Freelancing in Nigeria is growing fast and many people now work from home using their laptops. This includes writers, graphic designers, programmers, and online marketers, etc. working from home to save time, money, unnecessary stress, and the best part is being able to work virtually anywhere around the world. But there is a big problem, which is electricity.
The Problem of Unstable Power
In Nigeria, there is a power problem. Many areas do not have light for hours or even days. Even when they finally restore the power, it may be low or go off suddenly. For freelancers this is bad because they need steady power and electricity to charge their laptops, use the internet, and meet deadlines.
Imagine working on a project, and within a twinkle of an eye, the power goes off. Then, your battery goes low, and you cannot continue to work. Anxiety starts to arise, if your client is waiting or expecting your task to be complete within a couple of hours, you may miss your deadline and can make you lose your job, make you look unreliable, your credibility and money.
How to Work Without Reliable Power
Here are the best ways freelancers, professional worker or just anyone who uses their laptop for important tasks can work despite the poor power supply in Nigeria.
1. Get a Good Laptop with Long Lasting Battery Life.
Some laptops can last for 4 to 10 hours on a single charge. However this includes the specific task you’re doing with your laptop. Some tasks on a laptop take a lot of power to run while some tasks don’t.
If you buy a good laptop with a quality battery and low power consumption, you can work longer hours when there is no light.
2. Use a Power Bank for Laptop.
Laptop power banks are portable devices that store power and can charge your laptops when the battery is low. Getting an alternative backup power like laptop power bank can save you a ton. They can be expensive but very useful.
Laptop power banks can only serve you for some hours, what about when you go days without electricity? This brings us to the next suggestion, get a solar powered device.
3. Get a Solar Laptop Power Bank
Just like a laptop power bank, a solar laptop power bank integrates solar charging features, allowing you to charge during power outages.
When you have a good solar laptop power bank with high battery capacity, you won’t need to worry about electricity charging anymore.
4. Buy a Small Generator
A small generator can give you power when there is no light. but one side effect is that they cost more money to run. If you have the extra cash, invest in them.
Another alternative you can think of is Solar Generators.
5. Work in Places with Constant Light
Some freelancers and laptop users work from cafés, co-working spaces, or friend’s houses where there is steady electricity. Some pay for office space in areas with good power supply. If this suggestion sounds good to you, then go for it.
6. Plan Your Work Around Power Supply
Here is another trick you can apply, If you know when your area gets light, for example in Nigeria there is Band A, Band B and C, this is electricity tariff system in Nigeria.
Each of these Bands means power rotation according to their top priority.
Band A gets frequent electricity supply during a certain hour in a day than Band B or C gets lesser.
Having this in mind, what you can apply is to plan your work around those times you have light. Charge your laptop and do most of your heavy work before power goes off.
In Conclusion:
Freelancing in Nigeria without a reliable power supply can be very hard to cope with, but with these suggestions, it is possible and easy.
Many people are doing it, so you can. The key is to find solutions that work for you. Get a good laptop, use a laptop power bank, or invest in other alternative power sources.
If you plan well, you can succeed and get your tasks done with your laptop even with this Nigerian electricity problem.
