Freelancefolder

12 Plus Ways for Freelancers to Focus and Stay on Task

Posted April 9, 2012 in Productivity

Most freelancers work from home, where they are often bombarded by distractions. The doorbell rings. The dog barks. The phone rings. The kids scream and fight.

And if all of this background noise weren’t enough, there’s also the distractions inherent to working online: websurfing, social media, email, online games, and so on.

Does all this sound familiar?

It should. This is just a typical day at the office for many freelancers.

With all of these distractions going on, how can a busy freelancer make sure to get everything done?

In this post, I share over twelve easy ways to stay focused and stay on task.

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Manage Your Time Effectively Using the “Four List” Method

Posted April 4, 2012 in How-To, Productivity

Some people hate them, other people love them. Software companies have even created apps to make keeping them easier.

I’m talking about To Do lists, of course. When used properly, they can really help you to manage your time.

Freelancers are busy people. There’s no doubt about it. Discussions of time management are always among the most popular topics here at Freelance Folder. That’s why today I’m going to share a very simple time management To Do list technique that I use myself.

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Super Easy Timesavers for Super Busy Freelancers

Posted February 8, 2012 in How-To, Productivity

Like most freelancers, my time is important. I have to spend it wisely if I want to earn a profit.

Most days I face a challenging to-do list with more tasks on it than I could possibly accomplish. That’s why I make it my mission to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The alternative, working extra hours or missing a deadline, is just not acceptable.

Of course, a mountain of self-help books, blogs, videos, and other materials already exists to help us learn to manage our time more effectively. The trouble is, like most freelancers, I just don’t have enough time to go through all those resources.

In this post, I pulled together some of the quickest and easiest time save hacks that you should be able to use right away. If you’re looking for even more time saving tips, you can find some more here.

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David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”: Is It Relevant to Freelancers?

Posted February 6, 2012 in Productivity

I first read “Getting Things Done” (GTD) by David Allen in 2007. Back then, I was working full-time in UNICEF, juggling my work responsibilities with a family.

Although I didn’t implement GTD completely, it did allow me to unclutter my entire work area (not just my desk). It allowed me to tame my overflowing email inbox. It allowed me to leave my files neatly organized for my successor.

GTD was written for corporate executives and office workers. Is it relevant and useful to freelancers as well?

If it’s any indication, I still find myself using some of the strategies I learned from GTD. When I’m in the middle of something and an idea or to-do pops into my head, I immediately write it down in my Moleskine notebook. I still file my reference materials the way I learned to do it from GTD. And when I’m overwhelmed, I sit down and ask myself, “What’s the next step?”

Because freelancers’ productivity has a direct correlation with their income, it’s essential for us to constantly find tools and systems that can help us get more quality work done, in less time, and with less stress. There’s plenty we can learn from “Getting Things Done” to help us achieve all that.

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8 Metrics Every Freelancer Should Measure at the End of the Year

Posted December 30, 2011 in Business, Productivity

It’s the end of the year, and you know what that means…end of year reporting! Now’s the time of the year to dig out the Excel sheets, budgets, expense reports and bank statements and start reconciling. A pain, yes…but incredibly valuable.

Freelancers and independent workers often skip this critical exercise. Moving from the end of one year to the next is approached with a somewhat oozing type of existence, only slightly punctuated by a couple weeks of either reduced or insane workloads (industry dependent, for sure).

One of the best things you can do for your business – whether you’re a solo shop or a multi-national concern, is to stop at the end of the year and take a look at how things went. For freelancers and independents, you should be looking at the following metrics:
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5 Easy Tips to Increase Your Bottom Line

Posted December 21, 2011 in How-To, Productivity

Do you want a bigger bottom line?

As a freelancer business owner, you probably DO want bigger bottom line–you just may not know how to get one. In case you don’t know, in a nutshell your bottom line is the money left over after you meet your expenses. (Who wouldn’t want more of that?)

In this post I share five easy tips to help you increase your freelancing bottom line. Feel free to share your own tips for improving the freelancing bottom line in the comments.

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Why the Shortest Route Isn’t Always the Best One

Posted November 11, 2011 in Productivity

A few weeks ago, I had an appointment in another city. I plugged in my GPS, set it to find the shortest route to my destination, and I was ready to go.

Or so I thought.

Unfortunately, taking the “shortest” route used an extra hour. I wound up being late for my destination. My shortcut wound up being the worst way to go.

I hear about freelancers taking shortcuts all of the time. At first glance, what freelancer wouldn’t want to take a shortcut? Taking a shortcut might seem like a good idea, but unfortunately, many of those shortcuts wind up costing the freelancer.

In this post, I’ll explain what went wrong with my shortcut. I’ll also explain why freelancing shortcuts may not always work.

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10 Brand New Productivity Tools You Probably Missed

Posted November 10, 2011 in Productivity, Tools/Resources

Freelancers may have more of a need than other business owners to access data on the go, and from more than one platform. Productivity tools in the cloud offer a great way to address the issue of unknown source accessibility, especially when they are designed to sync between various devices, such as PC, tablets and smartphones.

Because there are already several articles at Freelance Folder featuring established productivity tools and software, today I’ll introduce ten new productivity tools that were launched in 2011. Some are cool, some are trendy, some are fun, but all of them can be of great help in the right hands.

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Should Freelancers Outsource?

Posted November 8, 2011 in Lifestyle, Productivity

Freelancers are used to being the outsourcees, but should freelancers themselves also outsource?

My answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Nobody can possibly do everything well. No matter how talented or hard-working you are, some skills are simply out of your reach. A person who knows what they’re doing would do a  much better job and in a shorter time. You already outsource plenty of things–hair cuts, dental care, car maintenance… Why not the  tasks necessary to manage your freelance business?

Self-employed individuals who try to cut down costs by doing everything themselves may actually be spending more. You have to spend time learning to do something well.

And then it takes you longer to get it done than if you hired someone else. Plus, you may make mistakes that could cost you big dollars.

That’s precious time and effort you’re better off spending by marketing your services and making the clients you have happy.

In this post, I’m going to talk about the top three excuses freelancers have for not outsourcing–and explain how to overcome them.

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