You can effectively manage time as a Freelancer by setting yourself a schedule along with certain deadlines. To become a successful freelancer, you should be organized and have a strong motivation for searching new gigs all the time.
You can implement simple ideas as setting up your alarm clock and taking on different tasks to avoid the burn out. There are also online applications to send daily alerts to your e-mail about all the projects you have. It’s always better if you have a simple to-do list on your desktop.
As a freelancer, you’ll be constantly on a hunt to find new jobs while actively taking on other jobs you encounter. Managing your time is what will make you or break you in the online freelancing world, so I suggest you read these tips in order to get the most out of your time.
Technology plays a large part in managing your time. Expect to meet strict deadlines each day to satisfy your clients. Did you know you can use your iPhone for e-mail alerts and alarm clocks? I have been using alarm clocks or timing my work for the longest time and this comes as a challenge to me. It also allows me to write quickly knowing that I have a certain amount of time for a project.
Never burn yourself out on projects. For example, if you are a web designer and you are working on one project but you actually have 2 others to work on — rotate them. However, there is a trick in doing this. You need to rotate them accordingly, meaning that the client who ordered first should have their work done. Categorize each project by prioritizing it and you’ll do fine. This way you can work on a different project and finish the next one the day after.
Check out some of the firefox plugins that are available. There are many plugins that can manage your time by brining up pop up alerts and reminders. You can even get a note to your e-mail, telling you to complete a project. This works exceptionally well when you are on the go and are forgetful of some things. Also, if you have many clients and cannot keep track of all of them, this is a must!
As soon as someone orders a product or service from you, stay organized! The easiest way to do this is by setting up a form on your website where they can enter all their details and the form will be sent to your e-mail once they hit the submit button. Now you have all the orders in your e-mail as quick references.
Always make sure you devote equal amount of time for every client’s order, and never indulge in casual surfing sites, or chatting constantly on IM. Of course, there’s no harm in doing them but you lose significant amount of time. If you are a freelancer, you’d know client work is always your first priority and as a freelancer, you do have to sacrifice some things!