Time Management for Freelancers
October 16, 2022 8:28 AM Subscribe
[ADHD Filter] I started working as a freelance editor earlier this year, and I've been pretty successful so far. However, I'm still working out the angles when it comes to work/life balance (see snowflakes below the fold). Freelancers of Metafilter: regardless of your industry, what practical steps do you take to manage your freelance workload so that you maintain a steady stream of work and income, but aren't consistently overwhelmed?
More background on my situation:
There were several months where, because of how much work I had on my plate, I almost never took a day off. This caused work/life balance issues that had an adverse impact on my personal life.
For that reason, I spent the last six weeks pruning my client list. By the time I pared my clientele to a more manageable size (approximately eight total clients), my two biggest clients - who always have steady work for me - suddenly had less work for me to do.
I can't help but laugh at the absurdity!
The other big issue here is ADHD: despite the executive function hurdles I experience from ADHD, I've been great at establishing a routine, getting up and starting my work for the day, and staying focused and on task. That's because I love the work I do and find it very stimulating.
Sounds like I have it under control, right - so then what's the issue?
The issue is that my ADHD also makes me:
1) A perfectionist who fears (thanks to a lifetime history of ADHD-related mistake-making and blame-taking) that if I make a single mistake I'll be "found out" as some kind of imposter or incompetent fool.
2) Hyperfocus on details (this is also part of the perfectionism) in a way that slows me down. Editing is detail-heavy work, so this is fine, but I can really get wrapped up in something and put in too many hours relative to the pay I'm receiving. Some of the work I do is paid by the hour, but other work is flat rate. For the flat rate work, when I look at the number of hours I invest versus what the flat rate pays, I often find that it levels out to ~$5-to-$10-less-per-hour than what I anticipated when I gave the quote. Of course, whenever I have given the most accurate quotes that account for potential delays and acknowledge the level of work I'm doing, it turns off prospective clients. I realize it's normal and OK for that to happen because it weeds out people who can't afford - or worse, do not value - the quality of work I provide. My rates are industry standard and comparable to what other editors who share my background, experience, and high-quality client reviews will charge. I am always honest about my rates and how I determine them, but sometimes I agree to less pay because in the moment, I decide that it's more important to me to secure the client/account. As I've become more successful, these compromises have become a little less necessary, but my freelance business is still in the early stages of its development. I say "no" to plenty of people but for regular clients or a prospective client I really, really want to work with, I can see how I'm selling myself short and I want it to stop.
3) Anxious about disappointing clients and ruining my freelance reputation. With some clients who have lots of small projects for me (short magazine articles or blog posts), I love turning them around the same day whenever possible. It dazzles my clients but if also sets an unrealistic expectation. Even if they aren't upset if I need an extra day or two to get to something, I feel like I'm disappointing them because I've been giving them too much of myself and they're now taking it for granted. I LOVE dazzling my clients, and I love how between the speed at which I work, and the quality of editing I provide, doing this yields me great reviews. I am very worried that if I modify my turnaround time to something more reasonable, and/or modify the quality of my work by forcing myself to be less of a perfectionist so I'm not working so slow, I'll have better work/life balance but I'll lose my status as a Top Rated freelancer on the freelance site I use. Like, I imagine that there's a happy medium somewhere?
TL/DR Here are my questions:
- How to establish clear, firm, reasonable boundaries with clients, upfront, about project timelines and pay rates, while remaining sensitive and open to client expectations and needs.
- How to get better at accurately estimating a quote for a project, and explaining it to prospective clients. (And how to accept that some clients just aren't going to pay what your work is worth.)
- How to negotiate better pay from established clients (I have a negotiation background and I'm not timid whatsoever, yet the thought of doing this with my established clients terrifies me) and how to deal with the disappointment if a client drops me over a rate increase. (Note that I work from home, so I already know that any pay negotiations are best done over a video call.)
