Here is the list of things that I like to work in my free time to remain occupied between projects or when I take a break from freelancing
The best part of part-time freelancing is you have so much time in between projects to address a todo list of things for self-development. However, some people find it difficult to remain occupied between client work and delivering projects.
Here is the list of things that I like to work in my free time between projects or when I take a break from freelancing.
1. Read
The best way I find to remain occupied between client work and delivering projects is to read.
I love reading books and magazines related to business, finance, self-development, and marketing. Over time I have realized fiction isn’t for me. So, I use the time between projects to read.
Reading is something that doesn’t come to me naturally. I need a lot of free time to be able to read. So I prefer reading when I have less pressure to deliver.
The reason I see reading doesn’t come to me naturally is that I prefer reading in one go and have a hard time putting down a book. I am not that kind of reader who is fine reading for 15 mins before going to bed.
So I prefer reading in my free time between the projects and avoid reading on a daily basis because at times I can’t leave the book unfinished.
So the best time-pass for me is surely reading.
2. Take An Online Course
The next best thing I like to be doing to remain occupied between client works is to learn something new.
My first choice is always reading but for the last couple of times, I opted for an online course.
You don’t need to learn something for your work but you can learn something for your passion as well.
- Singing
- Cooking
But using the time between projects to learn something new and interesting for self-development is the best part of being a part-time freelancer.
3. Blog (Write)
The best way to remain occupied between client projects for me has been blogging.
I always looked up to blogging as “when I have time will blog” thing. So as and when I found time in between my client work, I wrote on my blogs. The content I was writing was helpful. So over time blog was gaining traffic. However, for my Investment blog, I always wrote on weekends because I don’t work for clients on weekends.
I have always been an occasional writer and it was because in the midst of freelancing I used to write for my blogs. As I write more, I made a self-commitment to write a lot more for BizTips and this has made me fall in love with writing.
Moreover, when I read the book 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris in 2017, the perception of free time completely changed for me. Now I am working on blogging more often. Blogging at least 3 to 4 articles every week on both my blog including BizTips.
So blogging is slowly starting to give me results – From being a side-gig to now helping me earn a living. It is one of the main reasons why I suggest and recommend every developer to start a blog.
However, I don’t stop here. I still have a side-gig blog like Mathstips and XFPoint. As and when I find the time, I write for them as well. However, taking the time out from clients and blogging is really tough. However, there is nothing that will stop me from keeping them online and write as and when I can.
4. Weekend Projects
You can a weekend project that you can dedicate more time and remain occupied for in-between client work. There are numerous options like:
- Photography
- Singing
- Cooking
- Dancing
- Music
There are endless topics to choose from. Don’t limit yourself to anything that can help you money. Choose the one that you always wanted to do in childhood dreams.
5. Holiday Time
The best part of being a freelancer is you can have time off. So use the time that you have between client work and projects to spend with your family. However, your kids may have school and regular stuff.
So make sure your time doesn’t overlap with your kid’s exams. I always have hard time managing it but we still managed a few trips to nearby places.
Even if you cannot go outdoor, you can use it as a family time because the life of a freelancer can be challenging when you are working from and have deliverables scheduled.
