Staying focused when freelancing from home?

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So, I don't have a proper 'job' or a super-focused career direction but I do make pocket money via commissions for game assets for indie games.

The money I get at this rate is okay (getting shafted by foreign labor #firstworldproblems), the only thing supporting me is that I still live with my parents. My BIGGEST challenge is being able to stay focused. Only reason why I got a fairly long-term commission is because pixel artists around my skill level are exceptionally rare. I don't work fast enough to be making serious money yet. My drawing speed is improving but there's another obstacle and that's staying focused.

Right now I seem to be having trouble sitting down. It could be the caffeine I get from my teas, but I controlled myself with some music. I remembered that I was listening to an hour-long mix of Skream, a dubstep musician while being productive. Figured that the slow tempo from dubstep music made me slow down so I don't feel compelled to get off my seat.

Anyone else with trouble staying focused? I feel there might be a tip or two that can help me stay focused if I am still gonna work from home.

Do you pace?

Is the urge to walk about because you neeeed to pace? I get that. Try finding some other stim that does not take you away from work.

Yes, I have an annoying pacing habit that's probably one of those weird symptoms of having Asperger's.

I think it's the fact that I get bored enough I wanna do something... I just realized I got up off my seat to wander around again when my hamster wheel computer was chugging along. Coincidence?

Check for ADHD. Having too many problems to focus and using a lot of coffee to help can be a symptom of it.

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2010/caffei ... -symptoms/

I have this problem. The only thing that increased my productivity was going into a co-working space 3 times a week and spending much of the day there... with my laptop.

At home, the computer is too powerful, you can play games, and there are too many distractions.

Co-working space worked. Unfortunately it closed and since then things changed and I can't afford to pay $200 monthly for another one.

Speaking as an illustrator myself, I understand where you're coming from - I've been struggling to remain focused and motivated on commissions and my first children's book the last few months (especially as the latter is volunteer work to update my professional portfolio).

I'm not sure what advice to give to combat the ennui though - different methods work for different people. Cutting down on the coffee might help though; whereas in the old days I used to chug 3 or 4 cups, I usually just have one in the morning and graze on nuts or fruit and such the rest of the day- it meant I wasn't so overly pent-up with excess energy that drawing doesn't quite satisfy; I used to have a lot of problems keeping still and not fidgeting in school (we had coffee at an early age in my family) from it.

And what else works for me is having something going on to keep your mind occupied so it's not sending signals to your body to do something - I know nothing on dubstep (after my time) but something with a consistent rhythm or even white noise might be sufficient. Bearing in mind that is one off those things you have to be in the mood to do or nothing comes out looking right (as Joe Maudiera put it, "if you don't enjoy your work, it shows."), experiment and see what works for you to remain focused and productive. I wish there was a perfect answer that wasn't so elusive (like willpower) or expensive ... it'd make all our lives easier. Heh.

I'd love to help, but I should be doing some freelancing work right now.

Some days it's harder than others, but if I have something really important to do, I do it first thing in the morning. For me that's the key - do it before you get distracted. Simple, but it's the only thing that works for sure. You can't do "some other little thing you've been meaning to do" or even check email beforehand (let alone Facebook or WP). The most important thing has to be the very first thing I do, straight after breakfast. Ideally I would even start it before breakfast and resume straight after.

Oh and yes, I pace. When I get some exciting idea I can't seem to process it sitting down. I jump up and pace up and down the house as I think about it. If anyone was watching me it would probably look really weird to them.

What are you eating throughout the day, especially at the start? My teachers always told their students that before exams things like nuts, eggs, apples, and bananas were better for helping them focus and work than caffeine from coffee or tea, which could just leave them jittery and in a fog.