There are so many benefits to freelancing, whatever the industry. However, it’s quite a commitment. While the benefits of freelancing include relatively free mobility, being your own boss, making your own hours, and sometimes even more money than a full-time staff job, you better be ready to be as hard on yourself professionally as all your old bosses combined.
Freelancing is no joke. It’s akin to building your own unique business, with all the headaches that come along with it. Not only do you have to make sure you have a structure or business plan in place that makes long-term sense, but also ways to not only get clients, but retain clients through networking and self-promotion. Not to mention, you’ll need to be making enough money to survive.
One of the most significant factors in freelancing is something we may easily forget until it’s too late – time management. Before you dip into that much-needed savings for time management courses, use these foolproof tips for time management as a freelancer.
The death of productivity – the distraction
An overt time-waster for any freelancer is the ever-present distraction. You can pick your poison: news watching that goes from a quick ten minutes to thirty, social media scrolling, email checking, music listening, long showers, or anything else that might cause your mind to wander.
Getting rid of these distractions is one of the first things you can do for yourself to complete work much faster. If that means locking your phone in a closet for the work day, limiting yourself to checking emails only once or twice a day, or sitting in a less comfortable area, or even better, getting out of the house, you’ll see your productivity skyrocket.
Work in increments.
This might sound strange, but working straight for an extended period with short breaks is a way we can give our minds a break from the continuous workflow. If you commit to a set amount of work with no interruptions, you can allow yourself small breaks to keep yourself on track. These short breaks are vital. Just be aware of not taking too many.
It’s okay to say no.
If you feel overwhelmed with work, you probably are overwhelmed with work. There’s a “burnout” that can happen while freelancing, where you take on too much work to gain as many new clients as possible and enough income to keep you stabilized. However, that can take a toll on your mental health and quality of life. If you get to a point in freelancing where you have enough work to live on, and you’ve done your job, it’s okay to say no. This definition is different for everyone, so focus on what feels right.
Choosing clients
In the beginning, you may take any client that comes your way. But then, as you continue to acquire clients and notability, you’ll have more of a say on which clients you want to continue with and which ones you don’t. If your client wants more from you than you can give, take that as a sign.
