Technology over the years has changed dramatically and along with it, the job as a web designer has become increasingly more difficult. The astronomical rate at which technology changes, require us to continue our education in the field on a regular basis. Additionally, we are expected to network to stay in business.
All of the learning, networking, and actually doing our job requires endless amounts of time. However, the last time I looked there are still only seven days in a week and 24 hours in a day. The job is expected to become even more intense and if this is the case, we will all fail from lack of time and utter exhaustion.
There is a way to battle this phenomenon. You simply must learn to use your time more wisely. Instead of working more hours, be smarter about the hours that you do work. If you do not learn to do this, you will simply become ill and depressed after a period.
There are five secrets that every web designer needs to know in order to become more efficient and avoid burn out. The first secret is of course, organization.
1. Get Organized
When it comes to being organized, many of us simply do not put forth the effort to stay organized and focused. When you have a deadline to meet, it is much easier to just let our organizational habits go away and simply focus on the task at hand.
There is a problem with this type of approach. When you are unorganized, chances are you will be less productive. There are several approaches a person can use to get and stay organized. The most important thing is to choose one and make sure that you stick with the method no matter what happens.
2. Get Rid of Distractions
When you are working online all day, there are plenty of things to keep you distracted. Facebook, Twitter, and email to name a few, not to mention all of the various articles and videos to look at. Add the telephone into the equation and you wonder how you are ever going to get anything done.
While you cannot remove all of the distractions, you can control how much you are distracted by them. If you have alerts set up for when you get a new email, tweet, or Facebook message, turn them off. Check them manually when you are taking a break from your work. The same goes for the phone, turn the ringer off while you are working.
3. Focus
It is important to figure out when you are the most energetic and focused. Some people work better at night, others in the morning. Some of us can pound out a lot of work in a short amount of time and others can focus for longer periods. The key is to figure out what works for you.
If you cannot sit for long periods of time and have total focus on your work, try this approach. Set a timer for 25 minutes and work for that period. When the timer goes off, take a five minute break and then come back to work for another 25.
When you have a task that is going to require extreme concentration, schedule yourself to work on it during the time you have the most energy, the mornings, evenings, or late at night.
4. Outsource
If there is part of the job that you simply hate doing or are not good at doing, find someone else to do it for you. As a freelancer, you spend a lot of time searching for jobs and performing administrative tasks. This takes time away from doing the work that we are good at for no real reason. There are plenty of people out there that will take on these tasks for us at a very low cost. Considering hiring someone else to do some of the clerical work for you. This will save time and allow you to earn more money overall as you will complete tasks much faster.
5. Recycle
When you take on a new job, how often do you find that you are coding the same list of articles for a site? Most of us do the same work over and over again, when we could simply save and build on some of our old work. In addition, look online for work that other people have done and made available for free.
You may think this article is silly and just another one of the million lists of tips and tricks available online. However, if you take the time to really think about how you work, it is likely you will find that you are not as efficient or as smart about your work habits as you think. Start with one of the tips above and move on from there, you will be surprised at the stress relief.
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