Hey y’all, here’s an easy-to-watch video sharing a bit of Bridgetown while on my workflow during a full week. Right after, there’s a list of freelancer business tips from lessons learned while mostly working from home in this season.

Little question so we can get better acquainted: are you from Barbados or have you ever visited? Well, town isn’t usually on the Top 10 list of places to go to for nationals, but it is for visitors.

Familiarity can sometimes lead to frustration so I find it helpful to look for new things (about the same place) to appreciate, in order to get errands done in a reasonably light state of mind, especially on those days when the heat of the day is set to coconut-bread baking temperature.

Onto the video

A Day In The Life – Blogging & Vlogging

In this season, I generally work from home unless consulting with select clients who book content services on a retainer basis.

Being on the road constantly can be draining (especially in the Bim sun), but there’s nothing quite like purposeful moments of fresh air while on an early morning walk & jog and sunshine on your shoulders while on a blogging adventure or heading to a meeting.

Most of the coordinating involved in now serving as Associate Editor of ‘Caribbean StartUp Scene‘ e-Magazine is done from my cosy desk at home, but since it’s a new post, the Coordinator and I have been in content planning meetings at intervals.

Here are some tips for work-from-home freelancers. This week was an exception to the general rule, which was alright because it served the purpose of documenting different days to produce the video in this post.

Generally, coaching sessions are booked on one set day in the week, online work for (and calls with) clients is set for a portion within two to three specific days in the week, blog posts, commercials and podcast episodes written and recorded in quiet pockets, and on-the-road tasks are clustered together. I’ll use that template as a reference for these tips:

• List and sort your services (note the general timeframe each takes)
• Align services with days and time slots (making room for time to clean, exercise, cook, read, prune…)
• Documentation can minimize extensive conversations. It’ll also help you keep track of important client communication so you can map your work process/progress, job requests and also orient any added team members virtually
• A day of rest (your brain needs it, therefore so does your business) – take a breather
• Start asking around or researching good (and easy-to-find) meeting spaces, so when you or a client suggests having one, you already have at least one or two ideas in mind. Check out amenities beforehand and select, clean venues where customer service is up to par and refreshments on point, to enhance your business meeting experience and not the other way around
• Let your clients (and self) know when the phone is off limits. E-mails, sure but client calls stop at a certain time
• Use a planner, whether paper, digital or better yet – both

Every day brings its own experiences, challenges and lessons – make the most of your freelancing adventure. As a daily work in progress, I haven’t got it all figured out and I think that’s part of what the journey is all about…growing by grace from strength to strength, sharing insight and resources, asking questions, learning from missteps, remaining teachable, encouraging each other along and giving thanks for it all.

Freelancer Workflow – Blogging And Vlogging From Bridgetown, Barbados was first published on ‘Joy within’ blog.