5 More Ways to Make Time
Need even more ways to free up time for freelancing?
Freelance Friday
Y’all ate up my tips for finding time to freelance last week.
So I’ve gathered up 5 more strategies that will help you get your freelance biz off the ground within your busy schedule.
Some of these tips can cost money. They’re investments that I find completely worthy, especially after you’ve passed the first 6 months of your freelance career. I’ve also included a free alternative for anything that costs money!
Let’s dive in:
1. Automate Your Systems.
This might be expensive, but I promise it’s worth it!! After you’ve chosen your rates, picked which services you’ll offer, and created your packages (your business foundations) you can start using a customer relationship management system (CRM).
I’ve created canned emails and questionnaires to build out my Dubsado workflows and payment schedules. It has made a world of difference for both me, my schedule, and my clients’ experience. My entire onboarding, invoicing and offboarding experience are completely automated now and it’s freed up a solid 5+ hours per week.
I recommend:
Dubsado (paid - what I use)
Honeybook (paid)
This free combination:
Create your contracts in Google Docs
Get them e-signed with Pandadoc
Do your invoicing with PayPal Business (or Stripe)
Create canned email templates (or buy some!) for onboarding, offboarding, and communicating with your clients
Make a PDF of your service offerings in Canva and save it with your canned email templates
2. Find Accountability.
Starting a freelance writing career can be super lonely. It helps to have accountability of some kind. Whether it’s an online group like Flow Club or ask about joining my group, Pop Club. A Facebook group, a Slack group, a freelance friend, or a family member who works from home. You can also find online memberships for freelancers and creatives specifically, I’ll share a few soon in another edition of the Fizz.
Whoever you can find to sit with you while you work for just one hour can make all the difference. In a pinch, going to a busy coffee shop or a public library works for me!
3. Make It Fun.
I dread going through my finances every 2 to 4 weeks. So I decided to make it a date with myself. Because going through my finances regularly with a fine-tooth comb makes my taxes easier and helps set me up for a more abundant future.
I take myself out for fancy coffee or bring a nice bottle of wine at home. I light a candle if I’m at home or buy myself a pastry if I’m out. I put on some jazzy tunes and I dive right in. Everything is more fun with a fancy drink and some good music.
Sometimes, I even do my work in front of the TV or with my favorite Youtube channel playing in the background. Whatever gets you in the mood!!
4. Put your freelance work first.
If you have another job, it can be difficult to find the energy and motivation to get your freelance work done. You get home from your other job (or walk out of your home office / bedroom / living room to go veg on your couch and *sigh*) and have no energy to get back in front of a computer to do more work.
If you’ve been struggling to find energy to do your freelance work after work… why not try before? Fun fact: I used to get up at 4am every day (for 6 months) while I worked as a barista so that I could get my freelance work done before my shift. Let me tell you, it worked!
By the time I clocked in as a barista, the sun was coming up and it almost felt like a new day. Plus, I had all the time in the world to just chill when I got home. Sure, getting up at 4 was tough for me. But it was totally worth it for just 6 months while I built my business.
5. Get help with scheduling.
If you’re not the best at scheduling, get some help! You can find schedule templates and tutorials online or try a paid tool like Sunsama (which Pop Club member, Joanna just turned me on to)!
Try This
Set aside 1 hour this week and make it a date with yourself. Go get a nice coffee, grab your fave beer, make yourself a cozy tea at home and pull out a notebook or your fave notes app.
During that one hour dive into your life. What do you want it to look like? Where can you fit in your freelance tasks? How can you make getting to work easier for yourself? Where are your finances at? Do you have goals for them? What do you need to do in the next 3 months to get closer to your goals?
Put on some nice music. Maybe light a candle? Make it feel good. You are designing your life! Be proud and excited about that, even if it feels new to you.