Guest: Erin Roberts
January 29, 2021
This is your playbook to overcome the challenges of freelance life and exceed your goals. Because being a successful freelancer isn’t easy. Although, there are plenty of perks. Work from anywhere. Flexible schedules. Freedom to pick and choose your own work. You can decide your rates based on demand, not someone else’s ability to give you a promotion. You might even have more income security if you have several freelance clients from diverse industries versus one employer at a salaried position. The pros of a freelance career can by far outweigh the cons. Here’s how to overcome the three most common hurdles that prevent freelance success:
1. Productivity
2. Landing more clients
3. Finding community
Here’s a pro tip: Add non-billable tasks to your weekly workload too so you stay accountable. Think about adding weekly tasks for things like bookkeeping, pursuing new freelance clients, or even time for self-care.
As a freelancer, you’re an expert of your craft, and you’re also a project manager. You need to be able to plan your workload so that you’re 1) able to meet deadlines and 2) working toward being fully booked. Here’s your crash course in becoming a project manager wiz:
• Create project timelines. It allows you to set client expectations, accurately scope work, and ensure that no deadline slips through the cracks. We recommend Asana for this.
• Plan out workloads on a weekly basis. Estimate the amount of time each freelance project will take on a weekly basis and plan your daily and weekly task list accordingly. Asana, Bonsai, and Cushion are great tools for this. After planning your weekly workloads, you’ll get a clear picture of where you might be overbooked and where you have a little space to take on more work.
• Track your time for each task. Even if you’re not billing hourly, track your time through a tool like Cushion, Bonsai, or Clockify, which can be integrated into Asana. Reflecting on the actual time spent on tasks versus the estimated time can have a massive impact on your freelance success. It’ll help you set achievable deadlines, avoid under-scoping, and adjust your habits to work more efficiently.
Now, you have your workload schedule set, but how do you make the most of every minute you spend working? While it always comes down to finding what works best for you, here are a few tips:
Allocate blocks of time throughout the day or week to non-interrupted work — whether you’re crankin’ on client work or making your new business plan. Put your phone on airplane mode. Stay off social and don’t check email. Limit the tabs open on your browser. Throw on your favorite lyric-less focus music. It’s amazing how much more you can get done without distractions. Or checking your email every eight minutes.
It’s a free interval timer app that breaks your day into 25-minute chunks of focus sessions separated by five-minute breaks. The theory is that you can only fully concentrate on a certain task for a finite amount of time. Instead of working against that natural ebb and flow of focus, you work with it. It’s like interval training for your mind. And, it can be so effective to stay focused and accountable during the blocked time.
Even though freelance life often means that no one is overseeing your schedule, be strict on yourself. Start work at the same time every day and aim to stop work around the same time, too. Long workdays can get you on the fast-track to burnout, which will zap your focus, motivation, and productivity.
Keep a monthly income log and track the services, projects, and clients that are bringing in the most revenue relative to the time invested. You can use a good ol’ Google sheet. Then, adjust your new business strategy to pursue more freelance work that’s most profitable. That way you’re most productive AND making the most income with your time.
As a freelance worker, the more efficient you can be with your time, the more money you can make. And, you’re likely much more fulfilled, too. Bookmark this blog and come back to it often to stay accountable. In the next blog post in this series, we’ll cover surefire ways to land more clients and build your community. Are you a talented marketing or advertising freelancer (or aspiring to be one)? Want to become an Ingram Digital Outlaw? Apply Now!
January 29, 2021
