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What is your preferred freelancing work schedule?



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What is your preferred freelancing work schedule?

What is your preferred working schedule for a full time freelancing? I am presently employed but I'm already preparing for a full time freelancing work. My idea is to work at home in a 9 to 5 schedule like an employee. It is not healthy tobe working for my entire waking hours for it might be stressful and I might get sick. Perhaps an 8-hour work is just fine for the day. However, I had been reading in this site that you need to put in more time in freelancing in order to earn more. There was one who said that working for 12 hours is rewarding in terms of income. Oh well, it remains to be seen when I go full time in my freelancing. What can you suggest, any opinion? 

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Barida
I think it is all about understanding the time that works fine for me. I always break my working schedule into two parts. The first period of my work is in the early hours of the morning when I'm awake. After then, I try to work once more in the evening when I'm back from my offline duties.



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augusta
I work when it really convenient for me especially in the early hours of the morning and late in the evenings.This routine helps me not to interfere with the workings of the home.

I have tiny tots to take care and I must do it to the best of my abilities so I scheduled my time well.



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mildredtabitha
My routine is also similar to yours. 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening. On days when I am free, I can give 8 hours to my online work. I also think that clients, internet connection, your health and environment can influence your schedule and determine how it should be.



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kgord
I think that these are the types of options that you are looking for when you are working at freelancing. Working a regular schedule is something that really helps you stay targeted and focused. It sounds like you have your day broken down very well.



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kgord
I like to work in the morning and then various times throughout the day as I am able. I don't work too much in the evening, because I deserve some time off too. It is nice to be able to take some time off throughout the day and evening as well.



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DarthHazard
I don't really do any proper freelancing. I do a bit of paid posting here and there to make a bit of extra money whilst I have nothing else to do. I tend to just do it in the evening just before I go to sleep because that is the time when I am free to do this and don't have anything else to really do.



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wiseagent
So, do you usually spend only a few hours of your day working on it?

If things changed (for a better scenario, obviously) would you devote more of your time to this activity? Or don't you even consider that idea?



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DarthHazard
I spend about half an hour doing paid posting really. I wouldn't spend more time because it's just not worth the time because of how little you can make. I just think paid posting is a good thing to do to earn a bit of extra money here and there and not as the main income earner.



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wiseagent
Yeah, paid to post is good... But it's not enough to make real money. However, money is money anyway, right? Haha... What is your preferred freelancing work schedule?

But do you explore other ways to try for more money? Or paid to post is enough for you?



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wiseagent
I divide myself between the first hours of the morning or for a few hours at night. But, if I have to prioritize only one time during the whole day... I prefer the night time because I'm usually more willing to work and my brain seems to work faster, haha.



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vhinz
I'm still have a regular day job so it is only during night that I can do freelancing. But maybe someday if my freelancing income surpasses my regular job, I would probably quit from my job and do freelancing even day time.



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JoeMilford
vhinz,
I too still have a "day job", but luckily I can do it primarily from home. I also teach at a campus in North Atlanta, but it is only two days a week, an a few hours a day, so it does not take a whole lot of time out of my home working schedule, I have to prep my courses, of course, but I have been doing this for years, so it is an easy transition for me. I think that, if I could afford it or find a way to do it, I, like you, would quit my jobs in order to be a full time writer and freelancer; however, I have a feeling that I would really really miss teaching and being with my students if I were to do so.



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vhinz
I'm teaching too in a private college. I'm from the Philippines and I'm living in a province where the salary of a teacher is not that high. I love teaching but since I became interested in blogging, a new aspiration has been born. I still wanted to teach but I think it would be much better if I can do it not only within the classroom but in a place where many people from different parts of the world could access it. Blogging is one way that I found that could able me to share my knowledge and ideas to a larger number of people. Another thing is I wanted to have time freedom and financial freedom that will allow me to work anytime and anywhere and be able to do that because of my own free well and not because I am employed. And financial freedom to be able to help people in our community living in poverty.



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JoeMilford
vhinz,
Actually, I teach online and in the classroom, depending on where I am placed every semester at the two institutions where I work. You should look into online teaching--I teach for eCore, so they might actually have offices in the Philippines if you want to look into that. Teaching does not pay, at least not in my experience, but it is a labor of love, and you can get good benefits and hopefully get by. Teaching online is fun, and you can do it from home in your pajamas while you alternate between helping your students, blogging, and freelancing!



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vhinz
I'm also looking forward to be an online teacher but I'm still practicing to become fluent in English speaking. I could write in English but I have difficulties in speaking. I seldom speak in English when I was still schooling. Most often I would speak using my native language that is why I don't really sound good when I speak English. And it is just recently that I became interested in blogging. But every day after work I always read and practice writing as well as speaking in English. Sometimes I would record myself in video. I could speak English in simple conversation but there are times that I tend to forget the right words that I should use. And sometimes what I'm saying is confusing.

