Being a freelancer is a great job. You’re your own boss, you get to choose your own hours, and you get to work on things you enjoy (sometimes from your bed in your pyjamas). It’s a dream come true for many people, but how do you effectively juggle more than one client at a time without sacrificing productivity or quality?
In this guide, we divulge some helpful tips for freelancers who find themselves juggling multiple clients at the same time.
1. Schedule Communication & Collaboration Time
You may give your clients several ways to get in touch with you, but that doesn’t mean you must jump to answer their calls, emails, or text messages right away. Your time is valuable too, and if you’re spending it on the phone, you’re not getting any real work done.
Consider investing in an answering service or better yet, a virtual office to help deal with client communications. Many of the best virtual office providers include email and phone answering services that help you prioritize your tasks. Set aside time to answer these communications when it’s convenient for you, and let your clients know when you’ll be in touch. That way, they’ll feel valued, even if you’re not jumping to answer their every call and email.
2. Organize Everything
Handwritten to-do lists may work for your personal life, but when dealing with multiple clients, it can get chaotic quickly if you don’t have a better way of organizing and prioritizing your projects. The Internet is full of project management apps you can use to track, organize, and prioritize your projects. Dedicate some time to finding a tool that suits you, and then get organized!
3. Try Schedule Blocking
Blocking your schedule lets you focus on one specific task at a time. For example, you may choose one day a week to conduct administrative tasks such as returning phone calls, touching base with clients, and delegating tasks.
When scheduling these blocks of time, be sure to schedule about 30 minutes between big tasks to give yourself a break. It’s important to take time for yourself so you can focus better when you return to work.
4. Create a Realistic Schedule
It’s tempting to offer tight turnarounds on projects, but it’s important to be realistic. Some tasks take longer than others, while unexpected snags can slow down progress. Of course, you want to get as much done in the shortest length of time possible to maximize your profits, but underestimating the amount of time it takes to complete a task can have you missing deadlines and working like a maniac to catch up.
Resist the urge to give clients unrealistic timelines for the completion of their projects, and instead, give them a fair deadline that allows you the opportunity to finish early if everything goes smoothly.
5. Do One Thing at a Time
Multi-tasking can certainly help you get multiple things done at the same time, but it usually also impacts the quality of your work. Yes, you may be able to write a blog post, work on an infographic, and watch Netflix at the same time, but will any of these activities receive the attention they deserve?
Avoid the temptation to multi-task, as each client deserves your 100 per cent. Work on and finish one task before moving on to the next to ensure the quality of your work never falters.
Juggling multiple clients can be a challenge, but if you follow the guide above, you’ll be able to do it without sacrificing your productivity or the quality of your work.
