Task management is essential for everyone, but it is especially crucial for the self-employed. Without an effective task management tool, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of tasks at hand, lose track of deadlines and become overwhelmed by anxiety and stress.
Below, we’ve put together some tips and tools to help you manage your freelance work efficiently.
Setting priorities
When you’re working for yourself, it’s easy to get distracted by tasks that aren’t essential to your business because of the sheer volume of tasks. It is therefore essential to take the time to prioritize and determine which tasks are most crucial to the success of your business. You can use scheduling tools to help you rank tasks according to their level of importance and urgency. The tasks to be prioritized are those that will have a direct impact or a high risk on your business process or the execution of your operations.
Use a task list
Making a to-do list sounds simple but it’s still very effective in helping you organize your daily tasks. It allows you to keep track of the tasks you have to do and check off the ones you have completed. You can use an online tool or mobile app to create your to-do list and view it at any time.
Plan tasks according to the time available
As a freelancer, you are often faced with tasks that must be completed at specific times that may themselves fall within unavailable time slots. It is therefore important to plan your day according to the time available and the requirements. You can use a calendar to plan tasks in advance and ensure that you have enough time to complete them.
Also use the “recurrence” functions offered by some applications to schedule tasks that come up at regular intervals, to save time on planning work.
Avoiding procrastination
Procrastination is an easy trap to fall into when you are working for yourself because often no one is there to remind us more or less gently that time is running out. To avoid wasting time, it is essential to set clear deadlines for each task and stick to them. You can also use the Pomodoro method to work in a concentrated way for defined periods of time.
Use online collaboration tools
Independent does not mean lonely!
Working alone can be isolating, but there are many online tools that allow you to collaborate with other freelancers and clients. Project management and shared document production tools allow you to work remotely as a team and monitor the progress of your projects. These solutions will also allow you to collaborate with your customers in a more modern and efficient way.