9 Tips Time Management for Freelancers

ByAgha Sahad Khan Last Updated on

Time management is a topmost sought-after skill you must have. It is essential in every aspect of life and for freelancers, time is money.

I have seen a lot of CVs and cover letters and have written plenty of them myself. Almost all the time, applicants mention that they are deadline-specific.

These two words are so important that it increases your chances of getting hired. On the other hand, nobody hires anyone who cannot finish his work on time. Surely, I would never, nor you would.

Fun Fact: Time Management is not difficult. You just need one thing, determination. Determination to adhere to the rules that I am going to explain in this article and apply them in your daily life and you are good to go.

Remove Distractions

Social media is the biggest of all evil.

The greatest distraction you ever encountered. And if you say you don’t get distracted by it.

Dude, you are fooling yourself. I did the same.

But you know whenever I am writing or doing some important task, I make sure to keep my phone silent.

Because that one notification displaying on the screen is enough to mess up my tempo and concentration. And it happens to everyone.

The degree of the effect can vary but the temptation to open and check the notification is very strong and hard to suppress.

Apart from social media, we also must remove other distractions. Like the distraction of people and different voices etc.

To facilitate the freelancers suffering the curse of distraction, I have a good old-fashioned way.

Just find a quiet space separate from others in seclusion where you can work for hours without getting disturbed.

Learn to say NO!

To say NO! personally, it is very difficult.

Even after you say it you feel terrible. But that’s the hard truth you have to live with. You can never satisfy people. And you must prioritize yourself over others.

If you have an important task to submit in due time and your best friend asks you to accompany him to dinner, you have to choose one.

Choose your work. Professionalism demands it. You can reschedule your dinner with a friend some other time, but you cannot convince your client otherwise.

And if you are thinking of doing both at the same time. Not a great idea. If both require your immediate attention, you can try this. but if you are just doing it out of guilt or obligation, you need to learn to say NO! sooner or later.

Make a Schedule

Whenever I mention this people think that you have to plan out every second of your daily time.

But it is not possible, is it? For me, the things that work is to write down all the important tasks I have to attend on a given day. I assigned the average time required to complete it.

It may take more or sometimes less. Always leave some space for it.

Making a schedule means that even if you forget any one of your tasks, you can go through your notes and tally them. You can get rid of the unnecessary anxiety of forgetting one thing or the other.

Keep it simple. List only enough tasks that are humanly possible for you to complete. If you overestimate yourself, you will freak out.

And it further slows down your productivity and compromises its quality.

Stick to it

Now that you have made a schedule for yourself, keep it simple and start slow.

Then you must follow it or it won’t do you any good. Make sure to assign enough time for every task and try to complete it in that time.

It may take more time initially.

No worries. Keep track of it and next time plan accordingly.

Take small breaks in between:

It is not possible to work 24/7 without any breaks. Your mind gets tired. It needs some time off to recharge itself.

Even if you decided to work without breaks, you would collapse sooner or later. And it will take a toll on your mental health as well as physical one.

On the other hand, if you take some time off after working on your task, it will boost your productivity and morale.

Ideally, you need 15-minute breaks after every 45 minutes of work. But you can customize your schedule with whatever works best for you.

Track your Time

The importance of tracking time is always underscored. But you will never be aware of how much time you need to do one task without keeping track of it.

Tracking your time can also help you understand how much you are wasting on unimportant things.

Then you can try to engage yourself in some productive activities. Like improving your skills, learning new things, getting familiar with ever-changing norms, etc.

Limit Multitasking

I am not a fan of multi-tasking. For me it is hectic. I think getting yourself involved in multiple things at one time can get you in trouble. It will ruin your work as well as waste your precious time.

Maybe later you need to do twice as much effort to correct in more time than required.

The mind tends to work more precisely when it is focused. If you are doing one thing but thinking about the other in your head, you will never complete your current task.

So, avoid multitasking as much as possible. I would even advise you not to eat while working and vice versa as it can cause indigestion.

Sounds troubling, isn’t it?

Gamification

When I was looking online for some points, I came across an amazing terminology.

The word is new but the idea behind it is not.

It says to apply the rules of the game in your task.

How?

  • Set a limited time.
  • Stay focused.
  • Get yourself a reward.

Do you know what is a reward for freelancers?

Yeah, money, but most importantly a satisfied client and a good review.

It can make your day. The biggest motivation is to get acknowledged for your efforts.

You agree, right?

Pomodoro Technique

What is stopping you from getting what you have to?

Procrastination. Well, there is always a solution to every problem you encounter.

The Pomodoro technique.

This technique was invented by a student who was suffering from procrastination to help himself out.

According to this technique:

  • Pick a task.
  • Break it into different milestones if it is difficult and time-consuming.
  • Set a timer of 25 minutes. And work the time out.
  • Take a 5 minutes break after each milestone.
  • After 4 pomodoro, take a 20-30 minute break to refresh your mind.

This one is interesting.

I am going to try.

Are you?

Conclusion

These are some tip management tips that will aid you in time management, but they are useless if you don’t take the initiative to discipline yourself.

Only determination and hard work can guarantee success.

Are you ready to give you all to reach your destination and embrace success?

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