7 Freelancers Share Their Best Time Management Tips

1. “Best Self Book”

I’m still trying to learn multiple tips myself, but my “Best Self Book” has helped me the most. It’s a journal where I write my day-to-day tasks, but it’s formatted to help me prioritize my top three goals.
By taking 20 minutes to write out my day and rank the importance of my tasks, I am able to stay focused and remain motivated. Eye on the prize!
~ Shana Steigerwalt , founder of Modern Driven Media

2. The main thing

I once heard the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. (Read that twice and let it sink in.)
Truth is, as one man or one woman shows, our time resources as freelancers disappear rather quickly. My best advice is to figure out which activities generate the most revenue for you, and then focus the vast majority of your time on these activities at the exclusion of most else.
~ Brent Jones , freelance social media manager

3. Get a-head by writing everything down.

Get everything out of your head, and onto a document that you can access wherever you go, organized in a useful fashion. I have a Google Sheets document where I put down all my freelance assignments, due dates, next steps, and links to where I’m working on individual assignments.
When knocking out assignments, I use the Pomodoro Technique to force me to focus, instead of getting distracted by email.
~ Maddy Osman , SEO content strategist at The Blogsmith

Get the exclusive video training: $570,000 Worth of Freelance Lessons

4. Check your email only a few times each day.

I used to have my email opened in my browser all the time. Then, when I saw a new email come into my inbox, I would instantly switch tabs and check it — even though the emails were insignificant, or almost never urgent, nine times out of 10.
Point is: The habit became a meaningless distraction, and the process of losing and regaining focus is a time management killer.
Now, I only check and respond to emails a few times each day: morning, afternoon and early evening. (Not to mention, I turned off email push notifications on my phone.)
~ Josh Hoffman , founder of Epic Freelancing

5. Hit all your bases with a weekly to-do list.

Plan out your weekly to-do list on Sundays. You’ll never be able to follow it exactly, but this activity will help ensure you hit all your bases during the week.
Bonus tip: If you knock this task out on the Friday before, you can enjoy your weekend with a clear mind!
~ Alexandra Palmerton , founder of The 5th Sense

6. Start small and build momentum.

Every night before I go to sleep, I make a to-do list of the things I need to get done the next day. When I get to my desk the next morning, I take 20-to-30 minutes to knock off as many of the small, fast items on my list as possible. Crossing off these items gives me a quick sense of accomplishment and positive reinforcement.
Then, I focus the rest of my morning on getting one or two larger tasks accomplished, which leaves me feeling pretty accomplished for the rest of each day.
~ Aaron Zakowski , founder of Zammo Digital Marketing

7. Email templates

Create templates for emails you send on a regular basis. For example, if you regularly ask for testimonials or feedback from clients when a project is wrapped, the emails probably look pretty similar for all clients — they just need to be customized for the recipient.
Have a ready-to-go template you can fire off with a few quick tweaks, rather than having to write this same email from scratch every time.
~ Kaleigh Moore , co-founder of Lumen
Epic Freelancing is the go-to resource for freelancers who want to achieve financial success, creative freedom and lifestyle design.
Get the exclusive video training: $570,000 Worth of Freelance Lessons