Efficiency is a necessary component of successful full-time freelancing. After the craigslist fiasco, I took a very, very long break from bidding for work and even working at all. In fact, all of the work that I’ve had the last few months has been from repeat clients. I am very happy with where I am today. I made progress because I was efficient. As I end my summer vacation and get back into the swing of working full days, I’d like to make some notes as to how you can be an efficient freelancer as well.
Eliminate waste. Waste can come in the form of unproductive time (such as chatting when you should be working), subscriptions to job sites that aren’t landing you any work, and other things that can slow down your day and lessen productivity. Most freelancers are contractors – not hourly workers. Its important to keep in mind that unlike at a traditional job, when you aren’t working you aren’t earning. It helps to create a schedule for yourself and set aside a certain amount of time for working, marketing, networking, business maintenance, and so forth.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you’ve landed a huge project and you feel like you can’t do it alone, there should be nothing stopping your from outsourcing. After all, someone had to outsource us so shouldn’t we do the economy some good and give another hardworking freelancer some much-needed work? It’s the right thing to do.
Don’t wait until the last minute. Its a habit for some of us to procrastinate. We may have a project that isn’t due for another week so we say we’ll get around to it. Its a good habit to get whatever work you have done while you have it. The quicker you get it done, the quicker you get paid and the better you look to your clients. Clients love a freelancer who cares enough about their work to get a head-start on it.
Of course, there are other ways to be an efficient freelancer. These are just some of the most basic things that you can do. An efficient freelancer is a successful freelancer and successful freelancers get better work.