Freelancers and entrepreneurs are those professionals that truly require some form of time management that will allow them to manage projects, clients, interruptions, training, and then their own much needed time for rejuvenation. As an entrepreneur, you have to really be self motivated, and the more support you have to help you keep on track, the more efficient you can be with your workload. In this article, the author discusses some of the time management tools that will help an entrepreneur or freelancer be able to reach their goals.
Each and every year there are always a slew of so called “new” and “innovative” time management methods. As a freelancer you have more than likely run into the time management problem. New clients pop up unexpectedly, old ones need some rework and just life in general making a mess of things. You have probably also read a few time management articles or books, and that’s ok. The more you know, the better you are off. But if none of those have worked for you then you need to go back to the basics.
The best and most well known time management system is the good old pen and paper. You don’t need some sleek expensive management system, nor some fancy complicated to-do list. The pen and paper work because they have worked well since the dawn of civilization. What does this mean? This means simple works, and simple is what you want to get your freelance life in order.
With the pen and paper, you create at least two lists. I say at least two because depending on your situation you will want to plan further ahead or just need more specialized lists. Though with two lists you can get started very well.
One list is for your daily tasks. Each and every day you write down what you have to do that whole day. This way, you can start your day off very well and organized. You will know exactly what you do and what you do not have time for.
You can also create a list the day before during the evening. This way, you know what you completed that day, since it’s fresh in your mind, and be able to plan the next day accordingly.
After you have planed the most immediate tasks and repetitive daily tasks, it’s time to schedule in what you need to do during the week. This tasks include longer goals, projects that don’t need to be completed immediately and anything that only occurs weekly. These are your weekly goals, such as finishing a 20 article project, designing a full website or even your weekly shopping.
Just by using these two lists you can make your freelance life a lot easier. If you want to plan ahead further, for example, you can use a 3rd and 4th list for monthly and yearly goals.
If pen and paper are just not your thing there are a few simple computer programs to help you along. One of the most prominent is Remember The Milk. It is in essence a very handy To-Do list with easy daily and weekly scheduling. Also, if you want to get a bit more in depth you can use Remember The Milk along with Google Calender for complete control.
Using both together will allow you to schedule daily tasks easily while still being able to setup far in the future tasks in a nice visual calendar. Plus, with Google Calendar you can also setup e-mail reminders to help you remember what you need to do that day, week or month.
Piotr Krzyzek is a young, energetic technology entrepreneur. His childhood passion for computers evolved into rapidly growing start-ups and a desire to share information. As he continues his studies on computer programming in Europe, he manages his businesses and helps others use emerging technologies. In addition to Linux specialties, he is honing his knowledge of Internet Marketing and Joint Ventures. Follow Piotr’s most recent technological discoveries at his technical business blog: PiotrKrzyzek.com
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Publish Date: 03/30/2010
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