Not feeling the work-life balance lately? Feeling constantly under pressure with not enough time in the day to finish assignments? Then these time management tips for freelancers just might help you get that balance again.
Focus & Forget “the other stuff”
Multi-tasking is a loser’s game: Maximise productivity by thinking of time as a focused and positive pocket of time, not a negative. You can do this by focusing on one task at a time so you can tick tasks off. This adds to a feeling of productivity and will take a load off your stress levels if you constantly feel like you have too much on your plate and not enough time in the day to complete everything.
Template emails, social media posts, and invoices
Rather than write the same email over and over again, create pitch and follow-up emails, introductions, and social media posts that can have handy fill-in-the-blank slots to personalize.
Turn on a timer
Track how much time you are actually spending on an assignment or client by using a timer. Are they getting too much of your time? This also helps with billing at the end of the week or month. Track those hours in an app or in a calendar. Add the hours up at the end of each week so invoicing can be done quicker.
Carefully consider raising your rates
Not only reconsider boosting your rates but also pitching larger assignments with longer lead times so that you can focus more time on the clients that value you the most. You may lose some clients if your rates rise, but in the end, you will end up with more free time in the end to do the things you enjoy most.
Wake up an hour earlier
Wake up an hour earlier, gain an hour later so you have an hour later in the day to enjoy for yourself and help you hit deadlines faster during “working hours”.
Set and schedule “Me Time” every day
Choose a time that will not be an active client time (2 pm to 4 pm or 4 pm to 6 pm). Use this 1-to-2-hour slot to enjoy an activity that brings you joy.
Create a downloadable course
If you create a course it could create income on the side. There are applications out there that can help you get your course formatted and marketed online. However, you will need to set time aside to plan and write out the course first. If video is your chosen format, this is a project that will take time at first but could pay off as passive income in the future.
Focus & Forget “the other stuff” – probably the most important thing.
Wake up an hour earlier – I wish I could. 🙂 When I get up earlier I am sleepy and work slower …
Specialization worked best for me. I specialized in one type of service (magazine design), now I do the same job 50% faster than a few years ago. That saved me a lot of time.