Managing Personal and Work Time

Hello everyone!

Today I want to talk about how I manage my personal and work time each day.

When you work from home is not always easy to separate your personal and work time.

After working for almost three years as a freelance translator, I’d say that I’ve learned a few things about keeping my time separate.

The main thing is to mention is boundaries.

Yes, you need to set boundaries between your personal and work time if you want to succeed at have them separate.

If you live alone, this won’t be too difficult, but if you live with family or friends, this might get a bit tricky to implement.

The important thing is to designate your work area inside your home. You need to choose a working space that is a bit isolated, or that has a door.

It has to be big enough to have your desk, computer, printer, and everything else you need to carry out your work.

The important thing is to make sure that everyone else in your house knows that your working space is off-limits during working hours. I know this might sound harsh, but they do need to respect your space.

Also, make sure to leave your phone away from your office space. Unless you know a client will call or text you, your phone will only serve as a distraction mainly from friends and family.

You can check any pending messages or return any missed calls during your lunch break or any other breaks you might have during your workday. You can also do this at the end of your day and dedicate more time to the task.

Many people you know might not take seriously the fact that you work from home. That’s why you need to show them that working from home as a freelancer is a real job, just like any other, and that you have working hours and cannot tend to personal issues during that time.

If you live with family or friends, you can still spend time with them during your lunch breaks and after business hours. It is not about having time for them; it is about having separate times for work and personal matters. This way, you’ll be able to accomplish all you need in a better way.

Once your work hours are over, make sure to turn off your computer and any other devices you use for work. Also, make sure that any work-related notifications are turned off on your phone. For example, if you work for an agency or a company and use a corporate chat app, make sure to set your availability to “away” and snooze the notifications so people know that you are done for the day and won’t send you anything until the next day.

If there is something urgent, they can still ping you or send you an email. It is not about ignoring your work-related matters, but you also need to set boundaries with your clients. Otherwise, they will think that they can contact you at any time, including after business hours and weekends.

We all need to rest! Sleep is so crucial to get the necessary rest before you start a new day. If you don’t get enough sleep, your performance won’t be the same, and you’ll feel tired and even grumpy. You can even get sick from not having enough sleep, so make sure to take care of yourself.

We also need to eat and workout. This will give us the energy we need to perform our work and will make us feel healthy and confident.

Make sure to have all your meals, preferably at the same time every day, and a few healthy snacks during the day. Also, make sure to get up several times a day to stretch out and change your position before continuing to work. This will help us to feel a lot better, and when we feel good, we perform better.

Now an issue we all struggle with: to work or not work during the weekend.

When you are starting as a freelance translator is hard to say no to working after business hours and during weekends. After all, we do not want to lose any work; on the contrary, we need as much work as possible.

But as your workload starts to stabilize, you don’t need to burn yourself up anymore. You can and should set boundaries with your clients about your working hours and whether you are available or not during the weekends.

I am lucky not to need to work during the weekends, at least for the time being. Unless it is a highly urgent and important project from an excellent client, I won’t sacrifice my weekend by working.

My weekends are reserved for my family, loved ones and friends, and myself! We all need a little self-love and pampering! It is an excellent way to unwind after working hard all week. It can go from getting a face mask to reading a book to having a walk under the sun. Anything that makes you feel like you also matter!

It’s not impossible to manage your personal and work life separately, and if you’d like to read more about what it is like to work as a freelancer, read my post Working from Home

Let me know if you have any tips for managing your personal and work time in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe!

Until the next time, take care and be safe!

XX