We are not all born as expert task managers. While some of us are naturally organized people, most of us have to work on it. The life of a freelancer requires that you develop task management skills almost immediately or you will have a tough time keeping up, let alone building your freelance portfolio.
Unlike in a corporate environment, we don’t have others to help us out or pick up the slack when we fall short. There is no safety net to fall back on – meaning that for anybody who is a freelancer or is thinking about making the transition to freelancing, it’s vital they understand the importance of developing sound task management skills.
The following tips will help freelancers become more effective at task management:
One task at a time
Taking it one step at a time is not just lip service, it actually works, and you will get more accomplished. This is easier said than done considering you have email, your phone, and social media to distract you. Before starting a task, eliminate as many distractions as possible (yes, the latest cat video posted on Facebook can wait and so can that email from your client), and set aside a block of time to complete the task at hand. Work on it until it’s complete.
If the task is large or requires intensive time to work on it, break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
Schedule time for communications
Email, phone calls, and social media are three of the biggest threats to effective task and time management. It’s all too tempting to check our email every hour, check our phone messages and waste time checking our Twitter or Facebook page. Have a plan – schedule time each day to check email, go on social media, and make phone calls. Treat this as a task, and schedule it accordingly.
Set realistic timelines
Timing is very important for task management. Spending too much time on a task can hurt your efficiency and your bottom line. On the other hand, allotting too little time to complete a task will cause you to push back other tasks. Therefore, it’s important to give some thought to tasks and set realistic timelines for each task. It may take some trial and error upfront, but you will become better at time estimates as you become more experienced.
Set an upper limit
You probably have a good idea of what your bandwidth is and how much you can take on at any one time. But it’s also difficult to say no to a project as a freelancer, even if your schedule is booked solid. To avoid taking on too much, set an upper limit for the number of projects, or number of hours, you are willing to work. When you take on too much work, you risk becoming less efficient, getting spread too thin, missing deadlines, and hurting the quality of your work.
While you may be able to get by for a little bit without task management skills, it will catch up to you eventually. Start thinking about task management now, so you can thrive in the future.
