Solo: How to Work Alone

by Rebecca Seal

'Improve your home working routine' Guardian

Whether by choice or circumstance, as a freelancer or a company employee working from home, more of us are becoming solo workers than ever before. But once you've made the leap, how do you actually thrive while working alone?

Picking up where the freelancer bibles stop, Solo addresses what we gain but also miss when we shift from the structure of an office environment to the solitary confines of our homes or studios. Blending the latest research in psychology, economics and social science with guided self-examination and more than ten years of freelance experience, Rebecca Seal shows you how to stay resilient, productive and focused in a company of one.

Practical and inspiring, she also explores the idea of meaningful work and helps you define your own success.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Psychology, Writing, Productivity, Personal Development

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 17, 2020

About the author

Rebecca Seal is a former assistant editor of Observer Food Monthly and Observer Woman and is now a magazine editor and freelance journalist.

Specialising in food, drink and lifestyle pieces, Rebecca has written articles for many magazines and newspapers including Grazia, Red and Olive, The Guardian, The Financial Times, Sunday Telegraph, The Observer, The Times and Sunday Times. She is a food/drink expert on C4's Sunday Brunch.

Reviews

[Beatriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este foi, até ao momento, o livro que melhor resumiu o caminho profissional que escolhi e que melhor respondeu às minhas dificuldades de trabalhadora por conta própria. Solo talvez seja o livro mais útil para trabalhadores independentes ou freelancers, seja para os que já sabem a lição toda de cor ou para aqueles que precisam de uma espécie de raspanete ou de uma dose de realidade (sempre com bom humor, boa disposição e bons testemunhos).


Além disso, se estiverem a pensar numa mudança de carreira, esta também é uma leitura obrigatória, a que vos vai convencer ou dissuadir deste caminho profissional.

Opinião completa: https://fuiprocrastinar.blogs.sapo.pt...

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не бях много оптимистична към тази книга. Трудно е да вярваш на някого, който заявява, че проблемите, които има той/тя като freelancer, никой не се е сетил да пише за тях досега. Ами, всички знаем, че не е точно така. Все някъде някой е написал нещо по въпроса. :)

Та, подходих скептично към книгата след тези първоначални думи. Оказах се права, че това, за което говори не е нещо ново, не каза и някаква нова информация относно това да работиш сам. Но ми хареса как представи информацията - лесна за "смилане" и нежно подбутваща те да си припомниш на какво трябва да обърнеш внимание и какво е важно. Книгата бих казала, че е чудесна не само за т.н. от нея solo workers, но и за всички останали, работещи под някаква форма в стандартното от 8 до 5.

Първите глави ми бяха най-интересни и любопитни - какво всъщност значи да си passion about your job, за липсата на време, хранене и грижа за здравето, и още няколко не най-типичните теми, свързвани с работата на свободна практика и въобще. Останалото - да не работиш сам, как да формираш цените си и т.н., беше ултимативно скучно и даже съм чела по-добри книги и статии по конкретните теми.

Като цяло обаче не беше никак лоша, особено първите 50%.

[Aga · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone who does not read lot, my husband is quite good at picking some good books for me to read. Having seen my struggling over the last year with being extremely overworked and bereaved after losing my Dad last year, he gave this book to me ‘Solo – How to Work Alone (and Not Lose Your Mind)’ by Rebecca Seal. My husband knows that I am not a great fan of working full time from home and the past year of remote working, and having to deal with loss has had a really awful impact on me. It changed how I feel about myself, my life, its meaning and purpose, and how I work. I also realised that it took death of two close family members (my Dad and Aunt earlier this month) for me to stop and actually not think about work, not stress about it and not have anxiety, which was replaced by overwhelming and ever present sadness. It made me realise how unhealthy my relationship with work is if takes death for me to see it…I think this was the lowest point in my life last year which turned into a longer period.