- How to organize my projects across my day, and week, so that I'm staying on top of each client's project but don't feel like I'm slammed. To be clear, I'm not asking about project management tools (right now I'm happily using Asana to manage my projects and schedule). What I am asking is "What is the best strategy to break down my bigger, long-term projects [like line-editing a full-length book manuscript, for example] into manageable, daily tasks that will ensure I always meet or exceed my deadlines?" For example, if I have 10 business days to complete a 50,000 word manuscript, I could create a daily editing goal of 5,000 words, but the amount of time this will take me is different depending on how deep I have to get with the editing. When you combine this with the other projects I'd be doing each day, that feels like my work hours could still easily spiral out of control.
- Is it possible to be a freelancer and reach a point where you can take vacations (especially since they're never going to be paid vacations, which means doing extra work either before or after the trip, effectively undoing the benefits of the vacation)? Is it possible to eventually get to a point where you're able to work a 4-day work week? Or is freelancing just always going to be kind of crazy?
- Will freelancing gigs get better with time? I mean, right now it's better than it was when I started eight months ago - I now have better paying clients, with more professional demeanors, than the clients I started out with. (For context: I have over a decade of editing experience, I just didn't set out as a freelancer until earlier this year. It's the "selling myself as a freelancer" part where I lack experience.) Do I just need to be patient and, over time, I'll find more of these better-paying, long term projects?
More background on my situation:
There were several months where, because of how much work I had on my plate, I almost never took a day off. This caused work/life balance issues that had an adverse impact on my personal life.
For that reason, I spent the last six weeks pruning my client list. By the time I pared my clientele to a more manageable size (approximately eight total clients), my two biggest clients - who always have steady work for me - suddenly had less work for me to do.
I can't help but laugh at the absurdity!
The other big issue here is ADHD: despite the executive function hurdles I experience from ADHD, I've been great at establishing a routine, getting up and starting my work for the day, and staying focused and on task. That's because I love the work I do and find it very stimulating.
Sounds like I have it under control, right - so then what's the issue?
The issue is that my ADHD also makes me:
1) A perfectionist who fears (thanks to a lifetime history of ADHD-related mistake-making and blame-taking) that if I make a single mistake I'll be "found out" as some kind of imposter or incompetent fool.
2) Hyperfocus on details (this is also part of the perfectionism) in a way that slows me down. Editing is detail-heavy work, so this is fine, but I can really get wrapped up in something and put in too many hours relative to the pay I'm receiving. Some of the work I do is paid by the hour, but other work is flat rate. For the flat rate work, when I look at the number of hours I invest versus what the flat rate pays, I often find that it levels out to ~$5-to-$10-less-per-hour than what I anticipated when I gave the quote. Of course, whenever I have given the most accurate quotes that account for potential delays and acknowledge the level of work I'm doing, it turns off prospective clients. I realize it's normal and OK for that to happen because it weeds out people who can't afford - or worse, do not value - the quality of work I provide. My rates are industry standard and comparable to what other editors who share my background, experience, and high-quality client reviews will charge. I am always honest about my rates and how I determine them, but sometimes I agree to less pay because in the moment, I decide that it's more important to me to secure the client/account. As I've become more successful, these compromises have become a little less necessary, but my freelance business is still in the early stages of its development. I say "no" to plenty of people but for regular clients or a prospective client I really, really want to work with, I can see how I'm selling myself short and I want it to stop.
3) Anxious about disappointing clients and ruining my freelance reputation. With some clients who have lots of small projects for me (short magazine articles or blog posts), I love turning them around the same day whenever possible. It dazzles my clients but if also sets an unrealistic expectation. Even if they aren't upset if I need an extra day or two to get to something, I feel like I'm disappointing them because I've been giving them too much of myself and they're now taking it for granted. I LOVE dazzling my clients, and I love how between the speed at which I work, and the quality of editing I provide, doing this yields me great reviews. I am very worried that if I modify my turnaround time to something more reasonable, and/or modify the quality of my work by forcing myself to be less of a perfectionist so I'm not working so slow, I'll have better work/life balance but I'll lose my status as a Top Rated freelancer on the freelance site I use. Like, I imagine that there's a happy medium somewhere?
TL/DR Here are my questions:
- How to establish clear, firm, reasonable boundaries with clients, upfront, about project timelines and pay rates, while remaining sensitive and open to client expectations and needs.
