5 Lifestyle Tips to Boost Your Productivity

Freelance proofreading offers freedom and flexibility, but it can be hard to stay productive when you’re in charge of your own schedule. We suggest following these lifestyle tips to boost your productivity:

1. Make healthy choices about food, water, exercise, and rest.
2. Take regular breaks from your work to avoid burnout.
3. Motivate yourself by setting short- and long-term goals.
4. Identify your distractions and limit the time you spend on them.
5. Embrace opportunities to learn new things.

Read on to find out more about each of these.

1. Look After Yourself

The better care you take of your physical health, the more your productivity will benefit in the long term. You’ll work much better when you:

• Eat well. You don’t need a fancy or complicated diet. Just make sure to eat balanced meals and healthy snacks to improve your concentration and support healthy brain function.
• Stay hydrated. Making sure you drink enough water each day can reduce the risk of headaches and help you think clearer. Who needs coffee?
• Exercise regularly. Even just a gentle walk or yoga routine can improve focus and productivity. Plus, regular exercise is a proven mood and health booster.
• Get enough sleep. A good night’s rest will keep you alert and focused – as all proofreaders should be. The “right” amount of sleep is different for everyone, but experts recommend 7–9 hours per night.

Incorporating healthy habits into your lifestyle will also make you less likely to miss out on work due to illness.

2. Break Up Your Work

When setting your work schedule as a freelancer, you may be tempted to power through a project without taking breaks.

However, taking time away from your work will help you avoid burnout and give you a more balanced lifestyle. And as a proofreader, breaks can give you a much-needed fresh perspective on a document.

To improve productivity and focus in your day-to-day work, then, try to:

• Schedule lunch breaks.
• Break each day up with microbreaks.
• Spend time away from screens when you do take a break.
• Switch between physical and mental tasks (e.g., if you’re working from home, you might take a break from proofreading to run an errand or do a household chore).

Remember, too, to allow for long-term breaks such as days off and holidays. Taking work with you when you travel is a great benefit of freelancing, but sometimes you need to leave your laptop at home.

3. Set Yourself Goals

As a freelancer, you’re responsible for keeping yourself motivated and productive, no matter what kind of lifestyle you have. One way to do this is to set short- and long-term goals:

• Create a daily to-do list. Ticking tasks off from a list can help keep you motivated. You can prioritize projects based on their length and deadline, and break larger projects into smaller, more manageable tasks.
• Have monthly “meetings” with yourself. In the absence of a manager or supervisor, you should check in regularly with yourself to set and review long-term goals. This will keep you productive and on track in your freelance career.
• Share your goals with someone else. Having another person to hold you accountable can help you keep on top of self-imposed deadlines.

You can also increase your chances of meeting your goals by having a reward system in place. Rewards don’t have to be big or expensive – if the promise of your favorite (nutritious) snack motivates you, then use it!

4. Be Disciplined with Distractions

In the age of smartphones and social media, addictive and time-wasting distractions are never more than a tap away. They can be a huge drain on productivity, but they’re also difficult to avoid.

So instead of completely cutting out your guilty pleasures, find a way to satisfy your cravings while minimizing the time you spend on them.

Try to be disciplined by turning off your phone while you work, and/or using tools such as website blockers.

You could even motivate yourself with timed access to your favorite distraction as a reward for completing a task.

5. Keep Learning

Learning is a constant process for proofreaders. And the more you learn, the more productive you’ll be. Plus, gaining additional qualifications can be a great way to show your commitment to your craft and impress potential clients.

Having up-to-date knowledge of different types of document, spelling and grammar conventions, and style guides means you can spend less time doing research, and more actually proofreading.

Plus, taking opportunities to learn and grow will keep your skills and your mind sharp. You may even discover more efficient ways to work.

Becoming A Proofreader

If you’re stumped on where to start, our Becoming A Proofreader course gives you all the practical skills you need to launch your freelance career. Why not give it a try for free?

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How to Manage Your Workload as a Freelancer Workload Management Tools for Freelancers How to Proofread Anywhere: 5 Tips for Working While You Travel Productivity Software: Website Blockers to Help You Stay Focused