Press "Enter" to skip to content

The Traveling Freelance Writer: How to Create a Productive Morning in Paradise

By James Druman

Due to the nature of the freelance writing business, a savvy writer can enjoy complete freedom of location. Since writing requires no strings remain attached, they can work from anywhere in the world as long as they have a reliable laptop and an internet connection. Of course, what a writer chooses to do with this freedom depends on their personal goals.

Some people, for instance, just want to cut the cord between them and the boss, allowing them to stay home with their families (without making income sacrifices) and choose their own hours. Certainly a dream worth fulfilling.

For me, a young (somewhat) bachelor – and perhaps you as well – freedom means something else entirely.

To me, freedom means stuffing my laptop into a backpack with a choice few items of clothing and heading off in search of adventure. It means spending my days scuba diving in the tropics or touring foreign coasts on motorbikes – learning new languages and eating bizarre foods on a daily basis.

But traveling with a business in your backpack means having priorities other travelers don’t. You can’t just party and soak in the experiences 24/7 – you have work to do. You need to keep bidding on jobs, juggling emails, and writing the premium content your clients pay for.

To stay productive on the traveling circuit, start off with a productive morning and set the stage for entire day.

First off, get up early every morning, or at least a little bit early…

Freedom from the rat race, most people assume, includes the choice to get up at any time you choose. Sure it does. But trust me when I say that if you still need to earn a living, sleeping in too late ruins your days.

So set your alarm clock and get a proper head-start.

In my own case, I don’t force myself out of bed at the crack of dawn by any means. I’m not enlisted in the army, after all, so I allow myself that extra bit of sleep I deserve (so I’ve decided) without sleeping in so much I become a hermit at night.

Getting up early also forces you to hit the hay earlier; when living in the world’s tourist destinations, such daytime obligations save your sanity. Without them, you will surely party the year away – I should know.

But what should you do with that head-start? I highly suggest sitting down right now with a pen and paper and planning a morning routine, down to the last detail.

Developing the habit of jumping right into a hyper-productive non-work morning routine as soon as you wake up will do wonders for your life and work. For example, my routine includes hydrating myself, picking up my room, a good swimming workout (more on this later), meditation, showering & grooming, a healthy breakfast, and then 20-30 minutes of business-related reading.

Look, I know you didn’t plan on such a regimented schedule when imagining your future as a traveling writer… but hear me out.

“Routines” were never my thing either. I prefer spontaneity and always imagined doing the same thing every day must be as miserable a life one could live.

But since implementing the aforementioned routine into my mornings, my productivity has tripled. Before, I would open my eyes in the morning, jump directly to my computer, get right to work, and then grind away at my keyboard late into the night.

Sure, I lived in paradise, but I felt like a slave to my work. Miserable.

After implementing my routine, taking the time to wind down (or up) in the morning, my life and my work transformed – and that’s no hyperbole. Starting the day in this fashion gets me off on the right foot from the very get-go. I feel replenished, clear-headed, and ready to face the day.

100% centered.

And interestingly enough, by adding all these other things to my morning, I gained a ton of free time and get loads more work done.

I’m still spontaneous and loopy as ever, but I’ve fashioned my routine so I can do it no matter where I wake up. And now I strongly believe just a little bit of structure can do even the most footloose of us a lot of good.

Now, I especially want to stress the working out aspect of your morning ritual – don’t just get up, down a cup of coffee, watch some news, and call it good.

Every day, as part of my routine, I get a good, brisk workout in, and for good reason. Surely I don’t need to preach the importance of maintaining your health. And not only does regular exercise preserve your health but it serves as a great outlet for stress, which can murder your business when your work depends on your mind.

Working out is twice as important for a freelance writer than for most other people. We spend hours upon hours sitting in front of a computer, typing away, while others get at least some exercise just moving through their day.

Many writers I know, including myself, put on a lot of weight when they first got started.

Don’t let your health get away from you while trying to make a buck. I know you want to make this work, but without good health, what do you have? And a solid morning workout gets it out of the way right off the bat every day, keeping your health in check.

And the emotional release from pushing yourself physically will super-accelerate your productivity.

So, what kind of workout should you do?

Well, you don’t need to jump into a savage workout that leaves you crying for your mother. Start out light. Do a mere 10 push-ups a day and then add 5-10 reps to your exercise routine every week – this will add up quickly without shredding your muscles too much in the beginning, and then momentum will build from there.

Keep adding to your workout and expanding it in a similar fashion as you go along. Work in some swimming, if there is a pool nearby – I personally like swimming because it is not only meditative but does wonders for my back. And it’s not hard to find a hotel that will let you use their pool for a fee when traveling.

Sit-ups, pull-ups, yoga, jogging… it’s really up to you.

Note: A traveling writer should design a workout plan that doesn’t depend on having a gym around. Make mobility your main focus when implementing new components to your workout if you want to live this lifestyle.

By implementing these simple lifestyle adjustments into your life, you can enjoy the freedom of a traveling writer without giving up your peace of mind and health, and the productivity gains produced by these simple tips alone will radically transform your life.

 

By leveraging current trends and tools, the productivity “problems” of the [http://writeyourpathtofreedom.com]professional freelancer lie within within your reach too. James Druman writes articles about how to become a writer and achieve complete location independence at http://WriteYourPathtoFreedom.com.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Traveling-Freelance-Writer:-How-to-Create-a-Productive-Morning-in-Paradise&id=6657614

Image:© Jhdt Stock Images Llc | Dreamstime.com

Be Sociable, Share!
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.