Have you ever spent an hour in your email program and still had a full inbox? Have you ever sat in a meeting and left without knowing exactly what was accomplished?

I think most of us can answer in the affirmative. Much of our time is often spent in ways that can be charitably categorized as “unproductive”.

However, one simple change can turn unproductive time into very productive time: put all your focus on actions.

The problem is that we read stuff, and we talk to people, but then no actions come out as a result of that. By ruthlessly focusing on actions, you can do more without wasting time.

Here’s how. (Note: credit is due to David Allen’s Getting Things Done for inspiration for the following.) Continue Reading

As a freelance journalist, I’ve come to realize that while articles are my final product, my main business is selling ideas. Most publications have staff writers to cover obvious day-to-day happenings, what makes a quality freelancer whether you show up with good ideas.

The problem is that far too often I’m stuck with no ideas at all. No ideas means no money. Hence, I’m always interesting in new brainstorming techniques.

Recently a post on Litemind by Luciano Passuello really caught my eye. The gist of is to solve a problem by sitting down and writing out a list of 100 solution ideas. In one sitting! The purpose is to combine stream-of-consciousness writing with a list – I guess you could call it “ordered stream-of-consciousness.”

It sounds insane, but hey, I like insane. So with a freshly brewed pot of coffee at my side, I sat down to give it a try and began pounding out “100 Article Ideas for FreelanceSwitch.” Continue Reading

If you’re a freelancer, chances are you need to track your time in order to bill your clients. And that can be a major hassle.

You might also be a mobile freelancer, like me, who uses multiple computers and wants to be able to work from anywhere. In that case, a web-based time tracker might be the way to go. You want something easy to use, cheap, with a nice interface. Preferably even fun to use.

Whatever your needs, here are 6 of the coolest tools for tracking your time. Most of them aren’t free, but then the best tools often aren’t.

1. Toggl. Nice interface, simple to use, and there’s both a web version and now a downloadable version (Windows only). And it’s free. Nuff said.

2. Tick. Very slick interface. A simple web-based interface, easy to use (after configuration), and fast. Pretty much all you’re looking for.

3. Harvest. One of the nicest interfaces around, Harvest is definitely a professional package. It works well for teams, it has project estimates, some great reports, and as a web app it’s available from anywhere. Like most of these apps, it has a pricing plan from free to premium.

4. Cashboard. The interface isn’t as slick as the first three on this list, but it does have some very useful and detailed features that go beyond tracking time, including producing and tracking invoices, keeping track of accounts and clients, producing estimates, and more.

5. FreshBooks. A slightly older-looking interface, when compared to the first few items on this list, but it’s a basic product that definitely gets the job done. If integrates with invoicing software which is useful when you’re billing by the hour.

6. yaTimer. The only app on this list that’s not available for the web, yaTimer is a downloadable desktop app. It’s also probably the simplest of the apps on this list, doing simple time tracking and not much else. For those with basic needs, it’s perfect.

By Leo Babauta

There are the super-organized among us — those who schedule every minute and stick to the plan to the letter — and then there’s the rest of us. We schedule a lot of plans, but our days don’t usually resemble the plan very much.

That’s because things change, of course, and we have to be able to go with the flow. Time management, especially for the more fluid work arrangements of many freelancers, doesn’t have to be a rigid or time-consuming process.

For those who are overwhelmed by a schedule, and would like to take a more open approach, I suggest minimalist time management. Instead of allowing your life to be ruled by your calendar, let your life be ruled by the moment.

Here’s how:

1. Don’t schedule appointments. This will be a radical departure for many people, but it’s not a new idea and it’s worked for others. If someone requests an appointment, tell them that you don’t schedule appointments. Instead, ask them to call you a little before they’d like to meet to see if you can make it. If you’re free, take the meeting. I suggest keeping your meetings to a bare minimum if you want to get a lot of work done.

Now, there will be some things you’ll want to note on a calendar (I use Google Calendar, accessible from anywhere). These are events that you’d like to have on your calendar, but you don’t necessarily have to go to them. The calendar, then, serves as a way for you to see what your options are, but not as a tool to rule your life. I suggest not keeping too much on the calendar, though.

2. Know what you want to accomplish today. Have a short list of three things you’d really like to accomplish today. Your three most important things. You can have a short list of other small tasks you’d like to do in a batch (save them for later in the day), but the focus of your day should be the list of three important things. Let this list, and not your schedule, be the ruler of your day.
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By Leo Babauta

With the rush of daily tasks thrown at us, freelancers have a hard time focusing on any one task.

And yet, focusing fully on a task, and getting immersed into it, is the key to really being productive and doing the task exceedingly well. This is known in many circles as the state of Flow, where you are lost in a task, and aren’t aware of anything else.

But while Flow is seen as a highly desirable state, in the business world as well as sports, art, martial arts and more, what’s less easy is describing how to get into that state.

It’s not that difficult, but it requires six specific things. Here, then, is a guide to getting into flow, for freelancers.

1. Clearly Defined Outcome. If you don’t really know what you’re shooting for, you won’t be able to achieve Flow. You should have a clearly visualized outcome, a target you are shooting for. This will keep you focused in one direction, and striving to get there. In trying to achieve Flow, start with this point. If you don’t know exactly what you’re trying to achieve, take a couple of minutes to visualize your outcome, clarify it, define it exactly.

