Seven Effective Tips for Successful Time Management for Freelancers

A 2019 research estimates that 57 million Americans work as independent contractors. With a median hourly pay of $28, this way of life offers a lot of flexibility and the chance to outperform 70% of employees who aren't freelancers.

It takes some effort to be consistently effective outside of a regular 9 to 5 office environment. You need to develop efficient time management skills.

Since you are your own boss, you must manage many clients and projects at once. Additionally, you're always working hard to discover and get new jobs.

It is obvious that ineffective time management will prevent you from maximizing your professional production, which will have a negative impact on your ability to earn money. Here are seven suggestions for optimizing your workday for any freelancer having time management issues.

1. Make Specific To-Do Lists

To-do lists are arguably the most useful tool you can use as a freelancer to manage your time. For making these lists, some best practices are as follows:

Specified project notes and technical specifications from various clients should be included.

Link to draft materials if your list is entirely digital.

To help you visually arrange your work, use color coding.

To-do lists in and of themselves are divisive. These lists, according to certain studies, can serve as a graveyard for less urgent chores. It's virtually never a smart idea to "wing it," though, because for so many freelancers, time is a limited resource.

In actuality, your to-do list setup just needs to function for you. Strong time management for freelancers requires understanding exactly what you need to focus on, whether you use tools like Evernote or Google Keep or simply jot stuff down by hand.

Just make sure your to-do list contains enough details and isn't just a bunch of titles or random words. Everything should be at your fingertips, including crucial links and customer comments.

2. Make a Timeline That Is Realistic (and Stick to It)

The next obvious step after building a to-do list is to divide your day or week into time slots by making a timetable.

Your preferences will determine the length of each time block and how many you may squeeze into a single day. Knowing how much you can actually do in a given amount of time is crucial.

Scientifically, some time restrictions cannot be avoided. The human mind can only sustain concentration on any one subject for 90 to 120 minutes at a time, on average.

Consider this, and make the most of the shorter bursts of activity by paying attention to your body's natural rhythms. Once you've located it, maintain it by creating a habit.

3. Find the Best Workplace Environment

It's time to focus on the "where" now that you have the "what" and the "when" sorted out.

Your work environment should play to your talents as a freelancer, much as your to-do list and schedule. Some professionals can only operate at their best when there is complete silence. Others favor working in a cafe or shared workspace while listening to the murmur of the public.

4. Turn Off Your Device to Reduce Distractions

Even the most disciplined freelancer can become unnerved by an unexpected notice or phone buzz. And if they happen often enough, these interruptions could take away many of your working hours each day.

Going offline while working is one option.

It goes without saying that making time in your day to handle your many inboxes is crucial. However, avoiding notification pop-ups or incoming message notifications is crucial when it's time to focus and cross things off your to-do list.

Try one of these applications if you have to check your emails or cruise through social media:

The most popular choice is Freedom, however its free version has few features.

5. Larger projects should be divided into smaller tasks.

The ability to divide major projects into smaller jobs is a vital time management skill for freelancers to acquire.

Your current to-do list and calendar will benefit from this time management technique, often known as "chunking." Your focus and motivation may be affected if you try to complete a project that is too large or time-consuming in its entirety.

It's a prevalent misperception that independent contractors are multitaskers. However, multitasking entails concurrent labor, which frequently produces mediocre or average results. Successful freelancers who manage their time well avoid attempting to work on everything at once. It is not practical.

6. Get Enough Rest

Working your own hours has its drawbacks since, unlike a typical 9-to-5 employment, there are no built-in breaks. Instead, it's your responsibility to keep track of when to take them.

The thought of taking a vacation from your work can seem illogical if you get into a comfortable routine. But taking a break from your work actually improves how well you function on a regular basis.

In fact, taking even brief microbreaks of 30 seconds can boost productivity by up to 13%. Everyone has at least 30 seconds to spare.

7. Try not to take on more than you can bear.

Saying no is the hardest of these time management advice for independent contracto

freelancing

rs to discuss.

Freelancing entails coping with the ebb and flow of available work by its very natur

e. It might be intimidating to turn down a job or customer because you never know when you'll get the next phone call or email.

Despite this, you owe it to yourself to say no in the ideal scenario. Unfavorable projects that underpay their workers awful customers that don't respect your time or abilities. To everything you should not waste your time on.