Today's topic for The Freelance Diaries is all about workflow.

Whatever type of freelancer you are, you'll quickly realize that workflow is a key part of your day to day planning and time management. Without a proper workflow, you end up wasting time or taking on more stress than necessary. Let's start with one of the most important key factors that promote great workflow...

A KICK-BUTT WORK SPACE

I can't stress how important a great working space is for a freelancer. Everyone is different so what is a great space for me - might not work well for you. A few helpful questions to ask yourself when deciding on a workspace are....

Do you work better by yourself ?
Does the aesthetic of your work space directly influence what it is your selling (by selling, I mean your skill)?
Do you work crazy hours (you're a night owl...)?

If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, working from home might be a great option for you. If you're a social butterfly and thrive from working around other people, working from a coffee shop, rented studio space, or co-working space is probably your best bet.

Over all, your work space should be a place where you can easily get inspired. You should feel very comfortable there. After all, it's where you'll be working almost 100% of your time! I work from a home studio (I'm sorta an introvert so this helps me be most productive). Take a look below at my home office...

My space is a small room in our home converted to an office. I like to have my pups hang out with me all day for extra support (that's Dakota snoozing in the corner).

Working from home allows me to control the look and feel of my studio space, making it a powerhouse for getting work done! Ultimately, co-working is not really my bag.

This brings me to my next topic of work flow...

THE SET UP

Be sure to organize and set up your work space so you can move around easily and access all the proper tools you'll need. Get rid of any clutter or items that are associated with your "home". This should be considered a work space, not just another room in your house. Invest in all the tools that will make your work experience less stressful. For example, to work from home I need to have...

a desktop or laptop computer with the Adobe CC installed
a working scanner
a wacom tablet
pencils, pens, ink, and sketchbook

Also, be sure to have plenty of tools on hand (i.e. extra pads of layout bond or ink pens), and know where the nearest supply store for those items are in case you need to run out last minute and buy more. Luckily, I don't need too much to have a sufficient work flow! There are a few things on my tools list that I would like to get in the future (cintique, a larger scanner, etc...) but what I have now is a great starting point! I've already set goals for when I can invest in better tools to get me where I need to be.

So that wraps up this week's post on Workflow. Decide what sort of space works best for you, organize and arrange for maximum productivity. Equip yourself with all the necessary tools you need on a daily basis.

What does your work flow look like from your studio space? Do you work from home like me? If so - do you have any helpful tips you've learned from working from home? How about making sure you keep regular life and your job separate (a biggie with home studios!).

Leave me a comment below, pin it, tweet it, share with your friends! I want to know about your journey as a freelance artist.

TFD: LET IT FLOW

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