Solo is not a book that brings in new concepts but it brings everything that we think (whilst at the same time completely forget about) is obvious into one book. As I have been going through it I thought: ah yes, that’s true… oh, that’s right, I remember that training etc. I thought I knew it all about the work environment and what works and what does not but in fact I forgot. I was so in the thick of it, trying to deal with the deluge of emails, phone calls, demands on my time and making sure I don’t drop the ball anywhere, I lost track of what’s important. This book made me realise that I am currently making all the mistakes one can make to become less productive, less creative, less clever and to lose self-esteem. I have stopped thinking strategically and I have stopped thinking altogether but continued churning the volume. I no longer know what the ‘bigger picture’ is. I have been so overwhelmed with work and trying to deal with EVERYTHING that I have stopped thinking long-term and I no longer know what my next steps are….all I am thinking about is that I want to ditch it all to save myself. But what would I be running away from? Solo made me think that maybe the same thing I have been running away my whole working life?

The book does not read like an academic research but is exactly what I needed, a reminder of things that can make every day just a little bit less dreadful. Seal talks through examples and theories supported by some good references and further reading. Each chapter has something useful, at least for me. I am half way through and what stuck in my head is what she wrote about the ‘meaning of work’ and the fact she did not brag on about having to work in obvious professions like: doctors saving lives, teachers educating kids for better future or working for international organisations trying to solve major issues like conflict or global warming. She shows the reader that each job can have a meaning and it is our perception that gives this meaning. Seal also writes some clever things about the whole misconception of multitasking and productivity, long hours and how much work we really get done. As much as the book is written with the self-employed in mind, I think majority of its content is relevant to everyone in today’s world where so many of us work too much in a wrong way.

[Alexandra Plesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could have read this when I first started working alone. Most of the information in this book I had to learn by trial and error.

It's a great resource for people who are thinking of going at it alone or, like me, have been doing it for a while and need a reminder that it doesn't have to be miserable - the pandemic has been and continues to be an absolute drag.

The book can also help if you've been struggling with remote work, especially the bits about your working environment and such. Placing a plant next to your laptop really *does* help.

[Emily Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at the library, and when I say 'found', I mean this book jumped off the shelf, smacked me in the face and bellowed FKING READ ME WHORE...or at least that's what it felt like. I really really truly think this book will help me in the next few weeks/months/years of working alone, no matter what that looks like. I'm sad that I didn't find this book before I started working from home because there is so much I will do differently now. I feel SEEN by this book. I feel VALID. It was a meeting of fate i think. I'm glad me and this book crossed paths. I'm now significantly more confident that I will be able to "work alone and not lose my mind."

[starduest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bumped this up from a 4.5 because it's incredibly relevant, extremely readable and full of excellent tips and pointers. It's certainly not just for freelancers - parts 1 and 2 on how we work and where we work are must reads for everyone, especially if you're always stressed, can never find time for lunch or struggle with finding meaning in what you do. Part 3 is more relevant to soloists but to me was in fact the weakest section of the book.

[Andy Lopata · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Relevant for more than the original planned audience thanks to Covid-19 forcing so many more people to work from home and very well written and engaging.

The book makes you think about the way you plan all aspects of your working life and is packed with practical takeaways. There are some cracking stories too, although I think there could be more.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if you're not a freelancer, this is a great summary of research related how to cultivate a work environment that is healthy and productive.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth reading if you are one of the many people now working from home as a result of COVID-19.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like this book, like many other self-help books, could have been done in an article but instead was researched to stretch it out to book length.

I wanted some hard and fast ways to improve working solo. What I got was an in-depth analysis of working solo, complete with references to studies and experts. Which while somewhat interesting, I found it hard to care about. So useful and interesting points got lost in this. When I came across something of interest, it was fleshed out with lengthy examples and personal experiences. I tried to skim for the good stuff and ended up giving up, because it was paragraph upon paragraph.

The author came across as personable and I genuinely liked her and her writing and it is commendable that she was so thorough in her research for this book. I personally just found this book a bit of a slog. I recommend this book to people that enjoy a bit more of a read on the subject as they absorb information.

