A Day in the Life of a Freelance Web Developer

Hey, everyone. Today, I'm giving you an inside look at a typical day in my life as a freelance web developer working on Upwork. As a freelancer, no two days are exactly the same, but this will give you a general idea of what my work days are like – while I'm juggling multiple client projects, how I manage my time effectively, and making the most of the beautiful flexibility in my day that comes with freelancing. My day usually starts around 8 a.m. I try my best to wake up at a decent time, but I also have the freedom not to if I am up late at night.

However, more often than not, I'm in bed early because I protect my eight hours of sleep like it's my baby. I usually start my day with coffee or bone broth—it just depends on my mood. I'm currently following the 30:30:30 rule, which is 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, followed by a 30-minute walk. Hence, my steak and egg breakfast, which has been my hyperfixation lately.

And in this time that I'm drinking my coffee and eating, I'll usually be, like, scrolling and looking through emails or just answering my phone. Like, that's really my time to do that. And then I'll review my schedule and prioritize my tasks during the day across all of my active Upwork projects. Having a dedicated time in place for me to organize my day is key for me to stay consistent and get into the productive mindset. And on my walks, I usually listen to web developer or freelancer podcasts just to stay up to date, or I watch my favorite show. And then, I get ready and that's pretty much all for my morning routine.

So, I have a few projects on my plate right now, but one of my biggest projects at the moment is building a new WordPress website for a local bakery. They came to me through the Upwork platform looking for an experienced WordPress developer, and we just signed after making sure that we were the right fit for each other. So in the mornings now, I'll now typically spend like a couple hours working on this site and ensuring that it seamlessly transfers over to mobile view and that there's no problem accessing it from the phone. I always make sure to stay in communication with the client via Upwork messages just to get feedback and keep them updated on the progress.

It's super important to keep your clients in the loop because, as you can imagine, their growing business usually means a lot to them. Another client I have is a tech startup that hired me to build a custom web application for their business. So while the initial build is complete, they have an ongoing retainer with me for updates, maintenance, and new feature additions. I'll spend maybe an hour or two in the late morning or early afternoon just handling their requests for me for that day. Today, they're asking me to work on just fixing a few bugs, improving the UI based on user testing feedback, and scoping out requirements for a new module that they want added next month.

Again, it's crucial to maintain clear communication and make sure that all the documentation is organized when updating complex applications like this because you never know. It may not sound like everyone's cup of tea, but I absolutely love this kind of work. 

Around noon or 1 p.m., I'll take a break and I'll stretch or go outside or I will leave my house and go grab a healthy lunch. Working from home is genuinely a dream come true, but, obviously, I highly value the time that I can just step away from the screen, step away from the computer, and go outside or somewhere else just to recharge. 

Honestly, one of the biggest perks of freelancing is just having flexibility in my time schedule. I can take breaks when I want. I'm making my own schedule every day, and there's literally nothing stopping me from taking a last minute trip because I love to travel. It's truly the lifestyle that I always dreamed of having, but I just didn't know that it was gonna be this easy. 

I think I'm craving a salad. Yeah. Let's get a salad. 

So I am set now to work again for a bit. Even though I have a good amount of work currently, I'm always prospecting and applying for new jobs on Upwork so that I can build up my pipeline. So, I typically spend about 30 minutes to an hour every afternoon just browsing jobs, and finding and applying to the ones that fit my skills and experience. Each and every application deserves that time and attention just so that my clients or my potential clients don't think that I'm copy and pasting. I found that this truly helps me land more high quality jobs, and I'm taken much more seriously. 

Here's something I learned about Upwork: Crafting high quality proposals that are actually personalized and catered to the client's needs and what they're looking for is absolutely key to getting hired on Upwork. One amazing tip that I have and that saves my life and my career is having different proposal templates saves that I can use and personalize whenever. I have a few proposal templates that I've refined over time, and I just make it a point to customize each proposal before sending it to the clients.

You need them to feel like you're genuinely interested and that you will be the one that provides them quality work. The web development landscape is constantly evolving, so I always make sure to dedicate time to developing new skills and building upon my existing ones. Therefore, in the late afternoons, I will watch tutorial videos, read blog posts, or – this is pretty geeky of me – but my personal fave is to work through coding, like, challenges or little games. There's always something new to learn, so it's important to stay up to date. 

That's a typical day in my life as a freelance web developer.

Thank you guys so much for following me around during my day. Of course, every day brings new challenges, but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. This lifestyle is absolutely perfect for my goals and my personality. But seriously, I'm so thankful that I was born in a time where Upwork exists because I don't know how else I would have done it. The freedom and flexibility of being my own boss while doing work that I enjoy is honestly so freeing and extremely rewarding.

That being said, if you're interested in getting started as a freelance web developer, be sure to check out Upwork's Web Development Guide and How to get Started as a Freelance Web Developer video. Don't forget to subscribe for more freelancing tips and insights from Upwork. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.