As a creative entrepreneur, you know better than to get distracted and waste time on things that don’t move the needle. You’ve got a lot on your plate and you’re running a business but are you so busy that you can afford to let time slip through your fingers? I didn’t think so.
While it’s not always easy to keep up with your projects, be more efficient, and stay focused on what’s most important in your freelancing career (and life), there are some simple ways to do it.
Check out these tips for making sure the most of your day and keeping freelancing profits high!
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Prioritize tasks based on their importance and deadlines. |
| 2. Eliminate distractions and create a focused work environment. |
| 3. Break down complex projects into smaller, manageable tasks. |
| 4. Use time-tracking tools to monitor your productivity and identify areas for improvement. |
| 5. Set realistic goals and create a schedule or to-do list to stay organized. |
| 6. Delegate tasks or outsource non-essential activities to free up time. |
| 7. Take regular breaks to maintain focus and prevent burnout. |
| 8. Continuously evaluate and optimize your time management strategies for better efficiency. |
| 9. Seek support and accountability from peers or mentors in the freelance community. |
| 10. Remember to prioritize self-care and maintain a healthy work-life balance. |
Know Your Value
One of the biggest challenges freelancers face is knowing their value. Everyone has a different skill set, and it’s important to understand yours. You need to know what you’re good at and how much you can charge for it.
If you’ve ever had a client ask for advice on how much they should be charging and then turn around and pay someone else $10 an hour less than what they offered, then you know how frustrating this can be! If you’re confident in their skillset, then there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to charge extra!
Maybe there are other areas where the freelancer excels that aren’t easily quantified by numbers but those qualities may still make an impact on clients when deciding whether or not they want to hire them. They might use your confidence as a signifier of quality workmanship (if that’s relevant).
They might trust that if something goes wrong with one project, another won’t go wrong later down the road because confident freelancers tend not to leave projects unfinished or do half-assed work just because they don’t have enough time/money/energy left over after finishing their first project.
Thus proving why confidence is such an important trait when it comes time making money by working online.”
Building a successful freelance career requires perseverance, determination, and the right mindset. Check out our article on why freelancing is hard but not for these reasons to gain insights and overcome the challenges of freelancing.
(Re)Define Your Why To Your Clients
If you’re a freelancer, it’s important to be able to define your WHY to your clients. Why? Because knowing you’re why will help you focus on the right things and make sure that whatever project you’re working on is aligned with the goals of your clients.
Your purpose is more than just a tagline or elevator pitch; it should be more than a catchy phrase that describes what makes you tick professionally. It should be clear, concise, and succinctly describe what makes someone want to work with YOU specifically over anyone else in the industry (or any industry).
Set A Time Limit On New Client Inquiries
If you work from home, try to schedule this time so you won’t be interrupted by the kids or other family members.
Make sure that your process for handling new client inquiries is crystal clear to everyone in your office, so no one has any confusion about who does what. For example: Don’t send me any email messages with new clients’ information until after 9 am CST on Monday mornings
Or, when someone calls with a new inquiry, have them leave their name and number so I can follow up later that day with an email message describing my services” or “If it’s already past 3 pm on Monday, please forward all messages directly to my voicemail so I don’t miss them.”
Set a hard limit on how much time you will spend answering new client inquiries each week (i recommend no more than 4 hours per week).
Create A Simple Client Intake Process
When you’re just starting, it can be difficult to figure out what information clients need from you and which questions are important. You might think your prospective client should fill in the blanks with their name, email address, and phone number. That is certainly a start!
However, if you want to be sure that all of your clients are finding success with their projects (and giving you referrals), it’s worth spending some time crafting an intake form that will help them get started on their projects right away.
When designing your intake template, make sure to cover these areas:
The rise of freelancing has transformed the way we work and opened up new opportunities for professionals. Discover how freelancing is reshaping the modern workforce in our comprehensive guide: How Freelancing Is Changing the Way We Work.
Stop Giving Away Free Work
One of the biggest time-wasters is giving away free work. If a client asks for something and you’re not sure what to charge, it can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that you need their business or that it will be bad karma if you turn them down. You don’t want to lose a potential client so you decide to do whatever they ask for free, but this is a big mistake.
Don’t say yes just because someone asks; instead, say no and then explain why politely. The first step is being able to say no! Often clients will test your boundaries before they know how much work they want to be done so don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and charge accordingly and always put your value first!
Let Go Of Perfectionism
You can’t control everything and you can’t control the past, but you can control your attitude and actions going forward. In the words of Voltaire: “Perfect is the enemy of good”.
Perfectionism is a myth that we have created for ourselves to feel better about our shortcomings. The truth is that no one will ever be completely happy with anything they have done because there will always be room for improvement.