[Sarahh Yeo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing style for this book is unnecessarily meandering and long winded, and I find my eyes kinda of just bouncing off the words and I couldn’t focus and grasp the main points.

It’s a self help book that has great potential but is ultimately wasted because the long winded writing style killed off any interest a reader might have. I find myself skimming the pages to find something, anything that is important and can grab my attention but my god, it’s just frustration after more frustration. It’s best pages are the preface and introduction. They really resonate with me. Everything else went to crap after that. Give this to another author who can rewrite it in a more succinct manner and it might rate higher.

Conclusion:
Your time can be better spent planning your day - setting up healthy habits while working solo than to read this long winded crap of a book.

[Megan Carnegie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seal takes an expansive, incredibly well-researched deep dive into freelancing - but also solo work, of which many people are more accustomed to thanks to the pandemic. This is why the book is for anyone who sees themselves working from home for at least part of their time for the foreseeable, not just freelancers. It's one of the first books I've read that directly engages with the pandemic and I'm so glad it does - her words were both bolstering and soothing. I loved Seal's use of the term 'soloist' - it felt really inclusive, which was reflected in the breadth and diversity in her interviewees. As someone who's recently back on the freelance train, this feels like a book I'll return to regularly - strongly recommend!

[Haniva Zahra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kemarin saya memulai untuk menata kembali rak buku, hingga akhirnya menyadari ada banyak sekali buku yang belum saya baca. Dengan keterbatasan waktu, saya perlu menyelesaikan buku-buku yang belum dibaca sebelumnya, sehingga saya bisa memutuskan apakah akan menyimpannya? Buku ini saya baca cepat dan skimming saja, mengingat pelajaran dari Naval, tidak semua buku harus diselesaikan; tidak semua perlu dibaca mendetail. Kadang, kita bisa membacanya skimming, membaca 1-2 bab di awal, atau membaca bab terakhir untuk mengambil kesimpulan tentang buku tersebut secara umum (tentu membacanya dengan detail ketika memiliki waktu bisa saja membuatmu menemukan kesan yang lebih spesifik).

Buku ini cukup sesuai dengan apa yang saya lakukan di pekerjaan sehari-hari. Saya bekerja dari rumah, secara online, dan pekerjaan-pekerjaan yang dikelola secara mandiri. Ada tenggat waktu, namun perlu usaha menggeret badan duduk di depan komputer/laptop dan menyelesaikannya. Saya menerima kompensasi dari satu pekerjaan ke pekerjaan lainnya tanpa jaminan mengenai masa depan. Saya memiliki fleksibilitas memutuskan kapan ingin bekerja atau tidak dengan konsekuensinya. Jadi, buku ini cukup mengingatkan saya tentang berbagai hal yang perlu dipertimbangkan:
1. Lingkungan kerja yang sehat dan kondusif. Kadang, kita lupa bahwa terlalu banyak duduk itu bisa berbahaya, mata bisa begitu lelah, dan punggung merasa pegal.
2. Makanan dan minuman yang kita konsumsi. Karena jadwal pekerjaan yang "bebas" tapi jadinya bisa lebih dari 8 jam, bisa jadi kita tidak memiliki waktu untuk makan dan minum dengan baik. Oleh karena itu, meal prep & planning menjadi salah satu jalan ninja yang harus dilakukan agar bisa tetap menyantap nutrisi yang (semoga) seimbang
3. Bagaimana menetapkan batasan. Waktu kerja yang fleksibel bisa jadi membuat kita selalu bekerja dan bekerja terus. Perlu menetapkan batasan karena kehidupan tidak hanya tentang pekerjaan.
4. Pekerjaan akan selalu ada. Memang ketika tidak bekerja tidak akan ada pemasukan. Tapi rencanakan juga istirahat dan liburan.
5. Perencanaan keuangan. Masa depan yang tidak pasti seharusnya membuat pekerja lepas bisa berpikir tentang masa depan.

