graphic design, freelancing, illustration, advertising, web design

[…] Tara expands on her time management and freelancing. […]

Is “quit for the day” one of those new-fangled Japanese concepts? I’m not familiar with it…

I generally start work at 9:30 (once I get back from dropping the kids off at school), then I typically work until 2 or 3am the next morning. I guess I probably take about three hours worth of breaks (smoking, coffee, picking kids up, putting kids to bed etc) during the day.

So… Do I have waaaay more work than you, or is it just that I undercharge and so need to work more hours?

You are working way too hard Paul. You are probably just richer than me

“One of the bad things about working from home is you never quite escape from your work.” That’s what I would be afraid of if I were to start freelancing. That and the thoughts that “Maybe I should be working instead of ____” even if it’s Saturday night. I think if I did freelance full time I would need an area separate from the whole house, like a guest cottage or even a studio close by. I would be too tempted to go to work in my PJ’s and that just gets me into a lazy mood!

I definitely agree with you about writing down a schedule. It’s always been like that for me, even with things unrelated to work. It does help to break it up into small bits that are easier to accomplish.

Hi Lauren,

Now a guest cottage an office, that sound nice - one day maybe

Nice post Tara, thanks for sharing your freelancing experience. I am curious whether anyone here prefers NOT to work freelance, and what their arguments are for it?

I am a student of Communication and Multimedia Design in The Netherlands, and am about to go on my first internship. However I am not yet sure where I see myself in the future, whether working at a design firm or working freelance..

I am currently working full time as a graphic designer for a non-profit. I think there is more job security when working in house and perhaps it’s not as much work because you don’t have to market yourself and you don’t have to manage your time and figure out ways to be the most productive. However, freelancing allows you many freedoms you don’t get working in house or at an agency: set your own schedule, take as much/little work as you please, do the kinds of work you like most, and I know there is a higher earning potential. I suppose it’s all up to the individual. I think I will one day freelance full time, but for now, I am happy working in house.

That was an interesting read, Tara. Glad to see that some freelancers are so organized.

With a little kid at home I find it a bit hard to freelance full time - too many interruptions and there’s no solid stable income. Mainly because I still need to build my clientèle, which requires lots of time and effort. So I’ve decided to freelance part time and work a day job full time. Once I see that my client list is growing as well as my daughter, whom I’ll be able to place to a pre-school soon, then I might switch to full time freelancing. I do like to be my own boss.

Hi Joel,
It took me 12 years to be brave enough to go freelance. Personally I think it is good to get some solid experience in an agency before going freelance, that said I wish I had done it much sooner.

Hi Lauren,
You are probably taking a similar route to me, learning the ropes and how a company is run is useful for when/if you decide to go freelance. You mentioned having to market yourself and that is something I have been really lax about lately. I need to start marketing myself more, starting with rebuilding my website.

Hi Vivien
I can imagine it would be difficult trying to work from home with a small child. I worry when I have a bad month, fortunately its usually followed by a good one, and my boyfriend always tells me not to worry about it. He won’t be saying that when he’s paying all the bills

In case anyone has noticed, I had to turn off the ajax comments plugin, sorry but it seems to clash with something in this theme. If anyone knows of another one please could you let me know. Thanks

Nice to see you tara being so organised. I am a full time freelancer, the most unorganised freelancers among all. I sleep around 5am wake up at 1pm, party on fridays, saturdays and sundays.
Uh! I got everything in my bedroom, but i never hit the bed while I am working.. But I make sure I am on comp for around 8-11 hrs. May be i should learn from you..

[…] Design Blog has an interesting article about Freelancing and Time Management, where Tara discusses her journey which most freelancers will relate […]

Enjoyed this read and agree with you about not over working and having a life and keeping your office away from your personal life if you work from home..

Thanks

Lovely read, unfortunately, i do not as at yet have a working room, so I usually tend to work till very late. I really must think about putting a room aside for work…
I guess having a laptop u can carry around doesn’t help either

That was a very inspiring read Tara.

I am in a situation where I’m not sure what I want to do anymore. I have been working in the industry for 3 years. Working in advertising is driving me crazy. About 3 months ago I decided that’s it…… I’ve had enough and I want to go out on my own. I have been busy building up my business and trying to get organised before I make the big, bold move of resigning.

Within the last week however, I have been having second thoughts. What if this is the wrong time to do it? I am confident in my work but seriously I only have THREE years experience. I’ve been thinking maybe I should get another job and then in a few years down the track start up. Having said this I am still living at home and have a room dedicated to my office. Who knows what my financial situation will be in a few years. You said it took you 12 years but you wish you had done it sooner. Would you have done it after 3 years if you could turn backk time?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Romie

I think it all depends how confident you are - how comfortable you are dealing with people (clients) and how technically able you are.

When I had been working for three years I would not have been confident technically. My first two years working I did not use computers that extensively and so would have not have been confident of sending work out to printers knowing it was set up correctly. That said after 5-6 years experience I should have gone freelance, I had the grounding I needed, but hadn’t got the confidence to do it.