- How to get better at accurately estimating a quote for a project, and explaining it to prospective clients. (And how to accept that some clients just aren't going to pay what your work is worth.)
- How to negotiate better pay from established clients (I have a negotiation background and I'm not timid whatsoever, yet the thought of doing this with my established clients terrifies me) and how to deal with the disappointment if a client drops me over a rate increase. (Note that I work from home, so I already know that any pay negotiations are best done over a video call.)
- How to organize my projects across my day, and week, so that I'm staying on top of each client's project but don't feel like I'm slammed. To be clear, I'm not asking about project management tools (right now I'm happily using Asana to manage my projects and schedule). What I am asking is "What is the best strategy to break down my bigger, long-term projects [like line-editing a full-length book manuscript, for example] into manageable, daily tasks that will ensure I always meet or exceed my deadlines?" For example, if I have 10 business days to complete a 50,000 word manuscript, I could create a daily editing goal of 5,000 words, but the amount of time this will take me is different depending on how deep I have to get with the editing. When you combine this with the other projects I'd be doing each day, that feels like my work hours could still easily spiral out of control.
- Is it possible to be a freelancer and reach a point where you can take vacations (especially since they're never going to be paid vacations, which means doing extra work either before or after the trip, effectively undoing the benefits of the vacation)? Is it possible to eventually get to a point where you're able to work a 4-day work week? Or is freelancing just always going to be kind of crazy?
- Will freelancing gigs get better with time? I mean, right now it's better than it was when I started eight months ago - I now have better paying clients, with more professional demeanors, than the clients I started out with. (For context: I have over a decade of editing experience, I just didn't set out as a freelancer until earlier this year. It's the "selling myself as a freelancer" part where I lack experience.) Do I just need to be patient and, over time, I'll find more of these better-paying, long term projects?
A deeper understanding of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and its connection to ADHD could help with all three of your numbered issues.
posted by heatherlogan at 11:32 AM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by heatherlogan at 11:32 AM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]
"How to organize my projects across my day, and week, so that I'm staying on top of each client's project but don't feel like I'm slammed."
I used to have that feeling all the time, just feeling completely slammed. I'm primarily a writer, but I've been an editor too, so I know how brain intensive that kind of work can be. Even though I'm working about as much now, it's gotten a lot better.
What changed for me is that I now have an office without internet. I'm usually there no more than six hours per day (nine-thirty to two-thirty is normal, which leaves time to answer emails in the morning and afternoons, if need be, as well as checking up on all the things I made a note to look up in various online resources).
While it hasn't upped my work productivity a great deal, one thing I've noticed is that I'm a lot less tired afterwards, which helps with everything else. I think it's because when I take breaks I'm not online, not checking MetaFilter or Twitter, not reading the news, and not text chatting with people. For me, being online uses up the same type of energy I use when working on text, so when I'm writing or editing, and taking breaks by going onto the internet, the effect is that I haven't taken a break at all.
I do usually have books and magazines at the office, as well as ebooks on my iPad, but I've found that my brain is less tired that way, which translates to feeling more on top of things. So, if it's at all possible, I'd recommend finding a way to divide your work in such a way that you have several hours blocked off for tasks you can do while off-line.
posted by Kattullus at 11:54 AM on October 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
I used to have that feeling all the time, just feeling completely slammed. I'm primarily a writer, but I've been an editor too, so I know how brain intensive that kind of work can be. Even though I'm working about as much now, it's gotten a lot better.
What changed for me is that I now have an office without internet. I'm usually there no more than six hours per day (nine-thirty to two-thirty is normal, which leaves time to answer emails in the morning and afternoons, if need be, as well as checking up on all the things I made a note to look up in various online resources).
While it hasn't upped my work productivity a great deal, one thing I've noticed is that I'm a lot less tired afterwards, which helps with everything else. I think it's because when I take breaks I'm not online, not checking MetaFilter or Twitter, not reading the news, and not text chatting with people. For me, being online uses up the same type of energy I use when working on text, so when I'm writing or editing, and taking breaks by going onto the internet, the effect is that I haven't taken a break at all.