Itu sedikit yang saya dapatkan dari buku ini, tetapi buku ini bisa menawarkan yang lebih baik untuk para pekerja lepas yang belum banyak melakukan refleksi tentang cara kerjanya dan membuatnya menjadi lebih nyaman untuk dijalani.

Sekarang, saya memprioritaskan menyelesaikan buku dan menyimpulkan pelajaran dibanding membaca kata demi kata. Namun, sejujurnya saya jadi bertanya-tanya, apakah saya tidak lagi nyaman membaca kata demi kata karena penurunan kognitif akibat konsumsi informasi dalam jangka waktu yang pendek-pendek terus?

[Vilia Ciputra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never once crossed in my mind before that I will read this kind of book. I am an introvert, I love my solitude, and I never get any problem with working alone.

But this pandemic changes thing a bit. At one point, I do meet my old friend; loneliness. And that kinda dragged my productivity down.

Productivity is my source of fulfilment. No, not in the workaholic way, but more to the feeling of knowing that I achieve something, favourably in effective and efficient ways.

This book actually goes beyond my expectation. Not only it helps me clear the cloud in my head, it also hit the questions that I've been asking myself a lot before.

Questions such as; am I doing a meaningful work? What is meaningful means to me? Am I doing my work part the right way? Am I managing my time at my most effective and efficient way? How to actually run things solo without really feeling solo?

It also prepares those who are just going to start working solo, and especially during this pandemic situation, which I believe working solo and wfh will really change the game in many business.

Before reading this book, I was actually having few experiments about my working hours and life schedule. So, this book actually came on time for me. And it helps me to experiment more on it, up to the point that I know my most effective working days is just 4 days. And I need a break day in between those 4 days. I also need one empty alone day, where no work and no meeting shall be done.

It also made me realize that it is much simpler and easier for me to control my daily and smallest habits instead of having to manage the big picture.

Everyone is different on this, everyone has different body clock, different needs, different habits, but that's what works for me up to today. I haven't finished my experiment and I guess I will keep on improving it.

This book will be really good for soloist, those who plan to work solo either on freelancing or because of the situation, and basically, for those who work alone mostly. You'll find some good tips and experiment even if you're a long time soloist like me.

[Jenny Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine steered me towards this, and it was a book I didn’t know I needed! Focused on how to not lose your mind while working alone in today’s society, it was very thoughtful and considered both the obvious challenges like having a proper workplace setup, balanced work vs personal hours and the need to interact with other brings AND the little-known factors such as combating poor (convenient-heavy) eating habits, a need for nature breaks for psychological stress relief and the importance of outsourcing and asking for help instead of taking on every burden yourself.

Other cool insights included the concepts of identity precariousness (am I truly a writer if I’m not a hired one?), how productivity hacks are not the same as ineffectual “multitasking”, the benefits of compartmentalizing workspace at home or find healthy co-working spaces and establishing routines that force admin vs project work delineation, peer lunches for socialization and email cutoff times to minimize the work-obsessed lifestyle from creeping into personal life. Though I did already know and establish a number of these suggestions throughout trial and error, there were countless insights that I’ve taken away to make my independent consulting lifestyle more fulfilling, sustainable and effective. Great read for anyone who does any kind of work from home, even partially.

[Rebecca Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite parts of the book were discussing topics such as what is meaningful work, goal setting and loneliness, which were so eye-opening, and will definitely take in & use in my daily life. I liked how there was so much evidence to back up each point on every chapter, also recommending people, books and podcasts to look into if you wanted to find more about that specific topic. I also loved how she brought in her own experiences to bring in her perspective on a topic as well. However, as I'm a student and this book is purely aimed at freelancers/ solo workers, I didn't feel that these tips were directly correlated with my life and that the book was entirely useful. Nevertheless, this gave me an insight into what solo working would be like, so now I'm more likely to go into this in the future. Overall, this was a great read and would definitely recommend it to people who are looking for some guidance on how to manage their own working life.

