Accountability thread for freelance procrastinators - anyone?

[Runningoverthefields]

I've made a resolution to become more productive in my working hours - and then to switch off the computer sometimes and take a proper break.

Anyone want to join me?

We could check in on the thread each time we're going to start a work 'sprint' (eg in the next 30 minutes I'm going to do task xyz) and then check in when task is done. Or we could just check in every time we feel our attention wandering during the day to say 'drifted off for a second there, right now, I'm going back to do xyz') and let each other know whether we achieved it. Or we could swap any tips for staying productive... whatever everyone would find useful.

For me this is partly about getting more work done, but it's also about stopping work on time. Sometimes I procrastinate all day and then don't go to the gym because 'I really must finish this work off', or check email over the weekend because I feel guilty that I didn't work hard enough in my work hours.

Maybe I'm the only one who struggles with staying motivated through the day when being my own boss and with working from home. But I suspect not

Or maybe this thread already exists and I've missed it???

To kick off - I am now going to send 10 emails chasing clients for feedback/payment/paperwork and then I'll come back and say 'DONE'

Hi, I will join you, I am going to finish the project I am working on by 1.30pm - then have a cup of tea and a sandwich and work through until 3.15pm so I can watch the news for10 minutes before my daughter gets back from school. Must shut down all tabs apart from email. so I will try to come back to the thread at 1.30 and be able to tell you phase one of this work is complete and on deadline.

Me too I have a parttime job but also self employed with dh. Am very overwhelmed with everything at the moment so will start this week . Have a course to do later so will join in tomorrow eve and do 2 hrs for my work as I have my part time job tomorrow. I find I watch a lot of crap on TV so I went through and deleted a load of stuff I had saved as it was eating into productive time. Have to say I felt great pushing the delete button.

It is 1.30pm - phase 1 - Done, coffee made, going to take 5 minutes to catch the lunchtime news and then move on to phase 2.

Bravo Grumpyoldblonde and hello Feelsdisillusioned!

I've done 6.5 of my 10 emails. The 'half' an email is because I'm downloading stuff and it's taking a-g-e-s so thought I'd pop on here and see if anyone had come to join me.

I've had my lunch already so my plan for this afternoon is -

• send the other 3.5 emails so that I can say 'Done'
• do a 20 minute brainstorm for a sales and marketing drive
• take at least one action from the brainstorm
• finish work at 5pm sharp and switch off my computer until the morning

Sounds good running, now crack on, so you can finish on time, I am starting phase 2 and hope get all of this job finished by tomorrow lunchtime. will check in tomorrow around 1pm and hope to say - Done!

Thanks Grumpyoldblonde!

• send the other 3.5 emails - DONE
• do a 20 minute brainstorm for a sales and marketing drive - DONE
• take at least one action from the brainstorm - DONE (Actually did four - yay!)

And still with time to spare! So I'm going to treat myself to a 15 minute guilt-free coffee break then I'm going to -

• print my notes for tomorrow's client breakfast meeting
• spend 30 minutes filing my email inbox into folders (11120 unfiled )
• switch off my computer at 5pm sharp

Hello Running I would also like to join you if that is OK. I work from home and am awful with procrastinating, and I also faff about all day and then miss my swimming slot or end up doing more work when the kids have gone to bed. DH is away this week too (we work together) so I fear I might be even worse.

I stop work at 3.30 when the kids come home so that's me done for today but I will pop by tomorrow hopefully!

Hey, I got phase 2 - done !
So in the morning it is work from 8.45am to start phase 3 (this phase thing makes sense to me!) and I may finish the whole thing by close of play tomorrow, then I have an empty diary so far, the freelancers nightmare, but hey, who knows what emails will drop in the morning?

Welcome LauraChant! Yeah Grumpy I know what you mean about the empty diary. Besides the whole money thing, I find it hard to relax and take it as a proper 'day off'. I tell myself that I'll do something useful with it e.g. do my accounts, do some brainstorming, or a new business push, or I tell myself that I'll go to the gym, do a bunch of errands. But whatever I do I spend the whole day feeling as if I should be doing something else!

I was out for a client meeting this morning so here's my check in from yesterday -

• print my notes for tomorrow's client breakfast meeting - DONE
• spend 30 minutes filing my email inbox into folders - DONE
• switch off my computer at 5pm sharp - DONE

This afternoon I want to add the amends up to page 67 on current project and then switch off my computer on time at 6pm to go and meet my friends (rather than procrastinating then texting them to say 'sorry running late, haven't finished with work'...)

Right, time to switch on 'Freedom' and get on with amends. I'll come back to say what page I got to on my project

Phase 3 & 4 - done and invoiced
Well done running sounds like you are on top!

Oh damn and blast it. Got caught up in a different non-essential bit of work and put off starting on the amends. Then got a 'crisis' email that I had to deal with. And now it's 5.50pm. So I will still turn my computer off at 6pm but I haven't done any amends at all. I have to move it to tomorrow afternoon. I'll pop on to this thread tomorrow morning to put my list of tasks up.

So glad i am not the only one that does this!!

Am lone parent to a toddler on top, so any work time when he is at nursery (which is fairly limited anyway) I am also at home contending with housework, tiredness, wanting to do something other than work (for a break).

Find it so difficult sometimes. I do work really hard but I have a feeling I could be more productive and I am a terrible procrastinator over certain things.

