I type this post from my home, where you’ll often find me sneakily catching up on emails or social media on my laptop in bed, or curled up on my office chair distracted by one of the cats.
Being self-employed and working from home has its ups and downs.
Pro – You’re in control of your day, and if you decide to spend 30 minutes playing with the cat or watching last night’s KUWTK, you can!
Con – You’re in control of your day, and if you decide to spend 30 minutes playing with the cat or watching last night’s KUWTK, you can…
As much as I love the variety, the balance, the freedom – it can almost be suffocating at times.
The same 4 walls, nobody to bounce ideas off or chat to.
Which is why in the past 6 months I’ve made a conscious effort to embrace coworking. Spending the day with a friend who also freelances, settling down in a coffee shop corner and cracking on with some work. Even if you’re on your own, there’s something about being in a space with other people working that boosts your energy much more than being at home 24/7.
And this is coming from an introvert! Don’t get me wrong, I will always love being at home by myself. But even I reach a point where I’m starved of human contact. If your work involves creativity or demands a lot of energy from you, you need to be topping that up somewhere – and you’re probably not gonna find it at home, when it seems every 5 minutes the postman’s knocking on, the dish washer’s finished or your fresh bed sheets are calling.
My challenge to myself has always been one day a fortnight I have a full day away from home – at a friend’s house working, at a coffee shop, the library – somewhere away from my home space. That’s usually the day I make a huge dent in my to-do list for the week.
Do you find your more productive and creative working away from home? Do you agree that coworking is important for freelancers? Let me know your thoughts! (And if you’re in Manchester, let me know your favourite work spots – I might share mine in a separate blog post!)
Love & Good Vibes,
Kat x
