If you don’t have enough Happiness in your day-to-day freelance work, you’re not doing it right.

    The fact of the matter is that whether you’re a writer, designer, or other sort of freelancer, there are plenty of different types of work you can do to keep your days from becoming too monotonous.

    Still, there are times when you’ve got to do some mundane tasks. You might have a design gig for a client with no imagination. You might have to write 150 pages of SEO content on household cleaning. We all have to keep our books, deal with clients, and pay our bills.

    I’ve found that one of the best ways to get through a drudge of a day is to insert some creativity in the process. Here are some things I’ve done to find more joy in my work, and make those everyday tasks just a little bit more enjoyable:

    Customize your workspace

    You don’t work in a corporate office. You don’t have to deal with the buzz of florescent lights all day long, or stare endlessly at the drab gray cubicle walls. As a freelancer, you have the opportunity to design your own workspace. Sure, you’re limited by space and budget, but there are some basic things you can do to make your workspace more joyful. For example, you can:

    * Install some nice track lighting, or get a stylish lamp for your desk.
    * Invest the money in a high-quality office chair.
    * Add some decoration to your desk, whether it’s pictures of your family or your favorite piece of pottery.
    * Pick up a small surround-sound system for your MP3 player and install it in your office.

    These are things that people who work in cubicles can’t do. These relatively minor changes to your workspace can make your work time much more pleasant.

    Find a schedule that works for you

    Some people work better doing all of their boring, mundane tasks at the same time. If that’s you, pick one day a week, perhaps, to do all of your most inane tasks.

    If you’re like me, though, you can’t stand the thought of a single day full of joyless tasks. I prefer to identify those tasks and spread them out through my day and week. That way, I’ve only ever got to deal with one of these tasks for a few minutes, and then its back to more enjoyable work.

    Maybe you’re not sure yet how you work best. Give each method a shot, and figure out what works best for you. Part of finding joy in your work is being able to work with your mundane tasks in a way that suits you.

    Consider outsourcing

    When I talk with other freelancers about outsourcing, the first thing that comes to mind is often the bookkeeping task. Let’s face it: just because you’re a good writer or designer doesn’t mean you’re good with accounting. Even if you’re good at it, you probably don’t enjoy it. If that’s the case, consider hiring an accountant, or a virtual bookkeeper.

    There are probably other tasks you can outsource, as well. For example, in my Business I spend a lot of time proofreading my own work. I do all right at it, but it can really start to drive me batty, especially if I’m proofreading a longer piece. In the last couple of months, I’ve been able to outsource that particular task. In my case, I’ve outsourced this task to my wife, who is a much better proofer than I am.

    Remember why you chose the freelancing life

    A key part of finding joy in your work is remembering why you chose this line of work. For example, I love the fact that I’m able to make a difference with my writing. A lot of the writing I do is educational; whether it’s writing about writing like I do on my blog, or whether it’s writing on a client’s topic, I try to write things that benefit others. I want to improve their lives with my work.

    When I’m stuck doing some mundane task, I try to remember that it’s all part of the package. If I’m going to make a difference with my writing, sometimes I have to write about a topic that isn’t interesting to me, but is eminently interesting and useful to someone else.

    I love what I do for a living. If you don’t love what you do as a freelancer, it’s time to think about another career. I chose the freelance life because I was sick and tired of following orders from a corporate boss who only looked out for himself. I chose the freelance life so that, whether I rise or fall, I can say that it happened because of me, and not someone else. I chose the freelance life so that I could have the flexibility to be there for every school play, even if it meant I had to work until 3 AM the next night to make up for it. Reminding yourself of why you choose to freelance can put a smile on your face and put the joy into even the most mundane task.

    So, what about you? What techniques have you found that help you get through your days of drudgery?

    作為自由職業(yè)者，如果你每天的工作都不怎么開(kāi)心，那就是你的方法不對(duì)。

    實(shí)際上，不管你是爬格子的，還是搞設(shè)計(jì)的，或是其它什么自由工作者，都有很多不同的方法可以讓你免于每日重復(fù)工作的單調(diào)之苦。

    當(dāng)然，有時(shí)候你不免要去完成一些枯燥的任務(wù)。 或許是給毫無(wú)想象力的客戶(hù)設(shè)計(jì)圖案。 又或許是不得不就房間打掃這個(gè)題目寫(xiě)上150頁(yè)紙的內(nèi)容。 我們都要工作，應(yīng)付客戶(hù)，賺錢(qián)生活。

    我發(fā)現(xiàn)有一種最好的辦法可以打發(fā)每天枯燥乏味的工作，就是在工作中加點(diǎn)創(chuàng)造力。 這里是我在工作中找樂(lè)子的一些招數(shù)，讓每天的任務(wù)多一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)樂(lè)趣。

