One of the most lucrative perks of starting your own freelance business is having control over your hours, making time management skills a dire necessity. It is challenging to grow your freelance business without a proper division of time and work. As you manage your freelance business, the income you make is directly proportional to the time you put in, so there is a chance that you might work yourself to the point of exhaustion.
It is essential to strike a balance in the time you dedicate to your freelancing. So that you are neither overworked nor underworked.
Five Tips to Manage Your Time
Incentivising methods of setting goals
It's not that a star in your notebook will be motivating enough to make you work anymore, but the work mode still stands for freelancing perfectly. By setting rewards for accomplishing the tasks you had planned for the day, you can push yourself to work harder and make the process a little more fun. Keep track of your work using tools such as ‘Clockify’, which turns the amount you allocate to your projects into fun charts so that you can accordingly divulge. You can go one step further and create a rewards system, setting aside points for different tasks. It subconsciously triggers satisfaction with the work, making it fun for you to work at a stretch.
Elimination of distraction
Long attention spans are a gift, and most of us struggle with even focusing beyond 20 minutes at a time (thanks to the growing consumption of micro-content). So, if you are growing your freelance business, you must keep distractions to a minimum if you intend to expand your business. Do you know how those extra 10 minutes scrolling through Instagram can turn into an hour before you know it? Or maybe the clutter on your side table catches your eye now and then. Make sure, before you start your work, that you have created an environment devoid of distractions. You can do so by dedicating a workspace separate from your room. Or, even if it is a part of your room, ensure that everything you need is already there. A cleaner apartment will be even more conducive to work. You can manage online distractions by using applications that limit your time on social media apps.
Scheduling
When you’re managing a freelance business, you are basically in charge of the work you put up daily. While you might have project deadlines pushing you, it is that freedom with your time that can help you to curate a schedule that maximizes your output without burning out. Even for creative types, a timetable is hardly the most exciting subject. But having one can provide you with more freedom than you think. Use tools to monitor the time you spend on your daily tasks and use that data to allocate time efficiently and then, accordingly, make a schedule.
Jack of all trades loses out on some!
When you start your freelance business, you might feel the need to take on any and every job you get. You might take on multiple tasks, each requiring a different type of skill set. But once you gain momentum, it is optimal for you to identify your niche and focus on that distinct work. It makes it easier to build a solid database of clients. You can dedicate your time and energy to one and grow as a business. If you keep trying to balance several tasks, you will lose focus, and your growth might become stagnant.
End of the day
The peril of the flexible working hours of a freelance business is that your evenings do not guarantee the end of your working hours. Before you know it, emails and phone calls start spilling into your resting hours. But you need to understand that it is not a healthy work habit. Even if you work from home, there must be a distinctive transition between work and life. Establish some regular hours for yourself.
No matter how you decide to operate, always ensure that you have clear expectations for yourself and your clients.
Follow these suggestions for a thriving freelance business that you enjoy managing!
Enjoy the benefits of a freelance license and visa in Dubai, UAE, such as a Work Permit, Emirates ID, Residency, and Option to Sponsor Family.
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