How Freelancers can Manage their Workflow

Being a freelancer comes with its own challenges. Freelancing involves little stability and loads of changes in your work schedule, working style, workload, from time to time. Being unable to manage workflow doesn’t mean you should give up. You just need a little he;p and guidance from the inside.

Keep your workspace clutter-free

To be efficient while working, you need organization

Recurring Gigs

Having recurring gigs is crucial for freelancers to build a living

• It is also helpful in maintaining work-life balance
• Irregular Projects
• You should have irregular projects going on along with recurring gigs to ensure a sense of certainty and security in your work life

Say NO

Be aware of your capability and how much work you can take at a given time

A few tips to declutter your workspace

Identify necessary items

• Create zones on the desk
• Track your Time
• Start your clock as soon as you sit down for work
• Keep materials needed for research, meetings, etc separately
• Don’t eat on your desk ever
• Do not leave unnecessary items like wrappers, food items, etc.

Find Ways to do Smart Work

The easiest way to get better at tasks you perform is to develop intelligent processes

• When you perform the same tasks every day, you need to spend time thinking about what works and what doesn’t
• Time yourself while doing every task
• Being aware of yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses will help you a lot

Finding New Work Every Now and Then

With changing workflow every now and then, it can be a little difficult for freelancers to manage their work and themselves.

Family Obligations

When you work as a freelancer from your home, there are more than one problems or distraction that stand in your way

• You might be a mother that needs to take care of your children along with the whole house
• Students have to focus on their studies, be with their family, and work part-time

Create a Schedule and Stick to it

Freelancers need schedules to stay on top of things all the time and ensure deadlines are not missed

• To create a daily or weekly schedule, first, write down the things that need to be done in the day or week ahead
• Prioritize your tasks based on importance and urgency
• Most importantly, stick to your schedule

Name all your files and folders properly

Unnamed files can hamper your work progress, slow your speed, and bring stress and frustration

Keep a Bullet Journal

Bullet journals are basically notebook calendars that consist of our to-do lists, plans, and everything you wish to.

• It helps you to keep track of the important tasks that need your attention and ensure that everything remains in check in your freelance work life.

Some effective ways to build your communication skills

Take help of tools

• Chatbots can be used by freelancers to answer basic questions for your clients whenever you are not available.
• Ask questions
• Use different platforms
• Zoom, Skype, etc are ways to connect with clients over chat

Networking

Connect with people online that do the same thing as you

• Social media
• Build a social media presence and focus on attracting the target audience
• Promote the content you create to show your audience what you do
• Create a portfolio
• Attract more freelancing clients

Break Things Down

It is better to break down tasks into small steps before beginning to work on them

• Creating an outline of your work will help you progress through tasks successfully
• Spend more time in the beginning planning out so you don’t spend hours getting confused later on

Stay productive

You cannot stay productive every minute you are working, but it is important to stay productive for a reasonable amount of time.

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