I like to find the right time / mental space to get on with new projects. As I am a creative professional being in the right headspace for creativity is important. I don't find I can just switch in and out of it easily. So when I need to do important work and am tired I prefer to do something easy like amends / accounts / emails and the day just drains away on seeming nothingness. Then of course I spend my time feeling guilty as anything and stressed on top.

Argg.....so hard!!

Might check in here next time I have something important to do (tomorrow!!).

Welcome griselda - yup, I relate completely to what you're saying. I lose a lot of time switching between 'Mum mode', 'business mode' and 'creative mode' and quite often I get 'lost' in the switch. It's when I'm switching between those types of work that I often disappear down a rabbit hole of internet/TV/procrastination. So if I have a day when I need to do some laundry, do my accounts, and do some writing, then I usually end up procrastinating on the 'writing' part of the day. Which is annoying because I'd really like to develop that side of my work.

So here's the 'accountability check in'

Plan for the Morning:-
Tick off the six most urgent items on my 'to do' list plus three others. So if I tick off nine items this morning I'll say then I'll say 'done'
Lunch:-
Switch off my 'business email' and have a proper lunch break at 1pm. Pop to the corner shop so that I get out of the house.
Plan for the afternoon:-
Do those amends to p67 I might pop on to this thread to check in and do a sprint if I'm having difficulty getting started on it...
End of day - switch off computer at 5.15pm

Although I didn't come on yesterday because for annoying reasons I had to stop work at 10.30, the fact that I knew this thread was here meant that the two hours I actually did work were mightily productive!

I am now going to stop faffing around on Facebook and spend the next hour researching contacts for the feature I am supposed to be writing, and not get sidetracked by other web sites.

thanks running :) glad to know I am not the only one and this thread seems a good way of trying to combat these tendencies!!

here's my bucket list for today

1. finish short client job that's a few days late (!) - 45 mins
2. finish another client job that's really late (!) - 1.5 hrs
3. do an easier more fun little job - 1hr
4. try not to get sidetracked by new emails / incoming tasks (may put email out of office on!).
5. possibly make a start on mammoth new project if I manage to get the above done!!
6. marketing / update my website (0.5 hrs)

Maybe I'm being overambitious (!) but if I can manage to get 1 - 4 done I will be happy.

all by 5pm so I can have a bit of a break later.

Wish me luck!

LauraChant - that's brilliant that you had a more productive morning because of this thread, I'm so happy It has definitely made me much more productive too. Good luck with the task list griselda

Okay I have ticked off nine items from my list including the six most urgent - hurrah - DONE for the morning and I'm going to take my lunch break early and get outside for a walk after I've eaten.
I'll be back this afternoon. I think that I'm procrastinating on these amends because they are such a big job so I'm going to break it down into smaller sections.

Thanks to this thread I've just emailed a client about a delayed project (their delay, not mine).

By 3pm I have to:

• Bill for three projects
• Send three speculative emails
• Chase a prospective client
• Straighten my hair (!!) - I am sick of looking like bushwoman on the school run

(LauraChant - The Changeover? One of my favourite books. I still read it every so often.)

Big sigh from me, empty diary at the moment, it could all change in the next ten minutes but oh the heart-sink. I decided I may as well use the lull to get some laundry on, vacuum upstairs and do a grocery run. I am also doing a bit of online work for pennies but better than sitting here sulking/worrying. will join in properly when I get some work in.

grumpy can you come and help me with my work if you're at a loose end please

Welcome PrimalLass! at straightening hair - Yes I must make more effort not to look like bag lady on school run - the dangers of working for myself from home!

Ah bad luck Grumpyoldblonde - this freelancing lark is hard on the nerves sometimes. My biggest client just extended my contract for another 2 months - but after that who knows. But then I remember as an employee I saw people being walked out of the building with their cardboard box full of their desk contents so many times - and they never saw it coming. They had the illusion of security, but it wasn't real. At least us freelancers know where we stand. i.e. living on our wits from day to day

Right then. I'm about to do a sprint on these amends. I'm on p48 at the moment. I'm going to set a timer for 45 minutes, work on it and tell you what page I got to. See in you 45 mins!

Hurrah - that worked well. I'm on page 54. Time for a tea break

Grumpyoldblonde I am now in the same boat (see above re delayed work - now very delayed). I'll be sending out the feelers tomorrow.

PrimalLass I am really going to have to start marketing myself, not really sure how to start. My current clients are not providing me with enough work although I do enjoy it when it appears. I need to get networking and use the fallow times to train up to gain more skills.

Wow it's nearly pick up time for my son - how did that happen? I'm taking a leaf out of PrimalLass' book - I'm off to make myself look presentable before I venture out!
I've achieved so much more since I started this thread - both in terms of getting stuff done and in terms of stopping work on time. Thanks so much to all of you for joining in, it has made a huge difference
I won't be on here tomorrow as I'm running around town for client meetings all day, but on Friday I need to crack on with these amends and I will definitely need to stop by for a bit of accountability and motivation.

x-posted. Sounds like working on a marketing plan and doing some training and networking would be good things to put into our accountability thread. I mean for me too - those are exactly the sort of things that I neglect while I scurry around doing urgent stuff. And the urgent stuff is only urgent because I procrastinated on it. I really want to work on being more productive with the stuff that builds my business rather than just skimming the surface.