It’s 2020. A highly infectious coronavirus has rapidly swept across the globe and society is in lockdown for the foreseeable future. The streets are eerily quiet, and all you can hear are the sounds of dogs barking, glass shattering and blood-curdling groans. You anxiously peer out of your bedroom window only to discover that your nightmarish suspicions were true… your next door neighbour Karen has joined the living dead and is staggering around, drenched in decaying blood, sniffing out her next victim...

But wait - for once, this is not a movie scene. This is not a drill! This is what’s actually happening right now. Ok, fine, not the zombie part. 

Even though we are not in the zombie apocalypse (yet), we still need to take action to survive as freelancers during coronavirus lockdown. 

In essence, this means doing everything we can to shift to more remote freelance jobs. While the streets may be deserted and many businesses on pause, you can still deliver services and develop your freelance career during self-isolation. 

It turns out that as a freelancer, you’re actually more of a 'prepper' than you may have previously realised! There’s no denying that coronavirus lockdown is a time of uncertainty. However, if you make a living by chasing down remote freelance jobs, then adapting to uncertainty is familiar ground. You may have even been voluntarily self-isolating all along. There will be no meeting in trendy coffee shops and co-working spaces for now, but that’s ok, we can handle that. 

Now, we can’t talk about pandemic self-isolating without mention of stockpiling. You’re going to need to take a more unique approach to stockpiling - one that is fine-tuned for mastering remote online jobs during lockdown. Toilet roll? Pfft. Pasta?! Nope. Carb-bloat is really counter productive right now, sorry. Your stockpiling priorities begin with healthy foods and vitamin supplements that help boost mental focus. And tea. And coffee. Obviously.  

As it happens, remote freelance jobs and self isolation go hand in hand, so if you’ve been looking to take on either full or part time remote jobs online, this is your moment to step up to the podium. Whether you’re a photographer, makeup artist, model, writer, or looking to get remote graphic design jobs, you just need to be extra resourceful and imaginative at this time. 

Whatever your talent, maintaining a sense of community is essential. In order to keep finding remote jobs during a pandemic, we must stay connected. This means making full use of online platforms for networking and outreaching to potential clients. You know, like the one you are on right now. No need to be shy, now is the perfect moment to reach out to others. Have fun with it, post an exciting collaborative online project on the jobs board, or why not schedule a virtual coffee to build out your network? You might also need to consider video calling instead of meeting in person with clients too. 

Of course you can also use social media to connect with other freelancers and gain a sense of solidarity so that you don’t completely lose your marbles during lockdown...

Now for some more tailored tips. As a photographer, why don’t you use this opportunity to expand your skill set by focusing more on retouching skills to get remote jobs? Do you have images cluttering up cloud storage that you could sell to stock sites? 

Make-up artists. It must be said, this is not the time to be working close to client’s faces - mask or no mask. For now, if you want practise, your own face needs to be your canvas (wash your hands and brushes first!). Perhaps experiment working on some new looks - zombie-chic? Or, use this time to polish your portfolio and spruce up your online profiles. Be bold, give video tutorials a go! You could increase YouTube subscribers or sell online courses, like a boss. 

Models. You need to improvise and keep your instagram game strong during lockdown. An impromptu shoot with your food rations as props? Wear a mask - but make it fashion. For some natural light, position yourself near a window. But not so close that the zombies can smell you…

If you usually go for remote writing jobs, consider branching out to remote freelance copywriting jobs. This might not be your first choice of writing style, but when you’re looking to find either full or part time remote jobs, you need to think outside of the box. And besides, remote freelance copywriting jobs are in high demand. Self-isolation doesn’t have to be boring - use it to conjure up some pandemic-related creative writing pieces to add to your repertoire and help get more remote writing jobs in times to come. 

As for remote graphic design, UX/UI or web design jobs, the most important thing is to ensure that you’ve got access to a sufficiently powerful computer. Other than that, not a lot needs to change here. This is a great time to chase constructive feedback from clients (who will probably also be at home with time on their hands...) to help ensure the best quality service and relations in the future. 

So, with these tips in mind, you should be perfectly prepped to ensure a smooth transition out of self-isolation when all this eventually all blows over! However, if all does collapse and zombies take over... I wouldn’t write off using your nifty online researching skills to acquire a bit of knowledge on first aid, self defence and foraging. You know, actual prepping.