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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThen we actually start the self-employed life and realize that setting our own schedules isn\u2019t so easy. With client deadlines and expectations to live up to, many freelancers end up working the same 9-5 hours they were so eager to escape\u2014and plenty of us go back to work at night or on the weekends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can do better than that. Try one of these alternative schedules to take control of your freelance life and break away from the 9-5 mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. SPLIT SHIFT<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSplit shift\u201d is a term Laura Vanderkam uses in her bestselling book, I Know How She Does It.<\/em> In this model, workers literally divide their workday in half so they can spend the middle of their day focusing on other things and get back to work later that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, maybe you\u2019d tackle important client work early in the day when you\u2019re fresh, working from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Then you\u2019d enjoy a free afternoon to do whatever your heart desires. If you\u2019re location independent, this is your chance to explore whichever city you\u2019re in this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve got kids, you can pick them up from school or take them on an afternoon playdate. Heck, maybe you just don\u2019t like working in the afternoons and want to take yourself out for a lunch date at the new restaurant across town!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve grabbed dinner and put the kids to bed later that night, you can then head back to work for a few hours and wrap up any loose ends you didn\u2019t get to in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working at night may sound like a drag, but it gives you a chance to buckle down and get work done without the constant distraction of new emails. It\u2019s also a great time to schedule calls with clients in opposite time zones or who are unavailable to chat during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I used to work for a company that allowed their employees to work four ten-hour workdays during the summer so they could enjoy a three-day weekend every week. I dreaded actually working those ten-hour days because I hated that job, but I love the idea when it\u2019s applied to the freelance life!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Working longer days earlier in the week can free you up to kick off your weekend early when Friday rolls around and you\u2019re feeling totally drained. This is a great way to take advantage of feeling refreshed and ready to go at the beginning of the week, which means you\u2019ll use your work time more efficiently instead of frittering it away on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Longer weekends also give you more opportunities to travel or make time for other activities that are hard to squeeze in during the traditional two-day weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just be sure to schedule in regular breaks throughout the day if you plan to frontload your workweek. Working for ten hours straight without time to move around and let your brain unwind isn\u2019t healthy or productive for anyone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Have you ever found yourself resentful to be wrapping up a client project on a Saturday morning, only to remember that you didn\u2019t work at all the previous Wednesday? This happens to me all the time! As freelancers, we have the benefit of making our weekend whenever we want it to be. Unless you choose not to work on Sundays for religious reasons, there\u2019s nothing stopping you from taking your days off whenever they work best for you \u2013 not when everyone else takes them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe you\u2019re going to a late concert or baseball game on Tuesday night and would rather take Wednesday off to recuperate than waiting until Saturday to sleep in. You could decide to take a holiday weekend from Monday through Wednesday instead of Saturday through Monday to take advantage of cheaper airfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your weekend can be whenever you say it is, so don\u2019t feel tied down to everyone else\u2019s calendar. Get creative with your flexible schedule. You don\u2019t need to take off the same days each week\u2014you don\u2019t even need to take off two days in a row! A little bit of planning ahead is all it takes to make your weekend your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone works best at different times of the day depending on their personality, their natural energy levels, and the types of clients they work with. Spend some time reflecting on when you work your best and what lifestyle you want to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t be afraid to play around with your freelance schedule until you find the routine that works best for you! After all, that\u2019s one of the perks of the job.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the perks most of us envision for our lives as freelancers is the freedom to work where we want, when we want. I\u2019m guessing you\u2019ve daydreamed more than once about closing your laptop on a Tuesday afternoon because it\u2019s a great day for a bike ride, or taking off a random Thursday because … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freelancetofreedomproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2. FRONT-LOADED WORKWEEK<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN-WEEKEND<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
WHICH SCHEDULE WORKS BEST FOR YOU?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n