Things you should avoid doing when working as a freelance editor from home

When I started to work as a freelance editor for Scribbr more than one year ago, the world didn’t know the significance of ‘corona’ yet, and employees yearned for more working time they could spend at home. Well, we all know how things have changed since then, and even I, as someone who pictured myself working from fancy cafes and other countries, was among the people who were suddenly forced into the walls of their own apartment.

Before the worldwide pandemic, I already worked exclusively on a self-employed basis, but especially in the last year, I have noticed (along with millions of other people for whom this was a completely new scenario) that there are a lot of pitfalls that limit productivity and make it hard to get work done at home. I’m sure that a lot of other people — especially freelance editors — can relate to these situations. This is why I want to share some examples with you and highlight strategies that help me stay productive.

The classic

You wake up, put on a bathrobe, slide straight to your desk (maybe with a coffee in hand), and that is how your day is spent. Does this sound familiar to you? I have to resist this temptation on an almost daily basis, which is why I can say that for me, there is nothing worse for productivity than not getting ready for the day — and by that, I mean breakfast, proper shower, and actual clothes…). In my experience, it is a real productivity booster to pretend to go to work and to see my own desk as a real office, as if I were among other people who can observe me.

I know how tempting it is to just work in pyjamas (or even in bed), especially because editors don’t have to participate in online conferences for which they need at least a presentable upper part. Although this working routine probably works very well for a lot of people whose productivity is not connected with their outfit, it might be worth the effort trying to change this habit occasionally to see if working in a more ‘classic’ way leads to quicker results.

So many distractions

At home, distractions are everywhere: doing the laundry, tidying up — and since when are there so many spots on the windows? And the computer is a digital door to even more distractions, such as social media, newspapers — I could go on forever. It is easy but useless advice to say ‘don’t get distracted’, which is why I tried to find a way to actually reach this point.

I downloaded the website blocker Cold Turkey and used it while editing. To my surprise, it worked very well for me. I made some adjustments to the websites which are supposed to be blocked (there is an option for common ‘distraction websites’ such as Facebook, and there’s also a timer!) and quickly realized that I don’t even try to access those sites anymore because I don’t want to feel ashamed of my own weakness. Of course, it would be useful to install a similar program on the mobile phone, but unfortunately, there is no blocker for cleaning the apartment…

Did anyone hear the doorbell?

By now, the mail carrier probably already knows that you are at home a lot. This means that they will deliver not only your own packages to your home, but also the neighbours’ packages and packages for people who live far down the street and who you didn’t know before. Now you know all the names of the people who live close by, and they regularly stop by to get their packages. And has it happened to you that some of them ask you, by the way, if you could open their door tomorrow for when craftsmen are expected?

Summarised: Everyone knows that you are always at home and that you still will be there when they are back at their offices. This means that you should probably fake your absence from time to time. Of course, you want help out, but just try for once not to open the door when somebody needs your presence, and you will see: the daily life of everyone will go on just as smoothly as before, only you can get your work done!

Could you quickly…?

I am sure that every editor has heard this phrase more than once: ‘Could you quickly read over my motivation letter for the job I am applying for?’ If this sounds familiar to you, and if you regularly help out, you know that ‘quickly’ is a very elastic concept. The ‘quick’ revision of some documents can take me more than two hours (we all know how the quality of a text can be, let’s say, imperfect).

I have edited a lot of documents for my friends, and although I am always happy to help, I must say that it can be frustrating to edit the whole day for money and to do more editing work in my so-called free time. An editor friend of mine once corrected her friend’s master’s thesis, and it took her two days. Yes, two full days! So, my advice here? Learn to say no. Not if a good friend really needs your help or wants to apply for their absolute dream job, of course. But sometimes you just have to prioritise and explain to people in a nice way that correcting two pages of a complex paper does not take only five minutes.

Conclusion

So what do the habits and situations described above show us? Well, I think that first of all, it has to be said that none of them are very grave. Yes, in some cases, they take up time which might be spent in a more productive way. But let’s also not forget about the other side of the coin: Spending a working day in a cosy way, helping out a friend, and getting to know new people isn’t actually so bad, especially in times ridden by isolation and bad news. There are little tools and tricks which can help you be more productive, but isn’t it also nice to gather some anecdotes for post-Covid times?