I'm planning to create a youtube channel to teach web development from scratch for beginners but the problem of my speaking is what really holds me back. But I'm giving myself a month or two to start my plan of creating my youtube channel.

Sometimes I'm thinking that it could really help to improve my English speaking faster if I could speak every day to a native English speaker. I searched in the internet but most of what I have found that offers a one-on-one English speaking are paid hourly. So maybe if I have enough budget for that I would enroll for English speaking class with native English speaker. But for now, I just keep on practicing in forums like this, reading blogs, e-books, watching tutorials on youtube, and watching English movies.

I'm so glad that I've found this community where everyone shares ideas.

Thanks joeMilford for your encouragement!



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wiseagent
Would you really risk your regular job to live exclusively as a freelancer? Wow... That's brave. I think it's a very risky move (and I particularly don't think I could do this), even if it's more profitable at some point.



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vhinz
Not at this point because I'm just getting started. If my earnings in freelancing could really sustain, then I would quit from my regular job. I'm also learning online business. Freelancing would just another bridge to do what I really wanted, and that is to become an online entrepreneur. Currently I'm working as an IT instructor handling different subjects so I don't have enough time to work on my goal. Doing online stuff I think would help me to become an entrepreneur.

Time freedom, financial stability, and financial freedom, all cannot be obtained if I would just stay being an employee.



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peachpurple
I break mine into 2 also. In the morning after my son goes to school; 6am and after dinner around 8pm. Freelancing work time would last at least 3 hours so, I have ample time to finish and reach my goal for the day



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Aree
I don't work at a 9 to 5 job anymore. So I have more flexibility. I schedule my work around a few fixed points in my daily routine.

One is my daily Learn English via FB Live broadcast every evening at 6 pm. To prepare for this, I spend a couple of hours doing the notes and the graphics for the programme. Another fixed point is my daily evening outings. I go out at about 7 pm and spend some time outside visiting some friends besides getting some exercise by walking. I also manage a guild on World of Warcraft but this is quite flexible, though the preferred times would be when my guild members are usually online, which is the morning hours, my time.

Outside those few fixed points in my daily routine, I am free to use my time to do my freelancing work. So, lots of flexibility there.



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Tronia
I don't really have a very strict and set working schedule. Most of the time it largely depends on how many tasks I have and how many offers I must complete till what deadline. Sometimes, I will work crazy hours but other days I can easily take many breaks without having to worry. But generally speaking, my work day begins at around 8-9am. When it ends depends on how I'm feeling and how much work I managed to already do.



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peachpurple
I work from 6am to 3 hours about that. Then I take a break first, prepare household chores before I get back to working online after dinner time. That is my free time.



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DenisP
I am by no means a workaholic so I try to just work as much as I need to in order to make a decent living. I have plenty of hobbies and creative projects besides my work so I try to get my work out of the way as soon as possible. Typically I get up in the morning, have breakfast and do the usual morning stuff, and then I get to work right away.

I don't have a specific amount of hours I work every day. I simply work until I have met my daily quota (as in the minimum amount of money I want to make that day, according to my budget) and that is that. This can be anywhere between 4 to 8 hours.

After that is done, I focus on my hobbies.



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coolavender
I have an offline part time job in the afternoon and I must work around that schedule for my online freelance work. Other than that, I've learned to be flexible enough when it comes to my working hours. I used to say that I prefer to work at night because everyone's down and I can focus on researching and writing. Nowadays, though, I'm working on a project that has more earning opportunities in the early morning hours and my body clock has responded wonderfully. I can now sleep by 12 midnight and be up by 6 in the morning. It feels good to wake up at the same time as the rest of the people in my household.



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overcast
I work after the day job. And that works out for me. You can see that some of the time such work schedule takes time for things to settle in. And even in some cases such schedule may be odd. I guess depending on how I am getting the orders from the online sites, I am making those options for myself. I have found that working all the time is not the solution for this type of stuff. So you may have to find out what may or may not work for you. Sometimes some things can be good enough for the regular work. But freelancing does not work that way. So one has to understand on that point too.



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TimothyAlex
I like a freelancing schedule, but my wife and kids think I can drop everything on a whim. They don't understand if I don't work, I don't get paid.



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potentialwriter
I do freelancing in the morning and afternoon. In the morning, I work for 4 - 5 hours typing and publishing. In the evening, I try working another 3 - 4 hours. This is my freelancing work schedule for each new day. After freelancing for a year like this, I became very used to doing it and make lots of cash from it.



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TimothyAlex
I do it a little different. I am up before the rest of the house, and typically will work until about 3 pm. That way, I am available for the kids and when the wife gets home. Of course, my wife doesn't understand why she can give a list of chores to do since I'm home anyway.