I do usually have books and magazines at the office, as well as ebooks on my iPad, but I've found that my brain is less tired that way, which translates to feeling more on top of things. So, if it's at all possible, I'd recommend finding a way to divide your work in such a way that you have several hours blocked off for tasks you can do while off-line.
posted by Kattullus at 11:54 AM on October 16, 2022 [5 favorites]
I've been a freelance video editor for over five years, and I think one of the hardest part is just accepting that some months will be busy and others won't, and I won't ever totally have control of it. Over time I've grown more accustomed to the unpredictable nature of it, but I'm still working on accepting the down time when they come and learning to take advantage of it.
You can take vacations or work however many days you want! That's the beauty of freelance, but that means you have to say no to some work. I think with time, you'll find your balance.
posted by monologish at 7:21 PM on October 16, 2022
You can take vacations or work however many days you want! That's the beauty of freelance, but that means you have to say no to some work. I think with time, you'll find your balance.
posted by monologish at 7:21 PM on October 16, 2022
I was in your shoes back when I started working for myself full time. Things that helped me:
• Setting aside enough time each week to work on my business
• Vetting prospective clients to ensure they're a good fit and referring those who aren't to others in my network
• Charging by the project instead of hourly or per word
• Ensuring the scope of work is clearly spelled out (including number of revisions, access to me, etc.) in the client agreements I create and stating that any change to the scope would be subject to additional fees
• Networking every week
• Working with a business coach
• Hiring a virtual assistant to handle the things I hate, like invoicing and onboarding new clients
• Using the Pomodoro technique to break my work into manageable chunks of time
posted by smich at 11:36 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
• Setting aside enough time each week to work on my business
• Vetting prospective clients to ensure they're a good fit and referring those who aren't to others in my network
• Charging by the project instead of hourly or per word
• Ensuring the scope of work is clearly spelled out (including number of revisions, access to me, etc.) in the client agreements I create and stating that any change to the scope would be subject to additional fees
• Networking every week
• Working with a business coach
• Hiring a virtual assistant to handle the things I hate, like invoicing and onboarding new clients
• Using the Pomodoro technique to break my work into manageable chunks of time
posted by smich at 11:36 AM on October 17, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Getting better at sizing work and estimating is a thing you'll do through practice. Explaining it is something you'll get better with practice - but you can also do test runs with friends if they're willing. May sound silly, but doing role play with a friend as a client might help. Note, however, every client is different - I've had the experience of being prepped for a call and then being derailed when the client just didn't even come close to my imagined script.
Do you have a chance to skim the materials before you create an estimate for editing? 50,000 words is not a standard measurement – editing 50K words by one author on a specific topic may be a breeze, while 50K words by another might be a total slog. I tend to do work estimates like Scotty on Star Trek - I always pad the estimate.
For longer-term projects, have check-ins of some form. It's OK to communicate that a project is taking longer than expected because _______, usually. What's not OK is for that to be a surprise to the paying party. You can ask if it's OK to take longer. Sometimes they'll say no, but don't let your work hours spiral for something that the client doesn't mind being a week later.
The factors that determine your schedule are really up to you. How much money do you want / need to make? Can you earn that much money in, say, 32-40 hours per week, 48 weeks per year?
You don't mention the type of editing/writing you're doing, but you mention professional clients - so I'm guessing technical or commercial and not editing fiction or that kind of thing. The more work you do, the more likely you are to attract the attention of "big fish" corporate clients who will pay stupidly well but with a lot of hassles. Usually this comes with having to get yourself accepted as a vendor with their systems – but once you're in with a few companies like this, you'll be able to get your pick of assignments. The hassles of onboarding agencies / vendors is painful. If you're moderately good, you'll get a ton of repeat business.
Note: I was a freelancer, off and on, for about 12 years. I've worked with freelancers, off and on, for the last 10. As a freelancer, I think I can say I was good, reliable, and fairly easy to work with. It came with a lot of repeat business. As a consumer of freelance/agency work I can only think of a few that even reach the threshold of being reliable and mediocre. Most produce content-like substances that only make sense if you take them one sentence at a time. If you're better than that, you should do fine.
posted by jzb at 9:10 AM on October 16, 2022 [2 favorites]