2. Intrinsically Rewarding Task. If you hate a task, you will have a hard time achieving Flow, because your mind will try to think about things that are more pleasant. So it helps to start with something you love doing. But even if you don’t, try to find something rewarding about the task. Try to see something enjoyable about it. You can find that in almost any task (except the extremely painful ones). If you can focus on the enjoyable aspects of a task, your mind is more likely to want to remain on the task.
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By Mathias Meyer

As a freelancer you usually find yourself working on several projects at once. Whether you’re working on different projects, handling different clients on the phone, or working on some small fixes on the side, having more than one commitment is what most freelancers consider normal. I usually work on at least two different projects at any one time, commitments in my free time, such as work for friends or the aforementioned side projects, not included. Don’t even get me started on writing, accounting, handling client emails or phone calls.

Am I complaining about it? No, it’s my choice. I could work on just one projects at any one time, but what fun would that be? The important thing is to know how to handle your commitments. About a year ago when I started working as a freelancer, I usually only worked for one client full time. That meant sitting on site for eight to ten hours a day so there wasn’t much room for anything else anyway.

But over the last few months the situation has changed. I’ve found myself committing to several projects, writing more and doing more smaller things on the side. So I’ve had to come up with some strategies to deal with my commitments efficiently and avoid me burning out.
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By Leo Babauta.

Working without a boss, freelance workers need to find ways to motivate themselves, keep themselves organized and productive, and actually get things done on their own.

It’s a challenge faced by any freelance worker. Enter Getting Things Done, freelancer style.

David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) is one of the most popular productivity systems, especially among those on the Internet, freelancers among them. In fact, many of the early adopters of GTD were freelancers, as they knew that the power and flexibility of GTD is exactly what they were looking for.

However, GTD’s flexibility can also be a difficulty for many people, so today we’ll look at ways that GTD can be applied specifically to freelancers. Continue Reading

By John Brougher

We’re pretty awesome people.

And though working at home can be tough sometimes, with the distractions of family, TV, and the Internet pulling us away from our work, it’s definitely worth it. There’s one distraction in particular that I’ll focus on that takes away so much productivity, yet does so in an incredibly stealthy way. It’s something I call “queuing,” and I’m sure you’ve seen it before.
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By Robert Janelle

Mark Twain once said that if you woke up every morning and ate a live frog, it’d probably be the worst thing you’d do all day.

Consultant Brian Tracy used this quote to thread his anti-procrastination guide Eat That Frog, which I read through while procrastinating on a big feature article.

While Tracy’s book is more aimed at corporate workers (and I’ll never understand how reading the newspaper became one of the deadliest sins according to almost all productivity guides) procrastination certainly affects freelancers, hence I will share some of the lessons I learned.

Plan in Advance
Tracy writes that one of the biggest reasons for procrastinating is not being certain as to what you’re supposed to be doing. Throughout the book, he hammers home the value of advance planning.

I put this into practice quickly the night before I REALLY needed to start getting interviews scheduled by making a list of the people I needed to call and also made sure their phone numbers were on the list, which eliminated any excuse for not waking up and making calls immediately.

However, Tracy goes far more in-depth, writing that advance planning doesn’t just apply to starting a project, but other necessary tasks and even long-term goal setting.
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One of the biggest challenges for freelancers is managing our time — if we don’t do it well, we won’t survive as freelancers.

Time management is about developing good work habits, and using time management tools that work without getting in the way.

As freelancers, we also want tools that can be used and accessed from anywhere — multiple locations, while traveling, and on the go with our mobile devices if necessary. So today we’ll look at a few online tools that are simple, easy to use, and effective — helping you manage your time and tasks without too much hassle.

This list actually contains alternatives for each type of time-management tool, so you have options to check out.
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By Leo Babauta. This article has been translated into Spanish by Juan Manuel Lemus from DotPress.

Freelancers are excellent at producing great work if an assignment takes less than a day to complete. But many freelancers (not all) are also notoriously bad at completing projects that take several days or more to complete.

We’re not always great at project management — and part of the problem might be that we don’t have a boss breathing down our necks, pressuring us at every turn and holding us accountable.

Another problem, of course, is that big projects are overwhelming and intimidating, and it’s easier to do a quick one-off job than to plod along at a project that could take a couple of weeks. Yet a third problem: we don’t always have a clear picture of how the project should look when it’s finished — a clearly defined desired outcome.

We’re going to address those problems in this guide to simple project management by modifying some project concepts from David Allen’s Getting Things Done — modified for freelancers. Actually, this method would work for regular employees too, but it’s especially designed for freelancers.
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All freelance workers (heck, all workers in general) know about the Dreaded Project: that item that sits on your to-do list, deadline looming or even long gone, too intimidating to tackle. We’ll do anything but that Dreaded Project, even though we know it’s the most important thing we should do.

Fear no more. We’re going to conquer that Dreaded Project and turn it into a tame little puppy dog in just 8 steps.

Then you can get it off your to-do list and breathe a sigh of relief. It’ll be a huge burden off your chest, and you can safely go back to diddling around online until the next Dreaded Project arrives. But that’s OK — you can apply these same steps to that one too.

1. What’s bothering you? Take just 5 minutes to think about this Dreaded Project. What’s bothering you about it? Why don’t you want to do it? Often our reasons for putting it off go unsaid, and we avoid thinking about it. We know it’s there, but it’s too dreadful even to consider. Well, take those 5 minutes and consider it. Often it’s not as bad as we first imagined. And if we know what the problem is, we can address it. Spell out your obstacles, and plan a way around them.
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