I think it is safe to say that many of us as freelancers tend to put things off and procrastinate more than we should. This is probably in part due to the fact that we sometimes take on more than we can handle. Thus, we put off the less interesting projects for the more exciting ones. Or maybe the more profitable projects come before the lower paying ones.
Then of course there is the time suck that is the Internet. How many hours have you wasted during the day getting lost in Stumbles, halfway reading blogs, or looking at porn? Its easy to do, especially if you work at home.
So how do we make the most of our time in front of the computer? There are plenty of great articles on managing your time and plenty of software to help you organize tasks and this article will not touch on any of those. This article is simply a few small things you can do everyday to minimize your procrastination and help you feel more accomplished at the end of the day.
The Five Day Work Week
If you work at an office, you probably don’t have to worry about this one so much. For those of you who work from home or run your own businesses, you know how easy it is to work seven days a week without even noticing.
I know its hard, but make it a point to make the weekend yours. I won’t go so far as to say you shouldn’t even get on the computer during the week, but if you do, keep it casual. Avoid replying to business emails, checking site stats, and that sort of thing.
The Snowball Effect
I got this idea a while back from an article about managing debt and have since used it when I have multiple projects going. The idea here is simple; focus on the projects from smallest to largest. Work on the smallest project until it is complete and then move on to the next.
This will put the larger project at the end of your list, but will still allow you plenty of time to work on it. By the time you get to your largest project, you should have nothing else on your plate, thus leaving your mind and time free to focus on the larger of the projects.
Set Real Expectations
It is easy to get carried away when creating your to-do list for the week or even for the day. Before you know it, you have 15 things on your list just for today. You know there is know way you will get it all done in one day, so why bother putting it on the list?
Do yourself a favor and try o put no more than 6 items on your to-do list a day. This way you have better odds of getting them all done, even if you do get sidetracked by pointless blogs and emails. You will also feel better at the end of the day by having a to-do list that is completely crossed out.
