Freelancing Focus

Freelancing has challenged me far more than anything else I’ve attempted in my life. I have to be disciplined, and focused, in new ways.

At work, there’s always someone giving you work to do. And there’s always work to do. Work is structured and busy. While that carries its own challenges, I’ve figured out the basics of office productivity (how to organize my work load, keep email under control, etc.).

At home…I can just walk outside. Nobody will stop me. That freedom pulls at me constantly, and resisting it requires more discipline than I’m used to.

Far more than I have at the moment, it looks like.

So, I’m learning to focus. To get started on productive, paying work as soon as I’m settled in the morning. To set an alarm when I’m doing things that can suck up too much time (checking Twitter and FriendFeed, for example). To be more conscious of my paying time.

So, I learn and grow.