As an online freelance professional, being productive is a perpetual battle with creative heavy lifting on one side and urges to text, watch T.V, sleep, and other distractions on the other side. It is a battle you have to win regularly to be optimally productive. Below are expert tips that will boost your productivity and help you overcome distractions.

Have a schedule

One of the joys of freelancing is being in charge of your own time, but most freelancers get it wrong by “going with the flow” rather than having a schedule. On any given day, you should have a clear mental picture of all you need to accomplish to mark off that day as a success. Your schedule should work for you. If you are a morning person, center your schedule around doing the day’s critical tasks in the morning. Also, organize tasks according to importance and give preference to demanding tasks.

Do not procrastinate

Whatever you can do now, do not postpone, do it now! The little things you tend to put off pile up and when the day is just about over, you realize you have a list of small tasks that have morphed into a big job. The sad thing is that procrastination is almost always fueled by distractions. Just when you are about to do something, you decide to check your mail, log into social media, send a text and so on.

Work in manageable time shifts

One of the best ways of maximizing productivity is working in time blocks that take into consideration your concentration span. According to one expert, you should work for 50 minutes and then take a 5 to 10-minute break. During work time, you should avoid all distractions and totally focus on your work.

Always tackle hard tasks first

The worst thing you can do as far as productivity is concerned is using the so-called ‘warm-up’ model where you start off with simple tasks. Often, when this approach is used, energy levels as well as morale tend to insufficient when you finally decide to start working on the hard task; consequently, quality as well as productivity dips. Always start off with the hard tasks, and finish off with simple tasks.

Being productive is all about working to your strengths. It is about tailoring your time with respect to when you are most creative and avoiding distractions. That said, always strive to have a template as far as your work is concerned. Divide big projects into little bits and focus on one bit at a time.