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Pixie06
I wake up at 5.30 am every day. Then I exercise a bit and also prepare breakfast. I normally start working at 7 am and I stop working at 6 pm. On some days, if I have lots of tasks to complete then I may work till late at night. It all depends on the urgency. I take about three breaks during the day. Before I start working I usually plan my work and I write about the different tasks that I have to complete and I set a deadline.



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JoeMilford
Pixie--
Wow! You sound so motivated! This is quite a solid regimen and routine, I'd say. You remind me here of the importance of planning and setting long and short terms goals. It's smart to set daily goals as a freelance--I think I even tend to set hourly goals. I don't take three breaks a day, but sometimes I DO take a whole day off just to relax and clean out my head. I make checklists all of the time in a composition notebook so that I hand write the tasks and feel very connected to them before I get started, so you and I are somewhat similar in these practices.



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JoeMilford
This is a great question, and posting it has made me realize how actually crazy and all over the place my freelance and writing schedule really is! Writing is a tough racket, for me anyway, because the writing bug tends to hit me at the oddest times! I could be just getting along with my day or working on multi-tasking or whatever, and, all of a sudden, inspiration will hit, and I have to drop everything I am doing to get the ideas and the words down before I lose the opportunity! That being said, the freelance work which I do is on a pretty set schedule, and I usually work for several hours every morning on those projects, all the way up until lunch, because those projects do pay off. However, I am typing this right now at 2:22am my time, so obviously, on the weekends, I keep a crazier schedule than at other times. If I am honest here, I'd say that my writing and freelancing is on a semi-constant evolving, fluctuating, and mutating timeline.



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Baburra
I used to like working at night a lot more since I am more lively by night time and a lot more creative but these days I prefer allotting that energy for myself and my hobbies instead. I also like to get my work over with as soon as I can so I try as much as possible to finish it during the day time and if I can I even try and finish everything by morning. Not able to be successful with this all the time but thankfully I am able to get it done most of the time before night time comes.



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jaymish2
I like to get everything done at once so that I can go on with the business of living and enjoying my life. I do all my freelance work in the morning even if it means getting up at 3 am, 4 am or 5 am. I find this is the best way to arrange my schedule so that I can have time to do other things. If I have to work more hours then I come back to it at 7 pm after dinner and work until around 11 pm.

Freelance work I have found requires more discipline than being an employee because if you don't work you don't earn. I'm still tweaking my routine especially as I intend to add other online income streams to my portfolio.



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cmoneyspinner
I don't have a preferred schedule. I have a "work as the opportunity presents itself" schedule. It's a freestyle freelance method and it works for me. What is your preferred freelancing work schedule?



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SEOexpertwriter
Freelancing is my full time job, I have clients from various parts of the globe and I enjoy sleeping only during the weekend. The other days am ready to work 20 hours daily. Thankfully, I got no tot to take care of as am still a bachelor hahaha.



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keen2write
I tend to start to work more efficiently at dinner time which roughly about 12ish... As in a morning, I am very busy with other matters at hand sorting out bits and bobs lol. As longs as I got my cup of coffee then am good to go. I feel more relaxed at this time of the day and can give more out my work when I am more focused.



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Baburra
I know what you mean. I used to work best at midnight too at one point. There is something about that time when it is all quiet and everyone is asleep that I feel makes it very easy to concentrate. Even when you are able to get the same amount of peace and quiet in the morning time it just isn't the same.



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Krisleen
I don't actually prefer a fixed schedule for my freelance work. I prefer a flexible one where I can work anytime or as little or more I can as long as I finish on time. I prefer it since I have a business and freelance is a work on the side. I do my business depending on the schedule of our trainings, my coaching or speaking engagements, and availability of my clients so I do freelance work on my free time. I also make sure that I don't overwork. I spare my time for some recreational activities outside business and freelance work. So basically, I prefer a flexible schedule where I can balance my activities.



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treecko142
I maintain an online blog in the morning after breakfast/exercise/bathing, then in the afternoon I write articles for another site, and for evenings I do some chill work involving forums and transcribing short videos and stuff. I take 2 hours in between tasks during the day and my evening schedule is very light.



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jennyfermanuel
I prefer working online at mid nights. That's when I know my spirit and mood are awake. My ideas and thoughts coming as if they are unlimited. I am used in working in graveyard shift. I worked as a call center agent, and I am used on working in mid nights.
I think it really depends also on the person, his schedule, his favorite time of the day working, etc.
Or his eagerness and enthusiasm working all day.



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jaymish2
With online work you have to be very careful. You can end up working all hours under the sun. You need to have a schedule, a clear schedule you need to stick. You can end up overworking as you try to deliver work to your client on time. This determines whether you will get the client again and maybe a referral from them.You also need to set aside time for rest and relaxation.You also have to discipline yourself so that you don't get distracted.



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