“Are you a freelancer?
Wow! That means you are a self-employed worker and a boss of your own.
No one will rule you.”
This is a very generic perception of people towards self-employed workers. But it is not completely true. Although a freelancer governs his job solely, the overall management and governance are difficult. Freelancing requires the individual to perform multitasking. Apart from his core role as a professional of his expertise, he needs to be equally proficient with all the supportive managerial roles. One individual plays the role of a marketing professional, a finance manager, a lead developer, a project manager, and a relationship manager at the same time.
For this purpose, we bring forth the ten beneficial tips and tricks for self-employed workers or freelancers. These smart hacks will act as shockers, which will smoothen the bumpy road to success in the professional life of a freelance photographer, writer, event planner, etc.
1. Prioritize
Prioritizing the tasks is one of the most essential criteria of managing the projects like a pro. With multiple projects in hand, one needs to prioritize the task based on their deadline. If needed, make use of the Eisenhower Matrix to manage the multiple tasks with ease. As you keep completing the tasks, you can move the tasks from less urgent sections to the more urgent ones.
2. Compartmentalize
A very common and very effective approach towards handling larger tasks. Breaking the larger tasks into smaller segments and thereafter setting up an aim to attain each sub-target is a strategic approach towards effective task completion. Setting up small distance milestones in the completion of long-term goals, reduce the level of stress and anxiety, thus leading to effective work completion.
3. Make Your Project Goals Time-Bound
“Time management success always leaves evidence of effort, follow-through productivity, and achievement,”
-Tye Howard
Time management is the key to effective management in every type of product and for every type of professional. Apart from prioritizing the projects based on deadlines and then compartmentalizing the long-term projects into smaller segments, now one needs to fix a time range for each project or sub-task. Adding starting time and end time to a task ensures strict self-supervision.
4. Make Use of Organizational Tools
This tip or trick is optional. If you are happy and successfully handling projects by sticking to the old school norms of work management, good for you. But for those who want to evolve with time and take help from technology, the world is unlimited. There are multiple software tools available in the market to suit the different needs of different freelance professionals.
5. Have a System
Now that you have access to the multiple project management tools, and also you are clear about your milestones, it’s time to choose a project management system to support your decisions. Choose the option that best fits your requirements. Using a system will help a freelancer in the management of finances, client management, project handling, and more. Once you have tried and are satisfied with the trial version of any chosen software, it’s time to buy its premium version and enrich your solo managerial skills.
6. Update Your Projects Diligently
On-time update and marking of the upgrades on the project management journey is a very essential task. Suppose the client has changed the due date of your task, then it will change your priority chart too. So make the changes immediately. Every progress or critical information also needs to be marked on the project management system as being used by you. This also saves you from any human error which you might have occurred by forgetting the task or critical information.
7. Take a Break!
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…including you.”
-Anne Lamott
Working as a freelancer or self-employed worker does not make you a person with superpowers. Remember that your mind is performing over one task at a time, considering the workload you handle. Therefore it is advisable to say no or turn down new clients. Every time you have some spare time does not mean you need to take up new projects as fillers. Even breaks are essential. You need breaks to rejuvenate your gray cells and energize them to perform better. You are a human with a brain who needs a break. It’s not liberalizing yourself, rather it’s streamlining yourself.
8. Avoid Distractions
Don’t feel we are over-supervising your project management skills when we have one tip for your break management too. Breaks often lead to addiction to certain leisure activities, which slowly and steadily seep into the time management of a professional. Therefore, it’s advised that the work breaks as taken by you should be healthy for your mind and body too. Watching a 2-hour movie, reading a favorite book, painting, playing a match and all such activities are acceptable to break activities. All such breaks will motivate you to perform better and in a more reactive manner.
9. Partner with other freelancers
Delegating tasks to other freelancers is a smart project management practice. You can even check free and open source project management software for better growth. Suppose you are a photographer who is an ace at clicking photos but does not like the editing task much or takes too long to edit the photos. In such a case, you can always delegate the task to the other freelancer who is a pro at editing and does the task much better than you do. You need not hire him on a full-term basis, but pay him for only a part of the work done. In the long term, you will save a lot of your time and effort, which further can be used for engaging more clients.
10. Lessons Learned
“When you make a mistake, there are three things you should do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it”.
-Paul Bear Bryant
As an old saying goes, always learn from your past mistakes. Make a list of lessons learned in your past project and don’t repeat the mistakes. Look for points where you could have performed better. There is always room for improvement. Identify that space. All this will help you evolve as a professional and soon make you a pro of your niche. Apart from keeping a record of your shortfalls, it is also essential to keep a record of your best practices in each project. Such good practices need to be repeated in every task to ensure consistency and flow.
Conclusion
“The P in PM is as much about people management as it is about project management.”
-Cornelius Fichtner
Over here, by people, we mean you as an individual. These can also help you in internet marketing and Email marketing . The provided tips for successful project management will help freelancers organize the workflow of their projects in a streamlined manner. A well-set up workflow ensures that you meet the projects by deadlines with no lags.