Structuring the Freelance Working Week

One of the biggest challenges I’ve found in starting my own freelance writing business has been learning to work in my living environment. Jumping head first into working all hours of the day was my initial approach… Logically, I know that this was an awful idea. Only after a couple of weeks of burning the midnight oil did I finally start to apply some common sense, building some structure into my working week. I’m sure no one will be surprised to learn I became instantly more productive, even when working less.

Everyone is unique in how they work and the demands of their industry. Below I lay out a few considerations that have helped me to establish good working habits.

The working week

• Aim for a total of around 40 hours (35 hours taking into account breaks), in your standard working week, split into varying lengths of work days.

• Include some evening work, either in the form of long days or a ‘normal’ day beginning in the afternoon.

• Consider half days. Take advantage of getting out and about during ‘normal office hours’ for the rest of the world.

• Have one fully switched-off day from work.

These are some of the guidelines that I have found useful to work to and they will not suit everybody. Some might see this as too intense for freelance work. After all, you became your own boss to not be subject to rigid long hours. Others may view this as too light for someone who is supposed to be passionate about their work and is committed to building their business. The beauty of freelance work is the adaptability you are afforded to increase or decrease this intensity at will. Yes, there will be rushed deadlines, no matter how organized we are. But when you can book a last-minute holiday, take an impromptu day off with the family, or even decide to spend a week casually working in the sun, Isn’t it worth it? At the end of this blog, I’ve given a practical example of what a standard working week can look like.

Chunk and block working

• Set a 50-minute timer. Get up, grab a drink and stretch when the timer goes off.

• Understand the evidence base behind attention span and how that applies to you.

• When you find yourself slowing down, change the task or area of focus in your work.

• Avoid spending all day working on only one type of task. Plan each day to consist of at least three different types of work (e.g. networking, writing and sales).

Taking micro-breaks is a much-discussed and debated topic. A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature suggests a statistically significant link between the effect taking micro-breaks has on increasing “working vigour” and reducing fatigue. Whilst the link to overall work productivity is not as clear-cut, there is significant evidence to suggest increased productivity in clerical and creative tasks when taking microbreaks (highly relevant to a freelance writer, no?). (1)

The most compelling argument I’ve found for regularly taking time away from the computer screen is simply the noticeable effect it’s had on my working resilience. Where I previously got to the end of the week feeling pretty washed out, pacing my working day has freed up the energy I need to actively enjoy my days off. Equally, building variation into my day and maintaining flexibility to change tasks when I start to slow down have had noticeable effects on my overall well-being and relationship with work.

The time between working blocks

• Wherever possible (and no matter how briefly), spend time outside.

• Food and coffee are the fuel of the writer.

• Spending time on your phone is inevitable, just be aware of limiting “doom-scrolling”.

• Reading novels gives you a space to escape, gain inspiration and passively improve your writing skills.

• This time does not need to be productive (and often, it shouldn’t be).

  
  

I’m certainly someone who suffers from seasonal fluctuations in mood. As such, I find it much easier to motivate myself to write when the sun is shining (this, at times, may be related to the reward of an evening in a pub garden waiting for me…) However, this winter I’ve made much more of an effort to put a coat on and spend 5-10 minutes walking around the block or tidying up the garden. Nothing else seems to have quite the same effect on the quality of my work and the motivation to keep going than getting outdoors. Including food and drink on this list may seem a bit obvious but at times I feel this can be neglected. The phrase “food is fuel” is often used in patient education and it’s a principle that stands true for us as well.

Spending your precious micro-breaks reading may seem counter-intuitive when what you’re trying to take a break from is staring at the written word! Of course, spending every break reading is not a great idea but I find myself reaching for a book when I’m feeling particularly comfy and settled (and, let’s be honest, when I can’t be bothered to get up). I do the majority of my reading in the evening when winding down from the day. Often wording or phrasing that I’ve been struggling with all day will come to me at these times. I’m not sure if it’s just a coincidence but I still keep a notebook next to my bed for such moments.

Conclusion

Well, there we have it. I hope this blog has inspired you to think a bit more about your working habits. Is there anything on this list that you are going to try? Do you have any suggestions of your own? I would love to hear from you! I’ve added a couple of example schedules below to contextualize some of the thoughts in this article.

Example long workday

An example of a typical long day in my freelance writing week. I will only have 1 or 2 of these sort of days per week.

• 7 am - Wake up - Coffee, 20 mins of meditation, shower

• 8 am - Block 1 - LinkedIn, networking and emails

• 9 am - Block 2 - Writing project work

• 10 am - Break - Food and get outside

• 11 am - Block 3 - Sales and seeking work

• 12 pm - Block 4 - Sales and seeking work

• 1 pm - Lunch - Food and TV

• 2 pm - Block 5 - Writing project work

• 3 pm - Block 6 - Writing project work

• 4 pm - Block 7 - Writing project work

• 5 pm - Block 8 - LinkedIn, networking and emails

• 6 pm - Free - Walk the dog and read a novel

• 7 pm - Dinner - Food and TV

• 8 pm - Block 9 - Drafting and writing

• 9 pm - Block 10 - Drafting and writing

• 10 pm - Wind down - 20 mins of meditation and read a novel

This represents 10 hours of work (in reality it’s 8hrs 20 mins when taking into account 10-minute micro-breaks).

Example work week

An example work week in my freelance writing career. This is a fairly full week and I would certainly be carving aside more personal time in the following week.

• Monday - Normal working day (8 am - 5 pm) - 7 hours

• Tuesday - Long working day (8 am - 9 pm) - 10 hours

• Wednesday - Morning half day (8 am - 12 pm) - 4 hours

• Thursday - Normal working day (8 am - 5 pm) - 7 hours

• Friday - Morning half day (8 am - 12 pm) - 4 hours

• Saturday - Day off

• Sunday - Casual working day - 3 x 1-hour blocks of work

This is a 35-hour working week (otherwise known as a traditional 40-hour working week taking breaks into account). In reality, it’s worth acknowledging networking and emails can sometimes creep into free time.

1 - Albulescu, P., Macsinga, I., Rusu, A., Sulea, C., Bodnaru, A., & Tulbure, B. T. (2022). "Give me a break!" A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance. PLOS ONE, 17(8), e0272460. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272460