FreelanceFolder: "We all strive to be there–we want to have so much work we never really have to advertise or cold call or do much marketing ever again. We want enough clients so that we can pick and choose the best ones with the best projects. But what happens when you actually make it there?
Personally, I have a tendency to overschedule myself–which is normally a good thing because clients usually take longer than they think they will to get the project to me. However, every so often it seems everyone does decide to start their projects on time and I end up working 15 hour days with little sleep.
No one likes working overtime, least of all a freelancer, so what do we do when we have too much work? How do we get our schedules on track?
5 comments:
A lot of these are consistent with what I've found as a CMU drama student. I think that I'm less distracted by apps as by other people, so finding an environment free from those distractions is very important. Likewise, with regards to working longer, there's never anybody in the studio at 3am two nights before an assignment is due, so it's a great opportunity to be productive. With regards to music, I can't focus on writing when listening to music with lyrics, but classical helps, and any music is helpful for CADing/drafting/making stuff. Finally, when a busy week is approaching, I'll put meals, laundry, and sleep in my calendar to help ensure that they get done.
This has a few great tips. The one about the music I totally use when I have a ton of work to get done in a small amount of time. Music does effect the amount of work that you do, it sets a tempo to do your work. The one about plan your day in the shower and place that you can’t do work but you plan your day is a great thing I will definitely look more into it. The one about shutting off everything would be very hard for me to do since I have Facebook always open but I have turned that ding off on everything so I just check it when I have time to do so. I would like to put some of these things into effect and see how well it works for me.
There are some really good tips in this article. It is so true that many people waste a ridiculous amount of time online or on applications that are distracting and take up much more time than they intended them to. Also, the tip about taking a few breaks is smart, not long ones but short ones every once and awhile that keeps the brain stimulated. I think Daniel makes a good point though: many times, if meals, laundry, sleep, and other important "every day" tasks are not scheduled, they often times do not get done and it is unhealthy. For particularly busy weeks, it is a good idea to budget time for them to make sure they are not skipped.
A lot of these tips are exactly what i have been told before. I have found that i cant work well when i turn everything off because i hate the thought of someone not being able to get a hold of me. it drives me crazy. What helps me is watching a movie that i have seen a billion times and wont get tired of and then just zone out and work. It cuts out most of the distractions that get me distracted.
Of all the helpful-hint-articles provided here on the PTM blog so far, I have found this article to be the most accessible and "real". I found that the overall theme within these tips is just to be honest with yourself. "Am I really going to check my e-mail is I keep it on?" Yes. Trying to convince yourself that your distraction habits won't interrupt you this one time, is silly, however so is instantly getting rid of them. Temptation is stronger when you crave for a distraction. So, again, honesty. As the author suggests, changing the settings of your e-mail notifications or only checking your e-mail one every 2 hours. But no matter what, be honest with yourself. How far will I go to distract myself?
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