    設(shè)計(jì)自己的工作環(huán)境

    你不是在大公司里上班。 不必要一整天都開(kāi)著白熾燈聽(tīng)它嗡嗡作響，沒(méi)完沒(méi)了的坐在灰褐色的辦公隔間里。 你是自由職業(yè)者，可以設(shè)計(jì)自己的工作環(huán)境。 當(dāng)然，你沒(méi)有那么大的空間，也沒(méi)有足夠的預(yù)算，但你可以做一些基本的工作讓你的辦公環(huán)境更溫馨。 例如：

    *你可以在辦公桌上裝一個(gè)伸縮燈，或是放一盞樣式時(shí)髦的臺(tái)燈。
    *花錢(qián)買(mǎi)一把質(zhì)量很好的辦公椅。
    *在辦公桌上添置一些飾品，可以是你的全家福，也可以是你喜歡的陶器。
    *給你的MP3播放器找一款小型的環(huán)繞音響，裝在辦公室里。

    這些事情都是在辦公隔間工作的人不能做的。把你的辦公環(huán)境中做一下小小的改變，可以讓你在工作時(shí)間心情更加愉悅。

    摸索一套適合自己的工作計(jì)劃

    有些人喜歡在同一時(shí)間做完所有的枯燥乏味的工作。 如果你屬于這類(lèi)人，那么可能的話(huà)，就每星期找一天來(lái)做所有最無(wú)聊的工作。

    但你要是和我一樣，那一想到哪一天全部都是毫無(wú)樂(lè)趣的工作，就受不了。 我喜歡先列出無(wú)聊的工作，再把這些工作分配到一天或是一周不同的時(shí)段。 這樣的話(huà)，我每次就只需要花幾分鐘的時(shí)間做其中一件，然后就可以回到更有趣的工作中來(lái)。

    也許你還沒(méi)完全想清楚怎樣做到最好。 那就每種方法試一次，找出最適合你的那種。 工作中找樂(lè)子的一項(xiàng)原則就是能以適合自己的方式完成單調(diào)乏味的任務(wù)。

    考慮任務(wù)外包

    每當(dāng)我和其它自由職業(yè)者討論任務(wù)外包，想到的第一件事往往是賬務(wù)管理。 我們得面對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題。 你是一位優(yōu)秀的作家或設(shè)計(jì)家并不代表你精于財(cái)務(wù)。 就算你很精通，或許也不會(huì)喜歡去做。 如果是這種情況，那就考慮請(qǐng)一個(gè)會(huì)計(jì)師或會(huì)計(jì)員吧。

    也許你還有其它的任務(wù)可以外包。 譬如，我在工作中要花大量的時(shí)間讀校自己的稿件。 我自己還能對(duì)付，但是讀校真的可以讓我發(fā)瘋，特別是讀校較長(zhǎng)的稿件時(shí)。 最近幾個(gè)月里，我找了人幫我做這項(xiàng)工作。 根據(jù)我的情況，我把這個(gè)任務(wù)交給了我愛(ài)人，她作校對(duì)可比我強(qiáng)百倍。

    別忘了你為什么選擇自由職業(yè)的生活

    在工作中發(fā)現(xiàn)樂(lè)趣的關(guān)鍵一點(diǎn)是別忘了你為什么選擇自由職業(yè)的生活。 拿我來(lái)說(shuō)吧，我喜歡自由職業(yè)，是因?yàn)槲铱梢栽趯?xiě)作時(shí)推陳出新。 我寫(xiě)的很多內(nèi)容都是教育方面的；或是像我在博客里寫(xiě)的有關(guān)寫(xiě)作的文章，或是按照客戶(hù)出的題目寫(xiě)的稿件，我都盡力寫(xiě)出幫助別人的東西來(lái)。 我希望能夠通過(guò)我的工作改變他們的生活態(tài)度。

    每當(dāng)我不得不做一些枯燥乏味的工作時(shí)，我就對(duì)自己說(shuō)，這是你想要的生活必須附帶的。 如果你想在寫(xiě)作上有所創(chuàng)新，有時(shí)候就必須寫(xiě)些自己不感興趣的話(huà)題，但是別人會(huì)非常感興趣，你的寫(xiě)作對(duì)他們會(huì)大有幫助。

    我熱愛(ài)我的工作。 如果你不熱愛(ài)自己的自由職業(yè)工作，那就得想想換種職業(yè)了。 我選擇自由職業(yè)的生活，因?yàn)槲矣憛�，并且厭倦按著公司老板的命令�?lái)工作，而老板只會(huì)關(guān)心自己。 我選擇自由職業(yè)的生活，所以不管成功還是失敗，我會(huì)說(shuō)是因?yàn)槲易约翰艜?huì)這樣，而不是他人的原因。 我選擇自由職業(yè)的生活，這樣可以自由安排時(shí)間，每次去參加孩子在學(xué)校的演出，即使這意味著我必須工作到第二天的夜里三點(diǎn)作為代價(jià)。 回想一下自己為什么選擇自由職業(yè)可以將笑容掛在臉上，就算碰到最枯燥的工作也會(huì)感到快樂(lè)。

    好了，你怎么樣？ 你有什么技巧來(lái)幫助自己對(duì)付單調(diào)的時(shí)光？