Every designer knows that freelance work ebbs and flows. Most months, your head will be spinning, but there’s always the inevitable holiday and summer breaks that will stop your workload in its tracks. In these times, it’s so easy to get your in head and convince yourself that the well’s run dry. But folks, I assure you that it definitely hasn’t, and the best way to overcome this lull is to stay busy!
Here are thirteen ways to stay productive in these slow times:
1. Update your portfolio
This one’s kind of a no-brainer, but it’s always on my to-do list. It’s so easy to get behind on adding new work to your website, so any free moment you have should definitely be spent polishing your portfolio!
2. Get to networkin’
Ugh, this is my least favorite thing to do. But networking is a sure shot way to bring in new biz, so it’s worth your while. Hop on LinkedIn, browse job sites, make cold calls, just get the word out that you’re lookin’ for work!
3. Update your social media presence
Sure, we scroll our feeds for fun more often than we should, but how often do we actually spend sprucing up our own pages? Therefore, revisit your Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Dribbble, Behance, (and the list goes on) to make sure everything is up-to-date.
4. Take an online class
Professional development is so important for your growth, so use this free time to take an online course to learn somethin’ new. Some of my favorite platforms are: CreativeLive, SkillShare, and Lynda.
5. Listen to a podcast
Or if podcasts are more your style, I’ve got some favorites to share as well: Elle & Company, Creative Pep Talk, and Creative Playdate.
5. Learn a new skill
Last summer when my work hit a lull, I taught myself handlettering! Each day, I devoted about 30 minutes to sketching a new phrase in a different style and genuinely had a blast. Now, not only do I have a knack for making bomb birthday cards, but I have actually used this new craft in my design work a time or two!
6. Read about industry trends
In a dream world, I would check my 5 favorite designer’s IG pages every morning to kickstart my day. In reality, I probably catch a glimpse of their recent work once every two weeks. 🙈 So when the crickets are chirping at work, I whip out my iPhone and shamelessly get my creative juices flowing.
7. Get organized
Get your Marie Kondo on, because now’s the perfect opportunity to organize your inbox, computer folders, rename files, etc. Basically, your goal should be to iron out any road bumps in your workflow so when your pipeline does fill up again, you’ll be even more efficient.
8. Rebrand your biz
Okay, so this might be a huge undertaking, but if you chip away at it one day at a time, you’ll get there. And without incoming projects pulling your attention away, devote your creative mind completely to your brand for once!
9. Start a passion project
The queen of passion projects, Lauren Hom, has built an incredibly successful career from lettering chalkboard signs for local restaurants, snapping pics of pastries on her head, and jotting down little white lies… all in her free time! As she puts it, you never know what door a passion project could open for you.
10. Enter a design contest
How often do you come across a t-shirt design contest that you only wish there were enough hours in the day for? Well now you’ve got the time, so take a shot at that 5k race tee you’ve been dying to knock out of the park!
11. Write a blog post
I really don’t prioritize my blog like I should, but when work is slow, it’s one of the first outlets I turn to. I have a Word doc of at least 50 blog post ideas, so I take every chance I can to chip away at it. (Exhibit A: you can thank the week of Fourth of July for this blog…)
12. Update your workspace
Tidy up! Clean your space, declutter your drawers, research that new standing desk your’ve been wanting to invest in… just find ways to improve your feng-shui. After all, an orderly workspace has been proven to improve productivity, output, and stress levels for when your workload does pick back up.
13. Plan for the future
Finally, use this free time to think big picture. Oftentimes, when we are bogged down with work, we get caught up in the day-to-day and rarely take a step back. So take a moment to think about where you want your biz to be in one, five, ten years and assess if you’re on the right track to get there.
How do y’all stay busy when work is slow? Comment any ideas I missed below!