The job losses associated with the seemingly never-ending Coronavirus pandemic has seen many people starting up a side hustle at home, or even going full throttle and starting up a business. Freelancing is becoming an increasingly popular option; you can do it around your current job and commitments, or you can do it full time.
However, freelancing is not easy. Of course it isn’t; if it were, everyone would be doing it! It is something that can very easily become more than a job, taking over your life and consuming your every waking moment as you try to be the very best and make as much money as you can. If you are ill, you either power through and get on with it, or you stay in bed and watch that money go to someone else.
Here, we look at three things that are essential to all freelancers to help them manage their work.
The right tools for the job
If you are an online content writer, you need to make sure you have reliable access to the internet and a computer to work on. If you are a freelance makeup artist, you need to have quality makeup and mirrors. If you are a photographer, you need a good camera and lighting and so on. Without the right tools, you cannot do your job properly – it is near impossible.
You also need a space where you can work without interruption and store your equipment and tools. A home office is an ideal place for this – you can find some great ideas on www.justaveragejen.com for designing and setting up the perfect home office.
Organization skills
If you are not organized, things are very quickly going to spiral out of control and once this happens, it can be very difficult to get back on track. Keep records of what you are working on and the progress – a workflow management tool such as Asana or Trello can be useful for doing this. Keep on top of your invoices and accounting – this will make it much easier when it comes to chasing up unpaid bills and submitting your tax returns.
Time management skills
As we mentioned above, it can be easy to let your work overtake your life as a freelancer, but if you manage your time carefully, you should be able to achieve a pretty decent work-life balance. Try to batch tasks – for example, plan all of your social media content out for the week ahead and add them to your scheduler of choice. Write up content, and then go through and edit it all. If you are guilty of spending too working without a break or too long having a break without actually working, try using the Pomodoro technique.
Of course, you also need to have professionalism, determination and a great work ethic under your belt to succeed as a freelancer. It is a job that can bring about many challenges, but it is ultimately very rewarding.
Kori
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