However, if your goal is to achieve great things then you need to learn how to let go of perfectionism and embrace progress over perfection. The most important step towards being more productive as a freelancer is learning how not to get stuck on small details and instead focus on making progress toward your goals every day.
Create An Effective Project Management System
When it comes to project management, you need a method that works for you and your clients. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different systems until you find one that fits your needs you won’t know what works best until you try them all out. Here are some things to look for in an effective project management tool:
- Ease of use
- Easy understanding by clients and freelancers alike (otherwise they won’t use it)
- Easily teachable or understand by those who aren’t familiar with the software
Balancing freelancing with other commitments can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. Learn valuable tips and strategies for managing your freelance work in your spare time: Tips for Freelancing in Your Spare Time.
Batch Similar Tasks Together
The Pomodoro Technique: This time management strategy, invented by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, involves working for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break. When you repeat this process four times, you have completed a Pomodoro (Italian for “tomato”). According to Cirillo, this method helps focus your energy on one task at a time.
The Eisenhower Matrix: This matrix was created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as he prepared to leave office in 1961 and published as an article called “Eisenhower’s advice to aspiring executives looking down the road of life.”
It divides tasks into four quadrants: Important/Urgent; Important/Not Urgent; Not Important/Urgent; Not Important/Not Urgent.
Each quadrant has its own rules that make sense based on what type of work is being done within it, for example, the important/not urgent quadrant would be great for long-term investment planning while the urgent/important quadrant would be great for crisis management or emergencies like fires or floods where there isn’t much time between now and when something must happen today (and tomorrow).
It’s no accident that many people use these categories as checklists on their smartphones during meetings so they can keep track of which items made it into each category before moving on to another topic or goal.”
Hire A Pro For Anything That’s Outside Your Skill Set
You can save yourself a lot of time and energy by hiring someone who has the skills and experience to do the job right.
If you need help with your social media marketing strategy, find someone who has experience in that area. If you need help with coding or building an app, hire a programmer or developer instead of trying to learn how it all works on your own.
You may also want to consider hiring a virtual assistant if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all that’s involved in running your freelance business (which is common).
VAs are experts at setting up systems so they happen on autopilot and they’ll save you loads of time by doing things like sending out client invoices automatically or organizing your inbox so only important emails get through.
Block Out Time Each Week For Business Development And Marketing
One of the best ways to avoid getting stuck in a time-sucking rut is to set aside time each week for business development and marketing. This will allow you to focus on new clients and prospects rather than being distracted by other tasks.
Make sure your system works for you by setting a time limit on new client inquiries so that they don’t become an ongoing distraction. Make sure you create a simple client intake process so that when they do come in, they’re easy to manage.
Stop giving away free work! It’s not just bad for your bottom line; it also makes it harder for you to know what projects are good fits since there’s no investment involved from either party.
Stop worrying about perfectionism you’re going to make mistakes along the way but as long as they are few and far between, they won’t cause any real damage (and if something does go wrong, make sure it doesn’t turn into a big deal).
Finally, create an effective project management system that makes everything run smoothly from start to finish including outsourcing tasks when necessary!
Become Comfortable Saying “No” To Anything That Doesn’t Serve You Or Your Clients Well
You need to become comfortable saying “no” to anything that doesn’t serve you or your clients well. It’s OK to say no, but sometimes it can be hard. The trick is knowing how to say no with more impact!
A client might want you to do something that doesn’t feel right or isn’t a very good fit for your business, and they may not understand why this is the case. Here’s an example:
The client asks if they can send someone over who will take pictures of their event and upload them directly onto their website without editing them first (and charging the client extra).
Your response could include: “I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for that at this moment in time.” Or if you have more of a creative flair: “That does sound interesting. However, would it be possible for me instead if we worked together on developing a more effective website strategy?”
Check-In With Yourself Every Few Hours Do A 10-Minute “Reset” And Plan Your Next Task If You Need To
Every few hours, even if you don’t feel like it, check-in with yourself and take a break. You can use this time for something simple like going for a walk or taking a short nap. If you’re having trouble taking breaks, try setting an alarm on your phone to remind you every 60–90 minutes that it’s the time!
When the alarm goes off (or when it’s time), get up and do something else instead of working on your current task. This helps keep me from getting stuck in time-wasting loops without realizing it!
After these breaks are done, plan out what tasks need to be done next as well as any other goals or benchmarks that have been set and then stick to them. Don’t make excuses why something isn’t possible; just do it anyway/
Remember: if we don’t plan our day ahead of time, then we’re planning for failure.
Time management is crucial for freelancers to maximize productivity and minimize time wasted. Don’t get caught in the trap of inefficiency. Check out our article on how to minimize time wasting while you freelance and optimize your freelance workflow.