[A SC · Rating 3 out of 5]

I keep coming back to these sorts of books for comfort. For a hug. Yet, I keep having trouble to keep reading them, be excited, and finishing them.

I guess this is the book where everyone can get at least one hug they’re looking for since it covers many different nuances of working solo.

For me, for instance, it took around 140 pages to find one. But once I did, I had an excellent read and found some insights that made me think a lot about time planning and routines I haven’t thought of. I really got some new ideas that I am going to try out. It’s about these small nuggets of information that you might use when in need. I guess?

Otherwise, it’s great if you’re just starting or about to and feel like talking to someone working alone already. But for those being solo for a while and have read other similar sort of books, nothing new was told, really, and I thought it was a general ok.

[Eddy Vermeulen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book about working as a freelancer (from home), based on Rebecca's personal experience, friends, "experts" and research (some of it somewhat obscure academic stuff in my opinion). While a lot of the info is straight-forward (caffeine causes bad bad sleep, anyone?) and a lot of it may not apply to you (I certainly don't feel lonely), there's somewhere some tips in it for everyone that may be helpful or just a healthy reminder about good habits, I assume.
While the first chapters are somewhat extensive (about being lonely, the strength to deal with setbacks, etc.), the last parts are really short while they deal with crucial subjects like networking and money. Maybe there were enough pages or the writer was a bit tired and wanted to finish?
In global, a well-written (the lady is a pro journalist) book with some interesting practical tips for everyone but not sure if it worth wrestling through the 300+ pages.
P.S.: this book is translated and I read the Dutch version.

[Cath Ennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very helpful little book for those of us who work alone. I'm actually already doing a lot of the things the author recommends (such as tracking my time, having a lovely home workspace that's separate from the rest of my life, and making time for a real lunch break with healthy food), but it was good to read some of the psychology research behind the recommendations. I was particularly reassured by the section about how switching from employment to self-employment changes your attitudes to time and money. Just yesterday, I told a committee I'm volunteering with that "I'm self-employed now, so I have more flexibility, but also more anxiety about time spent not working". It's good to know that I'm not, well, alone in this kind of thing.

4.5* rather than 5* just because it could use another round of editing.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book - it resonated with my working from home and reminded me of some of the basics. It has chapters on dealing with people, coping with the solitude, the emotional and practical weight of money matters, and even food!
That said, while it must have been innovative when it came out in the middle of the pandemic, it is a little too simple for the 2023 reader who is coming out of the pandemic and has hopefully learnt some lessons from it. It also should really have been proofread - there are too many sentences I had to reread because of a dropped word.
My third gripe with it is personal - as a new mother working all hours of the day and night to cope, finding out that Rebecca Seal had children in nursery at the time of writing made me wish she had added a chapter on dealing with that. As she would know, any advice is appreciated in those first years.

[Bibliotraveller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am găsit acest #audiobook pe pagina celor de la #voxa atunci când am căutat să văd ce alte cărți au avut-o naratoare pe #ilincaharnut .

Deși nu aduce idei inovative in discuție, autoarea #rebeccaseal are meritul de a strânge într-un singur loc toate informațiile de care ai nevoie dacă lucrezi de acasă, fie ca angajat al unei companii care permite asta, fie ca #freelancer, #antreprenor , #solopreneur.

Lucrez online din 2018 și mi s-a întâmplat ca, pe parcursul "lecturii", să îmi zic de câteva ori: "ce bine ar fi fost să o fi citit când am început să lucrez singură"!

O recomand tuturor celor care lucrează singuri și e un cadou util pentru toți prietenii care se pregătesc să facă saltul spre #antreprenoriat ori #freelancing !

[Bibliotraveller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am găsit acest #audiobook pe pagina celor de la #voxa atunci când am căutat să văd ce alte cărți au avut-o naratoare pe #ilincaharnut .

