How to Manage Your Time Effectively as a Freelancer

One of the biggest challenges of being a freelancer is managing your time. While an employee has to comply with the office hours set by their employer, a freelancer sets their own schedule.

Although this is convenient, it also puts more responsibility on your shoulders. In this guide, we look at some tips you can use to make the most efficient use of your time as a freelancer.

1. Search for Fewer but More Lucrative Projects

A common mistake freelancers make is to take up every project offered to them with little regard for what it pays. This is more common among newbies, but you’d be surprised how many seasoned freelancers do so as well. And if you’re trying to build a portfolio from scratch, you might be tempted to do the same too.

However, what this actually ends up doing is hogging all your free time and rendering you unable to serve any client well since all of them will want their projects prioritized. This may even lead to you receiving bad feedback from unsatisfied clients.

2. Prepare a Work Schedule and Stick to It

The more effective way to freelance is not to have many mediocre projects, but instead fewer and more lucrative projects from high-paying clients. That way, you can work on one project at a time and deliver quality work, resulting in satisfied clients and positive testimonials.

Being your own boss as a freelancer is indeed a privilege, but it’s one that’s easy to abuse. Instead of working whenever you feel like it, you’ll find far more success creating a schedule and sticking to it—just like an office worker.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be 9-to-5; as a freelancer, you do have the liberty of being more flexible with your schedule, so you can set a custom one that works best for you.

If you need help with that, there are a plethora of apps to create a schedule and manage tasks, so you can try them all out and see which one fits your unique needs and lifestyle.

3. Use Time Trackers and Project Management Apps

It can get hard to properly track how many hours you’re putting in for work as a freelancer due to its flexibility. This is especially so if you work in inconsistent slots, tend to take frequent breaks, or are a working parent who constantly needs to attend to your kids. In that case, it’s a great idea to use time-tracking apps.

Each app offers something unique alongside tracking your hours; for instance, Toggl has a built-in Pomorodo timer and automatic idle detection—while actiTIME can prepare detailed reports and help gather insights. These apps are available cross-platform, so you can operate them from pretty much any device.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to familiarize yourself with project management tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday. As your freelance career grows, you’re inevitably going to require specialized industry-standard tools to keep tabs on assigned projects and deadlines.

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