Have 5 Standby Systems In Place To Get Back On Track When You Land Up In The Weeds
Whether you’re a freelancer or an employee, there are times when you won’t be able to get back on track right away. You may have to wait for someone else to reply to your email, or until the next day for an appointment. If this happens too often, it could end up causing more stress than necessary.
To avoid this situation and prevent getting caught up in time-wasting cycles of “waiting,” have 5 standby systems in places like reminders on your phone or calendar to get back on track when you land up in the weeds.
Stop Reading And Replying To E-Mail All Day Long
As a freelancer, you’ll get plenty of e-mail. And many of those messages will be from people who want your attention. Maybe they have questions about your service or product.
Maybe they’re letting you know that they’ve just purchased something expensive from your site, and so now it’s time for them to ask for their money back because their kid just fell off a trampoline and broke his leg (true story).
Whatever the case may be, these messages are likely keeping you from doing actual work that could put food on your table…or at least keep a roof over your head.
The solution? Don’t read e-mail all day long! Instead, use e-mail as an inbox and put everything in there except what comes out of it again immediately: responses to other people’s messages; scheduling meetings with clients; sending invoices or receipts; etc., etc., etc…
If there’s something important enough that needs immediate attention (like an actual emergency), don’t send an email call them directly instead.
Freelancing has brought about unique changes in the way workers approach their careers. Explore the unexpected ways freelancing impacts professionals in our insightful article: Freelancing Is Causing Workers to Change in Really Weird Ways.
Final Thoughts
There you have it; 20 time-saving tips and tricks to help you get your freelance career on track. The more you can take control of your time, the more successful and profitable you’ll be as a freelancer. And that’s not all
There are tons of other tools, tricks, and tactics I can teach you about how to make money online without ever having to leave home or sit in an office again! If this is something that interests you click here for more information about becoming my mentee today.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources on time management for freelancers:
Time Management Tips: Boosting Productivity and Efficiency: Discover practical tips and strategies to enhance your time management skills and improve productivity as a freelancer.
10 Time Management Strategies for Freelancers to Save 10+ Hours Weekly: Learn effective time management techniques specifically tailored for freelancers, helping you save valuable time and increase your efficiency.
How to Manage Your Time as a Freelancer: Gain insights into effective time management practices designed to optimize your workflow and maximize your productivity as a freelancer.
People Also Ask
What Do You Mean By “Time-Wasting”?
Time wasting is when you’re not getting your work done. It could be because you’re not sure what to do next, or because you’re procrastinating or just not doing enough research. The point is, it’s not being productive.
Why Should I Be Afraid To Get Stuck In A Rut?
Because it’s a waste of time, and time is money. If you’re stuck in a rut, you’re not making any money. And if you don’t make money, you can’t pay your bills or buy food or afford to keep freelancing. So don’t get stuck in a rut!
What Is The Best Way To Avoid Getting Stuck In A Rut?
By being proactive about keeping yourself busy and avoiding burnout. You can do this by setting goals for yourself (like making sure that every day you write at least 500 words).
Setting up reminders for yourself (like setting an alarm on your phone every hour), and making sure that there are always new things coming up on your calendar (so that when one project ends there will be another one waiting).
How Do I Find My Dream Clients?
The best way to find your dream clients is to work with people you admire, who are doing cool things in their industry. A lot of times, these are the people who are going to be most excited about working with you and will be able to provide you with the most interesting projects to work on!
What If I’m Afraid Of Talking On The Phone?
If this is an issue for you, try using a voice recorder or video call feature on your phone so that you can hear yourself speak and practice before making a real call.
What If I’m Not Sure What I Want My Business Name To Be?
Try coming up with different ideas for the name of your business, and see which one feels right for you! It might take some time before you figure out exactly what works best for your brand identity.
What Is The Best Way To Find Clients If You’re A Freelancer?
There are many ways to find clients, but here are some of the most effective:
Post on job boards like Fiverr. This gives you access to a large pool of potential clients and lets them know what kind of work you’re looking for. The downside is that many companies use these boards as a way to find cheap labor, so it’s important to be selective about the projects you take on.
Use social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to connect with potential employers directly and get your name out there. Use hashtags like #freelance #freelancer #freeagent #selfemployed when posting your work online so people searching for those terms can find your profile easily!
Tap into your current network of family members, friends from college or high school who now work at various companies may be able to connect you with someone who needs help on an upcoming project.
The best way to find freelance work is through word-of-mouth recommendations from other freelancers (this applies especially well when looking for copywriting jobs).
What If I’m Not A Designer? Can I Still Be A Freelance Writer?
Yes! If you’re a good writer, there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to work as a freelance journalist or content creator. You’ll just have to make sure that you have some solid writing samples ready before you approach potential employers or better yet, get some published work under your belt before going after any gigs!
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.