What’s the Best Daily Routine for Freelancers?

We’ve all seen it…

Someone on social media states that they’ve been struggling for a month without results. And another person responds with a very good question, “What exactly were you doing in that month?”

On the other hand, successful people also share what they’ve earned in a month and everyone is like, “Heey! What exactly makes you successful?” Why the difference? Simple. Some people do more in a day than others. Here are some habits that you can incorporate into your weekdays to increase your chances of success:

Daily Step #1: Wake up early (if possible, before anyone else in your house/hostel is awake)

This gives you great, quiet time to get your day started with energy. The morning is like a foundation. If you conquer your morning, you can easily conquer your day.

Much of the battles of the day can be fought and won in the morning. I know, I know! Some will say they like sleeping late instead. Hehehe…don’t force yourself to wake up too early if it doesn’t boost your productivity. Get a time that works for you.

Personally, I keep tweaking my schedule. Sometimes I do early mornings. Sometimes I do mid-mornings. And sometimes I work late. Test them all and focus on what gives you results. After waking up, go to step 2.

Daily Step #2: Do something that uplifts and builds you (before “meeting” anyone else)

What do you do first after waking up?

Most people check their emails, call log, texts social media, etc.

You don’t have to answer them all immediately after waking up. You can just peep to see if there’s an emergency, then put your phone away.

There are people out there who have developed such strict discipline that they don’t check their phones at all after waking up.

Why shouldn’t you start by answering calls and emails? Because you’ll be solving other people’s problems even before you’ve checked out your own.

That starts a day on the wrong note. To be honest, you may not even be mentally ready to tackle both your own stuff and other people’s stuff.

Instead, start by doing something that uplifts you. This includes things like:

• Reading the Bible and praying
• Reading a motivational book
• Watching an uplifting video on YouTube
• Exercising

You can do some or all of these. Eat your breakfast at some point after this, then put your phone far far away to implement the next steps…

Daily Step #3: Apply for at least 10 jobs before 10

No, that’s not my quote. I read it from the book Make Money as a Freelance Writer by Gina Horkey and Sally Miller. Look for it on Amazon and read it. It has amazing tips.

Here, we’re striving to implement the most important things first.

Getting a client directly affects your income. Therefore schedule this early in the day.

This step is even more important to someone who doesn’t have clients. Or one who is not satisfied with whatever they’re earning.

You can apply for jobs from:

• Freelancing sites like Upwork, Fiverr, and PeoplePerHour
• Job boards like ProBlogger Job Board, BloggingPro, Indeed, and Listiller
• Craigslist
• Cold pitching: This involves reaching out to potential clients directly, even if they’ve not expressed that they’re looking for freelancers. For example, since I write a lot about marketing, I can directly reach out to companies like Sumo, Zapier, Thrive Themes, and AWeber, then pitch my writing or digital marketing services.
• Warm pitching: Here, you contact people who know you, including your friends and family who may be in your space, e.g., if you’re a transcriber and your friends have a podcast, you can reach out to them.
• Social media: Look for clients on LinkedIn, Reddit, X, and Facebook.

Here are some great tips for freelance writers.

Tip: Even if you already have a high value client, for example, a client paying $3,000 per month, you can still be incorporating this step daily. But now look for someone paying double. Or one with better terms. If you have absolutely no clients, apply for 20+ jobs daily instead of 10.

Daily Step #4: Deliver any jobs you have. Make them as close to perfection as possible!

For those who already have clients, don’t procrastinate work. Do it and send it early.

Some things that impress clients include:

• Delivering pure gold: Make sure you send work that meets all their expectations
• Adding valuable extras: For example, one of my former trainees (who is also a graphic designer) once created a stunning infographic and included it in her article. The client was ecstatic, and she got an instant raise!
• Timeliness: I’ve seen so many brilliant freelancers getting fired for always being late. Even if you write like Apostle Paul and Shakespeare combined, your client will drop you like a hot potato if you keep delaying their content.
• Professionalism: Be polite. Communicate promptly. Excuse yourself early if need be. Ask useful questions. Be empathetic to the client when they face a life issue. Don’t be greedy. Respect your client. Be professional at all times.

Tip: If you’re still in training, use this time to implement what you learn, e.g., creating profiles and samples, polishing your skills, setting up your website, publishing guest posts, or applying for even more jobs.

Daily Step #5: Now you can get into other people’s stuff

Yes, once you’ve done all the above, you can take some time and respond to stuff on your social media, emails and texts. You can return any missed calls.

Have fun while at it, as if you’re already celebrating your achievements for the day.

Be careful, though. Things like gossip, bad politics, toxic religiosity, social media trolls, and other crazy stuff may consume your time and not benefit you at all.

You’re only here to cool down after hard work. So, try to follow and spend your social energy mostly on things that uplift you.

Daily Step #6: Take some time learning and implementing

I keep saying that we’re in the era of continuous learning.

Always learn something new. That should never stop.

When you start something new, take at least three months implementing it with utmost dedication before moving on to something else.

Some people get confused when trying to learn too many things at once, and they end up failing in all of them.

Continuous learning is what will get you climbing the ladder. Here’s an example of a ladder you can use, showing what you may have started with, and what you can aspire to do.

1. Transcriber
2. Freelance writer
3. Blogger
4. Digital marketer
5. Large scale farmer
6. Real estate mogul
7. Big business owner

…and on and on you go.

Win with a growth mindset and powerful routines

Don’t stay stuck in the same spot for years. I always feel sad when I see people who were earning, say, $500 a month as writers back in 2011 still earning the same now and doing the same things. They keep complaining there are no jobs but in real sense, they’ve not worked on their skills.

Learn from so many real-life examples of people who climbed the ladder. Here are a few:

• A guy I know used to be a successful writer, then blogger, then forex trader (he lost money here), then Amazon Kindle expert, and now he’s a successful affiliate marketer who has netted $10k plus in some good months. Yes, in dollars.
• Sheeroh Kiarie started as a transcriber, did some writing gigs, became a blogger, trained many transcribers, and, at some point, talked about her success in cryptocurrencies.
• Mercy Opande started as a writer, became my VA at some point, started singing and even later won KTN’s “I Can Sing” competition. This gave her 1M Kenya Shillings ($10,000 at the time).

See? These are people just like you and me.

They started from somewhere, just like you and me.

They kept learning and growing, trudging through the challenges, rejections, and failures.

And eventually, they reaped big time.

You can do it, too.

What I’ve just shared in this post is one of the most powerful schedules I’ve ever had. May sound hard at the start, but the rewards are worth it.

Wait!

There are a few exceptions:

• You may need to adjust the schedule a bit if you’re working online part-time or you have health issues
• DO NOT STOP when you’re in the zone. For example, when I launch new things, I may even work 10+ hours non-stop on a great idea so that I hit it when it’s fresh. These give exceptional results. After that I may take a break for a few days.
• Your life shouldn’t be all work, work, and work. On the weekends and holidays, treat yourself, your friends, and your family in ways that you can afford.
• Try working for 6 to 8 hours a day. The rest of the time can be spent doing other valuable things, such as spending time with God, family, and friends or helping someone out there.

All the best in your daily routine!