leave ’til the last minute because it’s the worst? While you might think that starting your day confronted with something that invokes negative emotions, this can actually be a smart tactic in making your day more productive. By starting with your most challenging or daunting job, you can get it out the way and leave the smaller or more interesting projects to get you through the inevitable afternoon slog.
