Freelance work is inevitable in our industry. If you leave school thinking you’re going to work at a design firm your entire life, I think you’ll be surprised at how soon you find yourself sitting at home plotting ways to find your next client.

When working from home, some of us can find it difficult to stay motivated and get things done when you don’t have a boss or co-workers pushing you forward. As such, I’ve created a list of things I do to keep myself productive.

Here are my tips for staying motivated when working at home:

1. Start Well
The first thing you should do is decide on a set time for waking up every morning. The way you start the day is so important, because it sets the tone for the next eight hours. Are you going to drearily slump out of bed after idle hours of lying in the blankets staring at the ceiling, or are you going to get up promptly at nine o’clock and jump in the shower? I’m a believer that it not only effects your mood for the rest of the day but your creativity as well. How sharp can your brain be when you’ve overslept three hours?

Everyone has a different way they like to start the day: some go out for a morning jog; some like to cook themselves a big, delicious breakfast; some like to stroll to the cafe at the end of the block and have a coffee. Obviously everyone’s routine is going to be different. Maybe the ideal situation is for you to sleep until two in the afternoon because you were up up all night. Whatever it is, find something that works for you.

2. Make a List
It’s vital that you have a set of goals for the day. Usually I make two lists: one list of things to do before lunch, and another of things to do before my partner gets home. That way, if something on the first list absolutely can’t get done before lunch, then it’s bumped onto my afternoon list and I know I’ve really got to get cracking because I don’t want anything to be carried over into tomorrow’s lists.

3. Be a Cyber Shut-in
It’s important to be social, and to keep in touch with clients and peers within the industry, as well as family and friends. But when it’s work time it’s essential that you tune all of that out. Don’t Facebook. Don’t Twitter. Don’t even answer your email. Not until lunch time, then again at the end of the day. But if you’re going to get anything done, you cannot get dragged into browsing Twitter for half an hour, then instant messaging your pal for half an hour, then checking and replying to emails for an hour. It’s easy to suddenly find that half the day has gone by and you’ve done nothing on your list because you’ve been trapped in a web of social networking.

I’m not saying don’t be involved with social networking; I’m just saying that you absolutely cannot let it prevent you from getting work done.

4. Atmosphere
When working from home you have the unique ability to create whatever work environment you want, so take advantage of it, and have some fun. Play your music loud. Have a beer (as long as you can do that and stay focused). Design in your underwear all morning. Play with your cat while you brainstorm. You can do whatever you want. It’s your house. Whatever you do, though, be careful not to get too distracted.

Personally, I love to design with a guitar in my hands. I find that playing up and down scales and improvising solos as I work can help with thinking. Also, sometimes listening to certain kinds of music can help too. I’m a big fan of listening to a bit of Coltrane while working. It’s perfect for putting yourself in a sort of hypnotic creative state.

5. Rewards
Rewarding yourself can be a good motivational factor. It can be something simple like taking yourself out for lunch. For me, if I can finish everything on my morning list before twelve o’clock, then I allow myself to play xBox 360 for awhile before getting back to work in the afternoon. Otherwise, I try to stay away because I know it’ll suck me in.

6. Stay Healthy
Seriously. This one sounds silly, but it’s really easy to get lazy when you’re unsupervised. The temptation to spend the entire day on the couch with your computer on your lap is hard to resist. As web designers, we don’t have to fall to the old cliches of being chubby, dorky computer nerds. So it’s important to get out when you can, go for a walk or a jog, get the blood flowing. I just got a new treadmill in my study, so when it’s too cold to go out running in the winter I can just jump on that thing and work up a sweat.

Also, posture is an important part of looking out for yourself. Sitting at a computer all day can be hard on your back if you’re slumping. Consider getting yourself a nice chair with proper back support. And when your wrists get sore from coding all day, maybe just take a five minute break.

7. Keep Your Friends Close
When you first start freelancing, the hardest part about working on your own is not having someone at the desk next to you for support. In an office, it’s easy to ask the person next to you what they think of your design, or if they could take a look at your code because it’s just not working and you can’t see where the error is. A fresh set of eyes can be an important asset, and just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from them.

Keep in touch with past co-workers or classmates through email, iChat, or whatever means you’re used to. It’s always good to have a helping hand when you need it, and trust me, sooner or later you’re going to need it.

8. Never Compromise Your Process
Sometimes when a client calls you can get too excited and maybe try to get the ball rolling a little too soon. Most new clients don’t understand how the design process works, so it’s part of our job to guide them through it.

Usually the process is like so: interview; design brief; estimate; contract. Then we get to work. There have been times when I’ve been tempted to just skip all those early steps and say, “What the heck, I’ll design you a site for $500.” Especially if it’s a small client who doesn’t seem to know much about the web. But as soon as you skip those steps, all sorts of things are likely to go wrong. So stick to your process; it’s there for a reason.

9. Don’t Be a Workaholic
When my girlfriend gets home I know it’s time to leave the study, because I’ve had all day to get work done and now it’s time to relax, and my relaxing is part of what helps her unwind too. So try to resist the urge to say, “Just another half hour and I’ll be done this.” When it’s time to clock out, do just that and treat yourself to a good dinner and a few hours relaxing on the couch watching TV.

10. Earn What You Have
Just because you don’t work in an office for some guy in a suit doesn’t mean you’re not working. Always remember that your clients are paying you good money for your services, and they expect you to behave like a professional. So it is completely irresponsible and unacceptable to leave a client’s work until the last minute then call in a half-ass crap job of it. This isn’t college. It’s real business, and your clients expect real results. So if you’re going to work at all, work hard. And at the end of the day you can feel a great deal of pride in knowing you’ve rightfully earned everything around you, and done so doing the absolute best you could for the clients who trusted you.