So I know that I need at least four blocks of time dedicated solely to this project. Submit the piece and invoice the client.I estimate this based on how long it takes me to complete certain projects, and I do that by breaking my projects down into steps.įor example, if I have a 1500-word article due for a client, I know that the steps to creating it are: The big reason that my three-calendar system works for me is that it allows me to plan ahead far enough that I can effectively manage my deadlines and know what I need to work on and when. It's nice to have at least a few things I know I can check off easily to get me motivated to do the rest, and believe me, physically checking things off gives you some motivating satisfaction. I also make sure to schedule in administrative tasks like emails and social media in my to-do list so that I can keep up with all aspects of my productivity. Then, on the first day of the month, I'll create my physical whiteboard calendar with all of those important dates, as well as any holidays, appointments, or special events I'll use this as a reference when scheduling meetings, so that nothing conflicts.įinally, on Mondays or Sunday nights, I set aside time to write out a daily schedule for the work week (Monday - Friday) in my daily planner, which checkboxes for each recurring client and to-do list items for my one-off projects. When each of those projects comes up, I mark down the important dates in my digital calendar - what day I want to have my first draft finished, when invoices are due, and what the deadlines are for individual projects. It also means that I've got redundancies at work for me with so many calendars in place, I'm bound to have everything written down on at least one of them.įor example, say I'm working on a novel (which I am), I have five clients that I regularly work with (which I do), and I also have several one-off projects to track (which I usually have). Keeping my calendars this way helps me not only make daily progress but also make progress toward longer-term goals that I have for myself and my business. A physical daily planner book - I designed one of these that you can use! - to keep track of my work day hour by hour and set up my to-do list for extremely short-term goals I can accomplish in one day.A physical whiteboard calendar - mine covers one month at a time with room for notes - to keep track of short-term event planning and make quick adjustments.A digital calendar - I use Google - for long-term event planning and reminders.Keeping CalendarsĪs weird as it sounds, I keep three different calendars: The basics of organizing your work life are to keep running calendars (yes, multiple) of your activities and plan ahead to ensure that you've got the time you need to finish your projects to the best of your ability. This is essentially the same thing your manager does at a more standard job, except you're the manager and your employee is you. One of the first things I learned to do was set up an organizational system for my work week. So, I thought I would share my tips for fellow freelancers about time management - your time is money, so maximizing your time maximizes your money. I've learned that as nice of a luxury as setting my own hours is, I do have to keep regular hours if I really want to get anything done, and I have to know what I'm doing during those hours to avoid cramming everything into one mad dash at the end of a deadline (freelancing =/= high school English papers). Sure, you still have things that you need to get done for your clients, but you're in control of when those things are done, which can be both exciting and terrifying. You decide when you work and for how long. When you're a freelancer, your time is entirely your own. When you're working as someone else's employee, your time is structured according to their schedule you have a set shift with a start and an end time, you have specific tasks that you have to do within that shift, and your pay is set based on those hours. I'd say that one of the hardest things to figure out when I first started freelancing was time management.
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