Learn from Brittany Berger, a freelance content marketing strategist and founder of Work Brighter, on how to manage multiple projects as an independent professional. Discover tips on time management, paying attention to details, hiring an online assistant, and setting your limits.
How Independent Professionals Can Multitask
Every freelancer wants to have a roster full of clients, right? It takes a certain amount of professionalism, zeal, and, of course, competence to draw in and keep clients. Therefore, when you have a busy schedule and are earning extra money to spare, it feels like you've struck the freelancer lottery. What transpires, however, if you have too much work?
You get overburdened, exhausted, and stressed out, and something is likely to fall between the cracks. According to Brittany Berger, a freelance content marketing strategist and the founder of Work Brighter, a productivity network, "When you're working with one company, in-house, you have a manager who sets your timeframes and deadlines and organises a lot of stuff for you."
"As a freelancer, you lack that in addition to having to deal with numerous businesses, different kinds of tasks, systems, and deadlines. You really need to be proactive about it because there is more to keep track of and less assistance doing so. Below, Berger offers her advice on how to control expectations, maintain organisation, and manage several projects at once.
1. Take your time.
Use your time carefully because there are only 24 hours in a day. Consider how much of your time each client is consuming because you can't work nonstop because you need to eat, sleep, and exercise. Berger advises keeping track of all of your work time, even if you don't bill clients on an hourly basis. "This gives you a standard for how long various tasks take, even if it's just for one month, so you can schedule them more efficiently in the future.
"You may help your clients have more reasonable expectations by being aware of how you spend your time and how long different projects take. For instance, you can show a client your time sheets and propose a more reasonable timeframe if they need a speedy turnaround on a job that typically takes you a week to finish.
2. Pay attention to the details.
It's crucial to consider every small detail when keeping track of your work time. It may just take an hour to write an article or design a logo for a company, but the time it takes to send emails, conduct research, or speak with experts in order to write or design successfully takes up a significant portion of your day. It's simple to overlook, yet crucial, Berger claims. Think about how much time you'll need to devote each month to searching for, presenting to, and onboarding new clients, as well as checking email, conducting research, and other seemingly little chores.
Plan out what each project will entail before you become overworked and stressed. Spend 30 minutes a day at first organising yourself, she advises. Just approach it incrementally. Although these time-consuming administrative procedures aren't very enjoyable, keep in mind that neither Rome nor your freelancing career were built in a day.
3. Hire an online helper.
Want to stay as structured and effective as you can? There is an app for that, I suppose. Implement a project-management system or calendar that enables you to schedule work into the future in order to observe how tasks from various clients intersect, advises Berger. This will avoid unintended conflicts such as having two large projects due on the same day. Here are Berger's top three organising tools so you don't waste time evaluating numerous systems:
• IFTTT: This is a free service for linking various tools and programmes to straightforward automations, such as adding items to your to-do list in response to fresh emails arriving in your inbox. According to Berger, it's a remarkably time-effective method of organisation.
• Zapier: Consider it a more professional version of IFTTT. Your clients may already be using more sophisticated automations provided by this programme. Berger claims that even if it's not always free, you may receive a lot for your money.
• Airtable: Because each client is unique and has varied needs, Airtable is a fantastic option. Berger claims that because of this option's extreme flexibility, it is a fantastic tool for building individualised calendars, spreadsheets, and other organisational tools.
Naturally, you can also hire a virtual administrative assistant.
4.Discover your limit.
How much effort is excessive? It depends, really. Being honest with oneself is crucial because no one is more qualified to understand how you operate. What you do, what your clients require, and how you'll be most productive are all factors, according to Berger. "Although I am aware of writers who compose client blog entries in bulk, I believe I can provide superior service on my own.
Do you like to work on one thing at a time, or are you more productive when juggling several jobs at once? Instead of grabbing every chance that comes your way, be realistic about how much bandwidth you have available, and don't go over it. No one likes to turn down a task, but respecting your bandwidth will prevent burnout. How do independent contractors manage a heavy workload while still producing? Tell us in the remarks section below!
