Top 5 Time Management Tips for A ٍSmart Freelancer

: 17 February 2019

If you've just started working for your own, or need to be reminded how to make your time work for you, these 5 time management tips will suit you.

1- Make a schedule

These freelancers often have a flexible schedule. One of the most common mistakes committed by Freelancer is to take advantage of this flexibility and use it as an excuse to procrastinate and delay work. The best way to avoid placing yourself in embarrassing situations with your customers, in terms of time, is to set a schedule and stick to it.

The small secret of self-employment is that often it is considered as a function from 9 to 5, or 10 to 6, or 8 to 4. Whatever the exact hours, these hours are likely to be during the day, when your clients are working. If you are not ready to answer the phone when you are contacted or even respond to your email, you are likely to find yourself outside the range of your customers' choice, or at least wait until you do the job and the next time they choose another person.

But, even if you work on a project basis and you can control your own hours, it is in your best interest to make it regular. Planning to work at specific and regular times makes it easy to connect to your customers' confidence and repeat business with them again. It also makes it easier for you to enjoy your spare time and get away from work a bit.

2- Take a day off

Speaking of spare time, it is necessary to set your free time. Taking some time for yourself is not just entertainment and games; it is an essential part of the balance between work and life.

To be truly productive, you need time to rest and recharging your brain batteries. If your whole life is working and free of play, it means diminished creativity, increased stress, and even impaired perception. When the deadlines loom, you'll have to burn midnight energy to get things done.

So make sure you have enough energy in the middle of the night to be used by giving yourself a day or two without working on a regular basis and taking a holiday, even if that means planning ahead and taking care of finances.

3- Write down your activities

Do you feel that you are doing a lot of work and you do not have enough time? Just try a daily diary for yourself, the role of this diary will remind you to work and organize your work time.

For a definite period of time, you can say a day or a week, type everything you do and when you do it. Think of it as a daily diary of food, but this time with time and activities rather than calories.

By experimenting with these notes, you will be able to know if you are really doing the work all day or even if this job takes a lot of your time or just spends most of your time using social media. In both cases you can adapt and find out what you need to do for the proper use of your time.

4- Remember that you are responsible for your time

Remember that you are responsible for your time. The downside of being independent and reliable in a world where most people honestly do not do what they say is that customers depend on you. what's wrong with that? Nothing at all, as long as you remember that you are not an employee, and that, literally, are not your superiors. As Freelancer, it is your responsibility to do what you say you will do, as much as possible, to help the customer achieve his goals.

Of course, you do this for money. No matter how much you like the work or the client, just do not forget this basic fact. You must be loyal to yourself and your business. All of your other choices about customers should be extended and maintained from there.

Does this mean you cannot help the client in an emergency? Of course not, this is a mistake. It is always recommended to meet customer requests when you are able. This builds the relationship between you and gains trust. In addition, it is a decent act by a respectable person.

However, if you start at any moment to feel that your client is used to telling you to do more work, or in other words asking you, just start gently by setting boundaries between you and him as soon as possible. It is not good for any of you to feel confused about how things work, whether client or freelancer.

5- Learn to say No!

Finally, the most important skill possessed by any working person, whether working for a company or for himself, is the ability to draw plans brilliantly. Do not be afraid to refuse any job you do not have time to do, or negotiate for more time or money, if you need, or deserve it.

One of the greatest benefits of being Freelancer is that no one can tell you what to do or at least not the way the manager can tell the employee. Finally, you are a manager for yourself.

In Conclusion, Task Management is very personal. Some of the above methods may not be at all suitable for the nature of your work. But it is important to set the time from the day you are most productive, and you will know your ideal time management plan.