Deși nu aduce idei inovative in discuție, autoarea #rebeccaseal are meritul de a strânge într-un singur loc toate informațiile de care ai nevoie dacă lucrezi de acasă, fie ca angajat al unei companii care permite asta, fie ca #freelancer, #antreprenor , #solopreneur.

Lucrez online din 2018 și mi s-a întâmplat ca, pe parcursul "lecturii", să îmi zic de câteva ori: "ce bine ar fi fost să o fi citit când am început să lucrez singură"!

O recomand tuturor celor care lucrează singuri și e un cadou util pentru toți prietenii care se pregătesc să facă saltul spre #antreprenoriat ori #freelancing !

#bibliotraveller

[Tracy Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good. It was written in an easy to read style with a lot of research, interviews and anecdotes. You can tell the author understands the subject really well and has a great grasp of the issues affecting people who work for themselves or by themselves. Not everything applied to me and my situation but I still found it informative and helpful. This is a very timely book and I think a lot of people will find it useful. I've been working on my own for a number of years and struggled a lot with different aspects of it. It was really great to hear that my experience is normal and find some techniques to help some of the issues.

[Matthew Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm currently in my own journey as a solopreneur and reading this my mind went through from how it would be if I had read this book before I start my journey comparing to present time. I had to skip a few sub-chapters as I felt I've already been there or it doesn't suit with my cultural environment (in the aspect of eating and diets chapter, I like my rice)

If you just started your solopreneur journey, worth the read. If you're already into it for a year or so, read it as well. It might helps you in certain areas where you deemed like a failure, it enlightened me after finishing reading it. Well then, back to work!

[Erick Corona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers a lot of areas where you can do small improvements to enhance your solo work life.

It's helpful for all people working alone, but it focuses on freelancers more. Sometimes, things don't directly apply to employed people working from home, but you can probably extrapolate to your case.

I especially liked the small habit-changing advice in the matters of feeling lonely, on working less, using your time better and improving your physical work environment.

I also liked the writing style.

[Arevik Heboyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hands-on toolset on how to reserve mental health in times of pandemic, isolation, and very morphed and changed work environment, which has so many negative and positive sides at the same time.
Centuries of acceptable and usual work environment have been changed from 2020 and people find themselves in new work-environment: home, sometimes not as ergonomic as a usual office setting, with less commute and communication!
Tools for productivity and mental health are presented and explained and this can be a nice book to have on your desk and reference when you feel you are using productivity or feeling isolated.
Though the book is for a specific niche of employees, formally in desk-setting, excluding those whose work is organized in place and cannot be remote, it is still a nice reminder, to take care of yourself!

[Ollie Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solo is a fantastic resource if you find yourself working on your own. There's a lot of great advice around the problem of long hours, what meaningful work looks like, and how to cope with loneliness.
I'd say the only issue I had with the book is that it's not necessarily geared towards those who have been forced to work from home due to Coronavirus. The pandemic is certainly referenced a few times, but I think you'd get more out of this book if you work solo by choice.

[Denise Sanchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the brief synopsis for the giveaway I entered, I was under the impression that this book would apply to people like me (employed through a corporation, but the only person who does the job that I do). While this book is not necessarily for me, it still did have some good tips for working alone/at home/in an office environment.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.

[Khattiya Homthong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book recap many book about how to handle your work and life together.
I like idea to summarize purposes, how and where to work.
During Work From Home , I feel loneliness and missing people around me at the office and I also have more time to do a another thing not only my work .
If you know yourself and have something to do . It’s pretty good .
If not , it’s time to thinking more about the way and perspective to working each day :)

[Barry Morisse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was comforting to read something so relatable about what it's like to work alone. The author hits all the relevant points, but offered very little that's new or noteworthy. If this is your first time seeking this sort of advice, the book can be a great starter. But if you've looked into this world before, you'll just see the same principles again and again.

A good reminder of some core habits, but nothing that mindblowing.