Design your way

There’s a lot to be said for the benefits of working remotely. From being able to keep flexible work hours to having access to a far greater pool of tasks, the freedom which comes with being a freelance designer is more than enough to tempt a growing number of employees.

However, without careful attention and organization, the problems which come with freelancing can quickly overshadow what once seemed like the perfect career path.

Whether you’ve encountered a particularly problematic client, can’t find an appealing job or you’re being buried under revisions and vague requests, it’s all too easy to lose yourself to these pitfalls.

So, how are you supposed to stay sane whilst enjoying all the benefits of being a freelance designer? Quite easily, as it turns out; you just need to bear four things in mind. First, no matter what type of remote work you’re undertaking, communication is king.

Second, although every so often your dream job may present itself, don’t come to expect them. Third, use the right tech for the job. Fourth, don’t work yourself into the ground.

Stay agile and iterate quickly

Not only are you potentially creating more work for yourself if you fail to keep up a high level of communication, but the task is so easy that you’re effectively throwing away a healthy relationship with any client you work for. In a line of work where you practically never meet with your paying customers face-to-face, something has to replace this interaction.

Image source: Lukas Dubay

Whether you’re dealing with a team or an individual, you need to make the effort to talk to them regularly, giving updates on the status of whatever project you’re working on.

If they use Slack, make the effort to fire them a message at the end of the day, or after any large alterations in the project. Don’t give them absolute power over the creative process, but show them rough designs of the final product before you blaze ahead and create something which does not satisfy them.

Think of it this way. If you walk into Subway and order a sandwich, they don’t ask you one question and then leave it at that. Instead, you give input on every stage of the process; the bread, the meats, the cheese, salad, sauce, etc. This is what healthy communication gets you — a smooth process where the client is satisfied with their product, and you haven’t had to revise the design 20 times over to finally be told what they actually want.

Take a reality check

Although some sites may claim otherwise, the dream gig of a high paid job with an articulate and understanding client who fields an interesting task is probably only going to come around once in a blue moon.

That’s not to say that you should be skeptical of these golden opportunities whenever they appear, but don’t count on holding yourself up with these projects until the next one arises.

Image source: Matt Chase

In the meantime, you still need to earn some money and figure out exactly what you’re willing to work for. Once you have this figure, consider how much you’re willing to bend on the price and for what other compensation you will do so.

For example, if you have a $20 per hour flat rate, you could consider wavering the price slightly for some free promotion, a guarantee of a long-term gig or anything else under the sun. You set your own prices, but since when was freelance designing purely about money?

Once again, if you see a job which fits you to a “T”, by all means grab it with both hands and give it your all; your passion for a project can drive you to create your best work, after all. However, these opportunities won’t send themselves into your inbox, and chances are that they won’t make up the majority of your workload. Keep an eye out and search for them when you can, but always ensure that you have enough steady work to forego the stress of worrying how to pay your rent.

Don’t turn your brain to mush

There’s nothing worse than a mind so filled with information that it’s reached breaking point. Whether you’ve been working on the same project for weeks and have lost all sense of context, or if you’ve just had a trying morning and can feel your eyes start to glaze over, you need to make sure that you take a break every so often.

Image source: Artua

I get around the problem of “brain mush” (sometimes eloquence can only get you so far) by taking a 15 minute break every couple of hours, but the great thing about working remotely is that you can test out what works best for you.

This could mean having a half-hour power nap in the middle of the day, or doing intense bursts followed by five minutes away from the screen – if you can feel your attention beginning to stray, take a break, grab a drink of water and come back later.

Image source: Waldek Graczyk

The same goes for burning yourself out on the same project for too long. Whilst you shouldn’t put off a project just because you’re not fond of the subject matter, it can do the world of good to take a step back and do something else for a while.

For example, back at Process Street, we have a system whereby an article will be written and then left for a day; once the author has a fresh mind, they’ll then go back to it and spot any mistakes which their tasked mind couldn’t catch.

So, let’s say that you have a client who’s giving you an earful. You’ve onboarded the client and practically nothing was absorbed. Nothing is correct and, despite spending far longer on the project than you initially planned, they’ve presented their latest clump of feedback. Rather than hit the project hard with a clouded head and risk making mistakes that will only cause you to tear your hair out, take a break.

Get away from the computer for a half hour to cool off and refresh, or just work on a different project for the afternoon. You’re not a machine, so don’t expect to be able to consistently work like one.

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