entertainment industry coach question 315:All my friends are on 9-5 schedules, how do I delegate my time as a freelancer?

Many people who work as freelancers in the entertainment industry have trouble maintaining motivation when they're not working on a project, because they're not accountable to anyone. Your friends who have 9-5 schedules, are accountable to someone and don't get paid unless they work those hours and are productive during them.

As a freelancer you have to recognize that you do have a daily work schedule. In fact, you may have to work more than just 9-5 in the beginning to have the career you desire. And by "beginning," I don't mean the beginning of your career. Many of you have been at this for 10+ years. I mean the beginning of when you start treating yourself like the CEO of YOUR company.

Here are a few tips to start the process:

1. If you are self motivated, set a time to wake up in the morning and "go to work." That requires having a designated space in your residence, for an office. Set your lunch hour, give yourself two 15-minute breaks, and know what time your day ends.

note: If your friends ask you to do favors for you because they know you're "not working," now is the time to start setting boundaries. Just because you work from home doesn't mean your work isn't equally as important as theirs.

2. If you aren't productive at home because there are too many distractions, find a place with free wi-fi and go there at least 4 days a week for at least 5 hours.

3. If you are not self-motivated, find a partner or a group of freelancers, who would like to be productive and meet 4 days a week for at least 5 hours. A group works well for this because then if someone has to miss a day you can't skip out like you can with a single partner. You can take turns at each other's houses or meet at the place with free wi-fi.

If you are not working at least 20 hours/week on your entertainment career, you are not being competitive and therefore, are losing out on jobs to the people who are getting themselves out there the right way.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.TheGreenlightCoachBlog.com

question 192: How do I motivate to get out of bed in the morning when I don't have a job?

The bottom line- Discipline! I know how you feel. I work from home and have no one to answer to. Some days there would be nothing better than to stay in bed and snuggle with my dogs BUT I made a choice to be an independent contractor JUST LIKE YOU. Therefore, I recognize I have to respect my business the same way I respected my work environment when I worked in the corporate world. When I had a boss to answer to, I had to be at work at a specific time, work for a specific number of hours, and give my all. Aren't those the same requirements of YOU when you're hired on project?

What you must realize, is when you're not on a specific project, you still have work. If you don't know what that work is, I'd be happy to coach you.

Here are some tips :

1. "Forced" motivation- schedule meetings/phone calls for 10 am (you can make it earlier, but hey, working for yourself has to have some perks right?)

2. Throw you hat over the fence- tell someone you respect you'll have something done by a specific date. That will force you to get out of bed and get to work.

3. I've said it before and I'll say it again- get yourself into an accountability group with people whose opinions of you matter.

For more tips and articles by top entertainment industry career coach, The Greenlight Coach, visit www.theGreenlightCoachBlog.com