Being a freelancer can be inviting at first because you have greater autonomy, more flexible working hours, and can decide who you want to work with, at least to some extent.
Saying goodbye to the 9-5 provides a great opportunity to get a better work-life balance. It can also be challenging if you struggle with time management or have a hard time following a schedule.
Committing to too many projects and trying to cram too much in can lead you to lose track of multiple deadlines, which in turn can lead to burnout. The same is true if you work either too many or too few hours per week or if you constantly work at the weekends or during your days off.
It’s well-documented that productivity levels begin to decrease once you work over 50 hours a week and fall sharply once you exceed 55 hours. Constantly working also poses some long-term health risks, including a higher likelihood of having a stroke or dying from heart disease.
As a freelancer, you need to take control of your schedule and practice good time management, for your own health and wellbeing, as well as to boost your productivity.
We’ll soon discover some great ways we freelancers can make more time and space in our schedules, but first, we must highlight the importance of taking control of both our schedules and our time.
Taking Control
It can be challenging to look for new clients, finish projects with tight deadlines, meet expectations, keep track of all your finances, as well as to have enough time for yourself. That is why being a freelancer, it’s important to practice good, effective time management and learn how to make a food schedule. You can learn more about how to improve your time management in our previous post.
here are just some of the great ways we freelancers can make more time in our schedules.
Understand How Much You Can Do
You can control your schedule if you know what you can do. Ask yourself, do you have the capacity to take on a new client? This is very important for new freelancers who are often afraid to say no to a new client because they fear they may be left without work for a long period. This can lead new freelancers to overcommit themselves which means they may struggle to get the job done.
The thought of saying no to work can be scary at first, but the truth is, you need to set limits and boundaries you’re not prepared to cross from the beginning. Ask yourself:
- What time do I have on my current schedule?
- How busy am I?
- Can I meet the deadline for this new project alongside all the other work I have?
- Will I have enough time to relax if I take this on?
- Will taking on this project mean I have to refuse other more lucrative work or better opportunities?
Consider the answer to each of these questions before you take on new work to help ensure you don’t overwork yourself or stress yourself out.
Be Proactive About Time Management
When you have greater autonomy, it’s vital to manage your time effectively. It’s best to create and stick to a schedule, particularly during the working week. Decide when to start your day, how much time you will dedicate to each project you have on hand, the hours you’re going to set aside to find more work, and the time you need to complete all your administrative tasks. All these tasks need space in your schedule.
Now that you have more autonomy, it’s time to learn how to manage your time appropriately. Creating daily routines, such as when to wake up, how much time you will set aside for specific projects, and the hours needed to find new work, quote clients, and still complete all your administrative duties, need to be factored into your schedule.
Creating a schedule, using time blocking, and being proactive can help you allocate certain blocks of time to different tasks. This will help you plan and make you more efficient and productive.
Talking of planning …
Planning is Critical
Planning your days and weeks will let you know how much time you can spend on specific projects, and if you have the bandwidth take on new clients and more work.
Planning takes time, so it’s essential to decide on a day of the week when you can begin planning for the upcoming week of work. This could be any day you choose, but for most it’s Friday.
You don’t need to plan for every given hour of the day, but it’s important to figure out how much time you can spend working, but also how much time will be left that you can set aside for rest and relaxation. Remember, as in any business, wasting time means you’re wasting money, but if you want to be productive over the long term, rest is essential.
Track Your Projects
You can keep tabs on your projects and deadlines by using an online project tracking tool. You might think this is unnecessary, but it will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. Plus, knowing where you are on a given project at any time can help motivate you and helps you celebrate and recognise each milestone you reach.
Using tools like this can also help you get ahead of schedule so that if you need to amend something (because of feedback from a client, for example) you have time to do so. When you know where you are with things you can keep people better informed of progress and you can give them better feedback.
Create a Routine
You must create a routine that suits you. If you work better in the evenings, create a routine that makes this fact work in your favour, so long as you don’t lose track of important hard deadlines.
The act of creating a routine encourages you to eliminate distractions and manage your time better. It lets you focus on what you need to do immediately, how much time you need to spend on each task and be aware of when a deadline is looming.
Having a routine will also let you know when you should be working and when you need to be relaxing, resting, and having fun.
Get Rid of as Many Distractions as You Can
Having more control over your schedule can make it easier to become distracted by trivial things.
Distractions can come from anywhere, and be anything, and when you start to realise the amount of time you spend doing things that add no value to your life, you lose time that could have been used to do better things.
You can cut down on distractions by:
- Turning your phone onto silent.
- Disabling social media notifications.
- Asking people around you not to interrupt you while you’re working.
- Scheduling more routine, unimportant tasks for later in the day.
When you’re a freelancer, there’s no one around to make sure you know how much time you spend scrolling through social media, responding to emails, and other time-sucking tasks. Therefore, you must keep track of it yourself, so that you can catch up on any work you have if you do happen to fall off the pace.
Do Your Hardest Tasks First
Learn how to schedule more critical, and complex tasks first, so you can get them finished sooner and free up more time in your schedule. This can make you more productive, give you enough time to make any necessary changes and help lower your stress levels.
If you instead start your day by doing less important, more minor tasks you can create a false sense of your own productivity which can end up making you feel less motivated and less inclined to take on significant tasks that are more important.
Starting with the harder stuff will make everything else seem easier by comparison, which is great for motivation.
Schedule Your Time Off
Research suggests freelancers work around 43 hours per week, like a more traditional nine-to-five. However, freelancers tend to have different working days and schedules, and it varies depending on the availability of work and how busy things are.
We’ve already seen that if you work more than 50 to 55 hours a week it can be detrimental to your health and productivity. Thus, it’s important to create spaces of time when you’re not working so you can take a break and recharge. You could even do this by working shorter days on a Friday and scheduling a few hours on a Saturday that you could use to catch up with any work you need to.
Without sufficient rest, you’ll be less productive, creative, and attentive at work. By scheduling a few hours a week to rest and do something you enjoy, you can establish a healthy work-life balance.
So, make sure you take regular breaks so that you don’t end up burning yourself out.
Prioritise More Important Tasks or Projects
Taking on bigger projects before smaller ones will help you get more done during the day. Plus, it will motivate you as you begin with other work.
Still, it’s vital to prioritise your work as you accept new tasks. While you may want to start with something simple immediately, sometimes it’s best to leave this until later and focus on what you’re currently working on, or tasks with tighter deadlines.
Make sure you schedule enough time for everything throughout the day so that you can take work as it comes without losing sight of what needs your immediate attention and what could be left until later.
Set Aside Time for Administrative Tasks
Writing proposals, coming up with quotes, responding to emails, meeting prospective clients, keeping track of finances, restocking, and editing work all take time. Avoiding these administrative tasks can cost you.
So, the best thing to do is decide when you want to tackle admin tasks. This will vary depending on how much work you have on, but regardless devote some time to it. You can technology to help keep track of things like your invoices, finances, and emails.
Remember, not staying on top of your admin can cost you money, so make sure you schedule for it.
Wrapping Up
Being a freelancer can be a fantastic way to do more of what you enjoy in your work, but, without effective time management and scheduling, you’ll quickly become overwhelmed.
Taking control of your schedule helps you prioritise important things and creates a healthier work-life balance throughout your freelancing journey.
While you want to make the most of your days, ensure you have enough time to rest and complete your administrative tasks before deciding to take on any new work.
Instead of wasting time on boring, trivial task tasks, build structure into your day, and practice good time management as both will help you achieve all your freelancing goals.
Make Your Biz Fizz 