Comments on: Time management tips for freelancers

By: web design agency

web design agency — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:28:13 +0000

Get a whiteboard for the to-do list. That way when you are starring at your computer unmotivated. It will scream out at you…”look how much stuff you have to design”. It works great for me. Also works great the other way where you feel like you are progressing by tasks getting completed and crossed out.

By: Will

Will — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 19:17:48 +0000

@ Jonathan

Thanks for the clarification! Keep up the good work.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 20:26:02 +0000

@Will

The ‘assets’ folder is for project assets supplied by the client, such as photographs, text copy, logos, etc. The ‘accounts’ folder is for quotes I have prepared for the client for that specific job, and copies of any invoices I have sent them. The ‘development’ folder is for the project itself (ie: the website). Obviously each of these three main folders has sub-folders to keep content organized.

As far as backing up projects to disc, I do this when a project is completed. Oftentimes if the project is a website, I leave it on my hard drive, since the project has an indefinite lifespan, and I will periodically do a new backup to disc. The backups are for peace of mind rather than for freeing up disc space. I also use iDrive for online backup of active projects (just the critical files/folders are backed up in this way).

The job folders in my filing cabinet are only for files that are non-digital. For example, my client might have given me some text copy as a print out. Or if I was working on an illustration project I might have done some drawings for scanning. Many projects have no non-digital assets, so they have no job folder.

I hope that helps to clarify!

By: Will

Will — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:24:23 +0000

@Jonathan: I like your idea of using a digital file system for client projects and it seems like something I’d like to try. But, I had some questions about it. For one, do you keep those digital project files on your computer’s desktop and if so how long do you keep those digital files on there before archiving them (ie. burning them to disc or printing them out)? I’d also Iike to know if you could please breakdown the way you use each of your subfile categories ( ‘assets’, ‘accounts’, and ‘development’). And finally, I wanted to know if you keep all of a client’s projects and information in those digital files then make printed copies of it all along with burned copies of the project and put it in a file cabinet or do you specifically leave some things on the computer while printing other things solely for filing in a file cabinet (ie. “digitally” file a Photoshop project file, leaving it on the computer but print an client email correspondence and file it then delete the original email)? Thank you in advance for your time.

By: Jordana

Jordana — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:54:10 +0000

We are also web-developers and we use Intervals. It has proved to make our time tracking much easier and accurate. What’s great about it is that Intervals is not limited to track time, but it also has great project and task management features which allows us to congregate all of our admin. duties into one application.
Inside Intervals we organize and track projects, tasks and time, we share documents between the team and the clients without the need for attachments.
Then, we end up with digital (paperless) time-sheets, budgets plus invoicing and reports which are also done directly from Intervals and go to the clients via email.
What’s not to love!?
http://www.myintervals.com

By: Renato Carvalho

Renato Carvalho — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 22:22:58 +0000

Hey! Very helpful tips.
I pratice some of your tips. But you suggested another very nice tips.
I love the Slim Timer for Time Tracking.

Thanks!

By: Josh

Josh — Sun, 06 May 2007 13:41:46 +0000

I found this website yesterday and have been very impressed. I love the style and your articles are great. So I just wanted to say thank you.

I totally agree with this article as I to am freelance and work from my home office. I recently found a great simple to-do list widget for my mac and wanted to share it with people. It’s simple to use and works off of ical and can break your to-dos down into the personal or business category and you can rank them in order of importance.

http://www.bluehenley.com/products/dobedo/index.php?v=250&ref=widget

Thank you and keep up the great work!!

Josh Hughes

By: Jermayn Parker

Jermayn Parker — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 08:40:01 +0000

btw just for the record, you can find my povs on your questions here on my blog titled "Different ways of Charging Clients"

By: lewis litanzios

lewis litanzios — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 18:14:53 +0000

cheers for the input guys.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 14:33:42 +0000

@lewis litanzios: If you haven’t worked with the client before, or they are located in a different city (or country), or the project will take a long time to complete, you might consider asking for a percentage of the fee up front. It is common to ask for 25% of your fee before commencing the project. An up front payment is a sign of good faith by the client, and gives you peace of mind that they are a reliable payer.