Good time management is one of the most crucial components of being a successful freelance professional, whether you are writing, designing websites, or taking on any other type of freelance work. This is especially true if you are going to take on more than one client. You will need to be able to divide your work day up so that you can work on diverse projects, but also to ensure that you get everything done by the deadlines.
Calendars
Scheduling books work wonderful for keeping track of deadlines, and milestones. If you need to submit a project over the span of several days for instance, it is a good idea to write down what days and what you will need to be submitting on those days. This will also help you to keep track of payments and to get a visual representation of how your schedule breaks down. Also use the calendar to mark down how long it takes you to complete certain assignments, as it is never a bad idea to have an estimation of how long certain tasks will take you. You can use either a web based calendar, or a plain old planner variety, as long as it is easy for you to use, and is something that you will be able to commit to using.
Task Lists
Whenever you are working on larger projects that require multiple steps it is a good idea to make yourself a list of each individual task that will need to be completed. Once you’ve listed all of the steps, and then write beside each task about how long it will take you to complete each one. This gives you a good idea, but it will also help you to relate that information to your client if need be. You can also use this list to make notes, and jot down ideas about the project. You will be able to track your progress over time by comparing the task lists to future ones, and determining how much your speed or skills have improved.
Determining Your Schedule
Figure out what times of the day are the best times for you to work. Everyone has a time that they prefer whether it is early in the morning, or the middle of the night. Knowing this about yourself will help you to create your schedule to facilitate your best work.
Work in smaller increments, don’t just sit down and try to plow through your projects. Not only can this affect the quality of the work, it can burn you out over time. Doing a little bit at a time on each project you need to get done keeps you from getting burnt out and helps keep your work at its best. If your heart just isn’t in it at the moment then stop and take a break, you don’t want the quality of your work to suffer.
Also trying breaking your schedule up into segments. Work on one project for a set amount of time, and then move onto the next one. This keeps things fresh in your mind, and allows you to break up your day.