Being a successful freelancer is difficult. More often than not freelance designers, as well as those who are employed in small design studios, encounter challenges of producing much more out of their time, thus getting the desired maximum efficiency. This may be considered as a tremendous work for someone in a regular day job while freelancers tend to be more distracted with several challenges to encounter. Of course, no one will hold them accountable. To be a successful freelancer, priority is the key. You should set your priorities in the right direction and find ways that will work for you.
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Many people have plenty of tricks for the improvement of their work efficiency. However, no single rule will work equally well for everyone. Being productive should be a constant goal in life, as well as getting to be interested in looking for new ways to achieve more tasks within a certain period of time. To do this, you need not be perfect, but you can improve yourself consistently. Here are several proven hacks that will help you become more productive at work.
Make a to-do list
It is much easier to work throughout a day with a list of things you need to do. Just make a to-do list so that you will be able to keep track of your tasks. One of the major setbacks of freelancing is that there are many different things to do during a day. All of these things are important for your business to a certain degree.
But even so, some of them are less urgent than others. If you go through the day without a to-do list, you will have the thinking of producing plenty of things benefiting your business. But in the end, you will find it hard to focus on doing the right tasks first. As a result, none of them will be finished.
Focus more on finishing tasks instead of starting new ones
The majority of freelancers have different projects going on at the same time. Aside from that, each of the projects has many more various tasks that need to be done. You may also need some time for your own personal projects. With so many things requiring your attention all at the same time, it is all very tempting to undertake new tasks before finishing up the other ones. If this is your regular work pattern, you will be wasting more time and effort in the long run when it comes to finishing all of the current projects.
It is vital that a freelancer completes projects so as to maintain the influx of income. Finishing one project after another will also help you get paid quicker. As a result, you can move on to the next project. Devote more time to projects and tasks that are near completion. Getting tasks off the list makes you feel good. It will reduce stress and eventually make a more productive environment.
Define your most productive hours
The time when you run tasks during a working day also matters. Some people work best in the mornings, while others are more productive in the evenings or afternoons. All of us have certain working hours when they work more effectively. So, it is advised to do tasks that are less mind-strenuous during the hours when your mind is not at its best.
You may just check your email, clean it out and moderate or even respond to your blog comments, or just about anything that takes time, but definitely not much need for mental focus. By using this approach, you will be able to be more productive during the least productive hours of the day, and thus the best hours will be saved for more demanding tasks like article writing or working on a client’s blog or a website.
There are always many different things to do that require various focus levels. You will definitely get more out of your day if you really have a good balance between your best working hours with the most demanding tasks, and your very least productive hours with the tasks that are done routinely.
Set priorities
In everyday work life, it is frustrating not to finish everything that you planned for one day. If you have a to-do list, it is likely that you will just have a few things that need to be done at the end of the working day. For such reason, it is just as important to prioritize the tasks to finish, aside from making a list of tasks.
There are different tasks that we need to complete every day, and there is a probability that you will have just a few vital things that should be finished. Other tasks vary depending on their urgency and importance. Prioritize tasks that need to be done first, and then make a list of the other stretch goals for the day. These stretch goals have less urgency than the main to-do tasks. If you finish all of the most important things for a particular day, then you may be able to move forward to the stretch goals.
Get things done in a bulk of time
There are so many different tasks to do and you may divide your working time into short periods of time for such specific tasks. It is better to make use of bigger time blocks to get sets of tasks finished all at the same time. You may just try to check your email twice or three times a day instead of checking your email over and over again day. You will be able to save more time if you follow this trick.
Breathe fresh air
Take a few minutes out from your busy schedule, go out of your house for a drive or walk. Seek a place wherein you can have a peaceful breath of fresh air. Going into a different environment for a while will definitely increase your productivity and boost your mind to think positively, especially the treat of fresh air and new surroundings. It will cost you nothing. It will only take you some time. However, it definitely will have an ample effect on your productivity.
Be flexible
It is vital to be flexible with the prioritized tasks on hand so that you will have some room for flexibility for yourself. It's clear that there are days that will go unplanned. You may simply feel like you can do nothing other days. It's better to afford yourself some flexibility to make a change according to different circumstances.
Get to know your distractions
When tracking your working hours, you will come across distracting activities. If you remove all distractions, your efficiency will definitely increase. In order to achieve this, you should first know and understand different challenges that you encounter when you work productively.
Always create a schedule for the next day
It is up to you to decide whether to plan your schedule for the next day or not. It's always better to be more aware of the things to do. Always take note of the things you mentioned on your to-do list, and you may check your list at the end of the working day to see whether you overlooked something. Due to this, next day planning will be a quick method for you and you will know where you will start the next day and you will tend not to forget things altogether. No time is wasted since you are always prepared to do your tasks for the next day.
Always be aware of a specified ending working time
One of the tests to be considered by a freelancer is when to end a particular work day. If you are in the employer-employee arrangement, it is easier to break your working day. But it is much difficult for a freelancer because there is always the temptation to continue working onwards. There are so many tasks to do and your income is dependent on the tasks that are finished.
It is normal to produce more by working longer hours. It is but normal for a freelancer to feel that you will get most things done when you have something to work on that force you to end the working day at a specific hour.
If you set the end of the working time for yourself, it is much easier to produce more out of every hour since the working time is limited. Unless you do this, you tend to be less efficient since there is the feeling that you still have plenty of time for work.
Track your time
It is much better to know how the time is spent during the work week. Time monitoring may help you look for inefficiencies and methods to improve your productivity. If you hardly know how your time is spent, it is hard to know how you will be able to improve your time usage.
Expectations should be realistic
There are freelancers that are too ambitious. They feel the pressure to get more things done within a limited time, which is physically impossible to accomplish. It is obvious that they can face increased stress and pressure, thus resulting in low productivity. Expectations that are realistic will let you finish the things that are scheduled to do.
Always resist the temptation of getting too much work done, and concentrate more on doing the most important tasks first. If you focus on this, your productivity will increase by outsourcing some projects.
Eat healthy
Food is the fuel of a human body. It is crucial to eat healthy to keep going. You are what you eat. If you eat junk, it will be detrimental for your body, whereas if you eat healthy foods, you will reap the benefits of it eventually.
Strive for a more comfortable working environment
Your work might be tedious as a freelancer, working all day at home and office. This is a good set up because you have the upper hand in arranging your home into the most comfortable place to work and dwell. Make all things you need accessible and easy to walk around and be productive, but at the same time your place should also have the homey look and feel. Search the web for some tips and arrangement about making an essential home office that really focus on the subject.
Get enough sleep
This is the last, but not the least important tip. You are productive if you are well-rested. If you lack sleep, the tendency is you always struggle to keep up on your toes to do all of your tasks for the day.
