One of the hardest things for freelancers to really get a grip on is getting focused. It happens from time to time, sometimes for many hours, but the nature of the job can sometimes go against that.
Freelancing isn’t about set schedules, and it is often very flexible. That flexibility is a great advantage to the job, but you’ll need to take control of its negativities: procrastination. This can cause serious burnout if it’s not handled soon enough.
Being focused and organized are very important things for freelancers to learn to master. So today we’ll look at some fantastic ways for freelancers to achieve that.
Focus on only one major task for the day
Staying focused on only one thing for the day may sound counter-intuitive, but it actually helps you to work on one thing at a time. Multitasking is by and large a myth, as in most people are not able to do it well.
What happens is that most freelancers spend a lot of energy doing a lot of different things, and they never spend enough energy doing one particular thing well.
Try to focus on one important task for today and work on finishing that, and only that.
Jot down and prioritize your goals
Writing down your goals can be a great boost to actually getting them done. Keeping them in mind makes them sort of ephemeral, and they don’t seem to exist in reality. That’s why you can always push them further back or away, mostly because they’re not real yet.
Write them down. Then, after that, sort them out. Put the most important at the top (not necessarily the most urgent) and stick to it.
Track and measure your goals
Writing them down is only the first step: next you have to constantly come back to them to see how well you’re managing them. This doesn’t mean everyday—it could be once a month or perhaps every 6 weeks.
Either way, this helps you to find out whether you are on the right track. If your goal is to cut down your expenses by $1000 within 2 months, you should check in after the first month. Are you close to $500? Why or why not? What can you do to improve that? Is it quite impossible and you’ll have to adjust your goals, or can you change something about your behavior to fix it?
When you track and measure your goals, you’ll be able to answer those questions and make sure you achieve those goals.
Put everyday tasks into groups
One great way to take care of your other tasks and remain focused on your larger goals is to put those tasks into groups. This means that, if you need to fix your website, or update your contact information, or work on your social media marketing, do them all at once.
It is much harder to skip from one vertical grouping to the other (for example, from working on your Facebook profile, to fixing bugs on your site, to sending out follow-up emails). It takes time to adjust to the mindset needed for each grouping.
That’s why it’s best to get as much of one grouping out of the way as you can. Don’t just fix your Facebook—go through the other social media platforms you’ve been meaning to do. Don’t just write one blog post, write 2 or 3 related ones. This will not just help you stay focused on each one, but doing them together puts you into a nice groove and help you be more efficient.
These are only some of the best ways that you can stay focused. Freelancing can be great, but its loose nature can be a disadvantage to many who don’t yet know how to get a grip on their workflow. These tips will surely help you take control of your focus and excel your business.
