Unlike fixed work expectations in a 9 to 5 job, freelancing involves undefined work hours. Some days you are as free as a bird. Yet, on others, you wish your day could extend by a few hours. Most of the freelancing work comes marked as ‘urgent’.
With so many uncertainties, most freelancers find it difficult to manage their health. Eventually, they face the issues of unproductivity. Here are 6 effective health care tips to boost your productivity.
Table of Contents
- Love Your Eyes as Much as Your Work
- Practice Body Posture Exercise
- Fix Your Working Hours
- Recognize Your Worth and Ask For The Right Price
- Stay Hydrated
- Maintain a Quality Lifestyle
- Health Care Tips Work When Followed
Love Your Eyes as Much as Your Work
The eyes are one of the most sensitive organs of the body. They remain active from the moment you wake up to the time you go back to sleep. As a freelancer, they are the gateway to all the data you consume. Make sure the gateway is well-lit and cared for.
Always work in a sufficiently-lit room. Try to take small breaks to give your eyes some rest. Splash your tired eyes with fresh water at least twice a day. It helps them rehydrate and freshen up for the next big task. You can also try splashing closed eyes with a water-filled mouth. It helps in strengthening eye muscles.
To read more on how to take care of your eyesight, click here!
Practice Body Posture Exercise
Freelancing is essentially sticking to your desk and screen for long periods. While working, it becomes hard to stay aware of your posture. You tend to slouch easily. In the long run, this leads to back pain and upper body tension.
These issues can be managed by adopting a better sitting posture and regular exercising to strengthen your torso. I find cervical exercise to be beneficial for my back pain. These are small sets that can be performed while sitting in your workplace.
Fix Your Working Hours
Do you know how the concept of the 8-hour working shift came to existence?
Robert Owen, in the late 18th century, started a campaign to support “Eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, and eight hours rest.” In 1914, Ford Motor became the first organization to implement the concept. To everyone’s surprise, their profit margins increased 2x within two years of implementation.
The rest is the history.
Although, there isn’t any scientific basis for correlating increased productivity with 8-hour working, yet it makes sense. Productivity will increase when you have enough time to rest, re-energize, and follow these healthcare tips.
While 8- hours may seem a little less for a freelancer, I would recommend you fix your working hours to avoid excessive straining of your mind and body.
Recognize Your Worth and Ask For The Right Price
There is no ideal salary range when it comes to freelancing. When you are starting out you may feel like working for pennies due to cut-throat competition in the field. You may need to work more to make the ends meet.
Once you are established, know what your work is worth. Learn to say “no” to the clingy clients who want the quality at the price of peanuts. Understand the importance of being paid right as it is directly related to your mental well-being.
Low pay comes with lots of mental stress related to how to meet your expenses and professional growth. Do not compromise on your health for someone who doesn’t value your skills. Right client will come your way with the right mindset and skills.
Stay Hydrated
Desk work comes with an uncountable consumption of caffeine. Yeah, blue screen and tea/coffee goes hand-in-hand. In the name of staying awake. With so much liquid going inside your body, you may forget the importance of pure water.
Your body needs recommended daily intake of water as per your gender, age, special medical needs, and ambience for:
-Maintaining your body temperature.
-Protecting your joints, spines, and delicate tissues.
– Eliminating body waste by the route of sweat and urine.
When you do not consume the required amount of water you may feel dehydration-induced fatigue and mood swings. It is important to stay hydrated to avoid fatigue related unproductivity during the day. Want to calculate how much water you should consume daily? Click here!
Maintain a Quality Lifestyle
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is quintessential for any profession. Regular exercise schedule, meditation/ yoga, brisk walking, and healthy diet should be followed to deal with the stress that comes uninvited with any job.
When freelancing, you do not get enough chances to go out as compared to the regular jobs. It is easy to feel lonely or depressed. It becomes mandatory to keep yourself motivated towards the projects with work from home conditions.
Dress-up every now and then to bring colors to your boring digital life. Take pictures and collect compliments for that feel-good factor. Have a social life outside the virtual social media.
Hobbies are a great practice to relieve stress. Develop a non-digital hobby to distract yourself from the work-related fatigue and monotonous routine.
Health Care Tips Work When Followed
Freelancing and hustle culture are the new buzzwords. So is the term ‘burnout’. It refers to an overwhelming feeling of physical and mental exhaustion due to professional dreams.
How many young people fall sick due to excessive workload?
While you cannot drop your work, you sure can manage its effects by following a few health care tips. A healthy mind and body goes a long way.
To read more on how to take care of your health, click here!
Very good blog about freelancing