7 Tips for Mastering Time Management as a Freelance Writer
Time management can be hard for anyone, but it can be even harder when you’re freelance writing. Freelance writers have to juggle other people’s schedules, deadlines, and constantly changing priorities in addition to their own work, so they don’t always get the time management skills that most 9-to-5 workers get on the job. However, mastering time management as a freelance writer not only increases your productivity but also helps you make the best use of your skills to increase your income as well as your satisfaction with your work.
1. Set goals
The first step to time management for freelance writers is setting goals. When you take some time to reflect on what it is you want from your writing career and the specific things you want to accomplish, your motivation will increase. It can also make life easier if you know what milestones you want to achieve in which areas of your life. Setting goals at both a personal and professional level helps keep everything in perspective.
2. Keep an up-to-date planner
Time management is important, especially when you’re working from home. A good way to help yourself stay on track with your tasks and deadlines is to use a planner and keep yourself organized. Start by writing down all of the commitments you have in the next week, including meetings and events, then schedule each task accordingly. You’ll find that if you’re diligent about time-managing your work-from-home life, you will be more productive!
3. Define your must-do tasks
Prioritize what needs to be done first. What is the most important task on your list? If you’re working from home, decide whether or not this task can be completed during any downtime periods.
4. Set reminders
As a freelancer, your time is literally your most valuable asset. When you’re working from home, you need to be proactive about staying on top of tasks and setting reminders for yourself.
Set alerts on your computer that let you know when it’s time to switch tasks or take breaks.
Create an hour-long block of uninterrupted time each day to focus on the most important task at hand. Time blocking is a really efficient way to work and helps raise productivity levels for a successful day at work.
5. Prioritise time and tasks
It’s important to prioritise your time and tasks so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Start by sorting your responsibilities into four categories: Must, Should, Could, and Won’t. As you work through each category, ask yourself if it will take less than five minutes or if it will take more than five hours.
6. Create a daily schedule
A successful time-managing work-from-home freelance writer needs to be proactive and disciplined. As such, it is important to create a daily schedule that organizes one’s time in the most productive manner possible.
7. Don’t forget to breathe!
Freelancing is hard work, and it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle. It’s important to remember that you are human and need time to recharge your batteries, so work with a little structure and some organisation and you can’t go far wrong!
