My Daily Routine as a Freelancer (Patreon)

A lot of folks ask what my day-to-day routine is like as a self-employed artist that works from home, so I wanted to share a bit about the habits I have in place to keep me focused and healthy. I've slowly built a daily set of actions and decisions to avoid burnout and distraction. It's definitely a balancing act, so I hope this provides a little window into what it's like to work as a freelancer!

9AM-10AM

I always get 9 hours of rest, sometimes more. My sleep quality varies heavily, so I need to get a full night's rest to have consistent energy throughout the day. I usually wake up around 9AM, but sometimes I sleep right through my alarm (yay anxiety medications) so I try to avoid setting up any sort of meetings or phone calls before 11.

I like to walk around the corner to our little local cafe to get coffee! The walk helps me wake up and gives me a chance to be outside for few minutes before beginning to work. It almost functions like a tiny commute- being outside for a little bit, moving around, getting some fresh air. I really recommend this to anyone that is working from home and struggling to get started on work early in the day.

I make breakfast for myself every morning. Having three meals every day provides some normalcy to my routine, and it breaks up my day so that I don't get restless and unfocused in the middle of the morning or afternoon. I try to eat pretty healthy (especially for breakfast and lunch) because physical health as an artist is just as important as mental health! 

10AM-11AM 

I eat breakfast at my desk while checking emails, social media, work Discords or Slacks, and also creating a to-do list for myself. I make a list almost every day, it's absolutely essential for me to avoid dropping the ball on anything. 

Having a clear list of tasks is especially important because I'm almost always managing multiple contracts, which results in a lot of multitasking. I like to have multiple part-time gigs because it mitigates risk. If one contract is paying me late or not responding, I have other jobs that I can rely on. For each gig (depending on the context) I try to update my client at least once or twice a week, if not more. That means breaking up my workdays so I can make progress on multiple tasks daily. It sounds like a lot to manage, but once you're in a routine, I find it very doable.

I used to feel REALLY weird about how much time I spend on Twitter and Discord, but I've found that it's necessary for me to find new contracts and stay updated with other artists. Working from home can feel very isolating, so I get a lot of my daily socialization online. It's not ideal, but it is a compromise.

11AM-2PM 

This is a primary work block for me. I'm almost always drawing or painting during this period, which is part of why having a filling breakfast is important. My office desk is right by the kitchen, so if I skip breakfast and get hungry, it's easy to get tempted to grab snacks and throw down a bunch of munchies. Avoiding those cravings are important for me to stay on task.

My work comes in a lot of different forms. I do a variety of paintovers for environment designs, illustrations for physical games, character designs, prop designs, and so forth. I think it's really important to be relatively flexible as a freelancer so that you can work a wide variety of jobs, but it's still good to have a focus. I'd be pretty confident saying that my primary strength is stylized prop and creature designs, but if you actually look at my portfolio, there's a lot more there. This way, I can say yes to a lot more jobs. It really pushes my marketability.

That said, I don't work 8 billable hours every day. A billable hour is one during which I am explicitly doing work for a client- in a meeting, drawing, painting, etc. Even though I'm busy every day until at least 5:30 or 6PM, I do a ton of other work that doesn't immediately result in cash in the bank. I think this is a really important thing to know if you're interested in freelancing.

I initially was really really stressed that I wasn't working 40 or even 30 billable hour weeks, but a few people that have been doing this longer than me told me that working 20-25 hours is pretty normal. So much work goes into tangentially related tasks, like responding to potential clients, turning down contracts and helping those people find a different artist, coordinating future work, putting together talks or presentations that I give at colleges, prepping content for my class, working on contracts with different types of payment, taking breaks throughout the day, keeping my social media updated, Patreon...the list goes on and on. 

If I am creating art for 4-5 hours/day for clients, then that is a full day of work for me. Sometimes MORE than a full day of work. Because of this, I've focused a lot in the last 2-3 years on making art more efficiently. If someone is hiring me for only 5-7 hours/week of work, I still want to be worth their time, so I need to consistently provide updates.

2PM-3PM 

I usually have a late lunch at this point and try to find an excuse to go outside for a bit. Being cooped up in my apartment all day causes me to get antsy and anxious, so running a quick errand like heading to the bank for laundry quarters or walking around the block helps me avoid that nervous energy. If the weather sucks, I'll spend some time playing with our cats or play a game for a bit if I need to. 

It's important to stand up and walk around every hour or so. It helps the bloodflow in your legs and rests your eyes! The nice thing about working at home is that I can take these little breaks and wander around the apartment for a few minutes very frequently without feeling like I'm walking away from my desk in front of coworkers all the time (although people working in studios should feel like they can do this, too.)

I check emails, send out any task updates, maybe do some pushups or weights. This is usually when I shower too, which forces me to be away from my desk for a while. It's refreshing!

3PM-5:30/6PM

This is my second major work block. If I'm getting behind on a task or need to update a client that day or the following day, this is a time to be in "get shit done" mode.

I work every day until my partner gets home from his job downtown. Once he walks in the door, I walk away from work unless there's something urgent I need to get done. When you're working from home, it's important to be aware of how your work structure can affect your relationships. If I'm working too late into the evenings, it's impossible for us to take time for each other. I was struggling with this for a bit last year, and it put strain on our relationship. Avoiding that is really important for us!

Evenings

I try to avoid being in front of my computer when I'm not working, so I've been slowly playing more console games, reading, and finding hobbies that don't require my PC. This is why I've been cooking so much more, as well as why I picked up pickling! I never bring my laptop or drawing to bed- that place is for rest only. It can be really tempting to go through emails or get some sketches done curled up in a blanket, but that makes it harder for me to fall asleep.

I try to be in bed by midnight every night in order to keep somewhat of a normal schedule. Staying up until 2AM leaves me exhausting and drowsy all day, so rest is an absolute priority for me.

I hope this provides a glimpse into my workday! Thanks for reading :)