Freelancing overall has been a rewarding and non-invasive partner to my travels. Unlike a full time office job, I’ve had the luxury of working pretty much anywhere in the world, which on paper is great but still has its challenges. I wanted to share for anyone looking to step in to something similar how I have managed multiple time zones whilst freelancing across the world, as it may help! I’ve detailed three key things that I personally do to ensure that clients are happy, and I can successfully manage my time without compromising my travels.

(a visual guide of time zones around the world)

1. Share your flight times and travel plan changes: It sounds obvious, but I can’t stress how important it is to allow yourself a day or two of no work when you land somewhere new, especially if you are going to be battling with jet lag. Sure, you may lose out on some money but producing work when you are tired and groggy will only diminish your relationship if the work is poor.
2. Complete your work a minimum of 1 day early: When you are traveling and enjoying yourself, you don’t want to have a looming deadline over your head. I always aim to complete work early, not to ‘get it out of the way’ but to allow myself time to read it over at least on different occasions to look at it with a fresh eye. I’ve surprised myself in the past with silly mistakes I may have missed the first time I’ve proof read, and the more thorough you are with your work the happier your clients will be.
3. Don’t take on work you can’t deliver on: Again, this sounds obvious but it’s so easy to be tempted to take a project on that has a 24hr turnaround. Is it going to be stressful? Yes. Is it going to be your best piece of work? No. See if you can adjust the deadline and remember that you are working on a different clock to the client, and you’d rather produce a high-quality piece of work instead of a 24hr rush-job.

Those are the three things that have continued to work for me for the past few months, and in conclusion it’s all about staying organised and being honest. Also, the clock app definitely helps…