Staying Organized as a Freelancer: 3 Productivity Hacks

Staying organized as a freelancer is challenging. Time is a high-value commodity for freelancers. It’s one of the things we stress most about because it seems like it slips away without us even noticing.

We’ve all had been there: we sit down in front of our laptop with high hopes, only to pick our heads back up to see the day’s done and our work…isn’t. 

It’s stressful to watch the hours escape you! It’s even more stressful when you’ve got a pushy client asking for a rush job. 

Since we know we can’t get more time, how do we make our time more productive
The key to keeping productive work hours is to make a schedule and use techniques to keep focused during those hours. Here’s a few ideas:

1. Try the Pomodoro technique.

This is a work flow technique to maximize your focus and makes staying organized as a freelancer a breeze. Work in short bursts of 25 minutes and then take a break for 5. 

Stretch, make some tea, give your brain a few free minutes then start another block. It’s easier to focus in concentrated bursts, so those work blocks are bound to be productive. 

Pomodoro tracker is a free, web-based Pomodoro tracker you can get started with today.

2. Cut yourself off from distractions.

When you want to get some work done, you need focus. Working in short bursts won’t make you effective if you’re phone is constantly buzzing in the background!

Don’t let your focus be interrupted by inbox refreshes or side tasks. Close or hide extra tabs and put your phone on silent(or airplane mode) during designated work bursts!

If you have a hard time cutting yourself off from the internet. Check out Freedom, an awesome tool that does the heavy lifting for you.

3. Strict hours to help staying organized as a freelancer

Focus isn’t automatic. Staying organized as a freelancer requires deliberate action and intention. If you don’t dedicate time to focus on your work, it’ll slip away. 
Establish a set of working hours and stick to them! 

Set habits about how often you’ll work on your blog, when you’ll check emails and hours in which you’ll sit, focus and work without distractions.

Be wary of clients who push you to work on their time. Lots of clients will try to sway you to get things when they’d like or even get them done faster than possible. 

Communicate when and how you work with your clients, so they’ll understand what to expect.

Stay stern with your schedule and clients won’t be able to sneak added favors or overtime hours onto your workload.

Want more tips on how to level up your freelance game? Check out our free webinar that show you the exact steps I used to building a 6-figure business at only 22.