Master your time and master your life
Alan Lakein
A few weeks ago, a friend asked me what my superpower would be.
While there’s plenty that appeal…time travel…invisibility…summoning chocolate by clicking my fingers (which, let’s be honest, would render all other superpowers obsolete). But in the moment, I went with how I was feeling – the ability to pause time. Was this so I could perform epic deeds like saving the world? In short, no.
My friend laughed when I told her it was so I could stop and stare at a wall whenever I wanted (or hide under a duvet without worrying about looming work deadlines or my 3-year-old trying out for Cirque du Soleil off the sofa). But I think the real reason for choosing this power comes down to needing more time to tackle what I need to without dropping the ball on everything else.
Sometimes, it can feel like we’re spinning countless plates of different sizes and importance, running between them in the hope they won’t smash. Nobody likes the feeling of forever chasing their tail. It’s exhausting.
When you’re a freelancer, good time management is the key to structuring your work around the rest of life’s commitments. Otherwise, you’re just a sleep-deprived hamster on a never-ending wheel.
But here’s the good news! Rather than branding yourself as a naturally disorganised person who thrives on chaos (Newsflash: there are easier ways to get grey hairs you guys!), you CAN take control.
Step 1 is understanding your time management flaws before you can overcome them. If you’re taking longer than you should on tasks, don’t just brush it off as “Oh I’m just a perfectionist” or “My creative process is a slow burn.” EVERYONE can improve with a few simple alterations to the way they work.
Where is your time management going wrong?
Most issues fall into one of the following categories (and don’t worry if you’re guilty of all of them – it just means there’s a lot of time you can claw back!).
Lack of productivity & efficiency
This is your input and output. Efficient, productive people achieve an excellent output for the amount of time and effort they put in. A bit like pets, who somehow manage to get fed, groomed and adored all day with zero effort.
Questions to ask yourself:
- What are you spending longer on that feels necessary?
- Do you get distracted easily? (What harm can a little Instagram scroll do, right?)
- What do you put a lot of effort into that doesn’t improve outcomes?
- Can you achieve results of the required standard without some of the tasks you’re currently doing?
- What can you do to speed up each part of the process without the quality reducing to a level that risks your reputation?
Disorganisation
Do you treat life like you’re driving in the dark – hazards flying towards you without warning? You wouldn’t take your car out at night if your lights were broken because you need to know what’s ahead of you so you have time to react. If you feel the way you work is reactive rather than proactive, consider ways to get yourself organised, preventing issues before they occur. (Or, you know, you could just keep flying by the seat of your pants for the hell of it!)
Questions to ask yourself:
- Do deadlines sneak up on you without warning? (like a ninja, but less cool)
- Do you schedule your weekly and monthly tasks somewhere you can check each day so you won’t forget them? (And no, as much as I’m addicted to stationery, sticky notes plastered across your desk don’t count).
- Do you plan ahead to ensure you can deliver on your promises to clients? (Remember, before rushing in with a hard YES to work requests, it’s okay to take a beat to check your schedule first).
- Do you have a clear picture of the tasks you need to complete both in the short term and long term?
- Do you leave enough time in your schedule for emails, quotes and other admin? (those invoices aren’t going to send themselves!)
- Do you plan your week to accommodate last-minute jobs, client calls and unexpected edits?
Chaotic workflow
Your workflow is the journey you follow from start to finish when completing a piece of work. This includes every step of the process, from providing quotes and defining timescales to creating the content and invoicing clients.
Questions to ask yourself:
- Do you follow the same process for each piece of work so nothing is missed? (Or are you the King or Queen of ‘winging it’?)
- Do you continually update your workflow as you learn from scenarios which highlighted flaws in the way you work?
- Do you have templates for yourself to reduce admin time? (e.g. quote layouts/invoicing software/client contracts/terms of your services/checklists/questionnaires for when you interview clients).
- Do you know what live projects you have with each client, and which stage of the process they’re at?
Overly complex processes
When I first started to freelance, projects took me much longer than they do now. After I finally had time (thanks to my imaginary superpower!) to consider each stage of the project process, there were many things I was doing that weren’t necessary – often completing them on a ‘just in case’ basis.
For example, I kept a record of every website I used when researching content to add to business blogs I wrote. Why? As a newbie to the game, I had this weird idea that if a client demanded to see my sources, I’d be able to say ‘Look at what this reputable organisation is saying’. But almost a decade in, NOBODY has ever asked me this (even the fussy clients I’d rather sit on a cactus than ever work with again).
Lots of little things I was doing made each process longer than necessary. Now, I continually review what I can scale back on or drop entirely without negative consequences. To this day, I have NEVER had to add any unnecessary tasks back into my processes after banishing them to the time-gobbling graveyard (which is haunted by ghosts of my former inefficient self).
Questions to ask yourself:
- Are there parts of your processes you can streamline, i.e. tasks which aren’t specifically requested by clients?
- What tools and resources can you use to speed up processes? Can you add in any automation?
- Is there anything you did when starting out, but now you’re more experienced, you can eliminate from the process?
- Have clients requested something from you in a way you think could be done more efficiently using a different method – is this something you can discuss with them?
THE NEXT STEP: Conducting your own time analysis
Once you’ve highlighted where you can create more time for yourself, solutions become easier. Changes often make an instant difference, giving you even more time for work and home commitments. I would recommend any freelancer to conduct their own time analysis, which I will be talking about in a future blog! Think of it as a detective mission to find out where all your time is sneaking off to, so you can wrangle it back. Stay tuned for this, but until then, may your to-do lists be short and your coffee strong!