The problem is the longer you stay employed the more you earn and the harder it is to break away from a good wage.

I think what you need to remember, is say you do try it and it doesn’t work out, there is nothing to stop you getting another full time job and at least you know you have given it a go. You are also living at home so outgoings should not be too high.

You may find that your current employer is willing to give you freelance or part time work too, many of my previous employers did. Good luck

Feel free to email me, if I can help any more.

Thanks Tara

I am pretty confident in my work and I am capable of taking a design from start to finish. I am also a bit of a perfectionist in my work, which I think is a good thing, so I will not send out a job untill it is perfect. Sometimes I look at the senior designers working with me and think how is it that they are higher than me when I can do just as good a job, if not better.

I think the money situation is also scaring me off a bit. I’ve been researching what jobs are available and realised I could be getting alot more money than where I am now. But I think I will have to put this aside. My heart is in design and I like things being done my way and having a say in what I do. I know it won’t all be glamorous but it is just a risk I will have to take I guess. Like you said if worse comes to worse I can always get another job.

Is it hard staying on top of new things, such as technologies, when you are on your own? I’m worried if I go out on my own I’ll sort of be stuck with what I know and it will be harder to learn new things. I guess I can always do courses but in a way it’s different when your working in the field and have people around you to ask for help.

Thanks again for your advice.

I’m new to this site but I’ll be back.

Hi Romie,

Sound like you are already to go to me

I worry about staying on top of new technologies. I am predominently a designer of print, but don’t have a vast knowledge of the web. This said though, its not because I am freelance none of the jobs I have ever had have taught me anything about web, they always bought in specialist and never invested in training.

Since working for myself I have paid for a couple of one to one-to-one days training in web design and HTML. I have just worked my way through a downloadable course I bought for $30 online for CSS and HTML and have booked myself on an Open University online in CSS and HTML starting in November too.

I have a couple of designer friends from college I keep in touch with by msn and phone and we help each other out with problems. I have also met loads of great people blogging who are always incredibly helpful. Take a look at my list of useful forums which are always a great source or help.

Interesting article. It’s good to share stories with other freelancers about management skills.

Especially if you come from a creative background, the organisational side of freelancing does not come easily, yet is vitally important to being able to advance beyond a certain point in your career.

Good to hear that other freelancers have had the same problems as well - e.g. the tempation to put in very long days versus the danger of burning out.

I wish there was a resource to gather the collective freelancer knowledge on the subject.

[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara These are one of those timeless answers to eternal questions from freelancers on how to better manage their time. […]

[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara […]

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[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara […]

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[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara […]

[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara […]

[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara These are one of those timeless answers to eternal questions from freelancers on how to better manage their time. […]

[…] I am aware that a routine shall set you free, but I’m too creative for that, so I’d rather supercharge my job search by saving time. Do you know why? Because time makes me cuckoo without even knowing it, in my rush to acquire 11 time management tips - how I manage work and blog. These are really simple tips for managing time: it is either blog or work, so don’t blame me that I quit my job. And don’t blame me if I cuckoo too loud sometimes From the peace of my home, I can test all kind of strategies for effective time management, until I become the master of the un-techniques, who often gets dIstressed or dEstressed trying to cope with freelancing and time management. […]

Thanks for an interesting article, time management is one of the devils banes of freelancing I think. Lately I’ve gotten into a really bad habit (FaceBook) of wasting time online but with the autumn leaves back in the air it’s been back to work as usual.

[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara These are one of those timeless answers to eternal questions from freelancers on how to better manage their time. […]

[…] Freelancing And Time Management by Tara 简介： 看看一名自由撰稿人是怎么进行时间管理的吧！ […]

[…] Freelancing and Time Management […]

I quited the full time job six months age and work for myself, I start work at 8 AM, then work until 1 am the next morning.The sad thing is I still eran little. Now It’s tought time for me, hope I could get more in the coming days.

I use to freelance but gave it up due to the long hours (16+ a day, 7 days a week) ran myself into the ground. I now work at a web design company designing web sites. Much more enjoyable - structured living, interaction with other designers… freelancing gets a bad rep, there so much more to it than just been great at design!

One thing I have trouble with freelancing is distraction from the internet. I’m always checking this, that or the other - and it’s amazing how time flies and then I’m behind in my project. Time management is a MUST is freelancing.

Good post. You make some great points that most people do not fully understand.

“Usually I am pretty self motivated, If I have a reasonable amount of work I will try and be in my office by 9.00, earlier if I am really busy. If I am quieter I will start a little later. I will generally stop for about 20minutes for lunch. One of the great things about working from home is that if you are busy you at least haven’t got to worry about travelling times and can fit work around things if necessary.”

I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.

I’d be interested in how you keep yourself motivated and focussed. My printing business suffers too much from my poor focus… I look after my existing clients well, but I lack the focus to continue marketing myself!

well, its a matter of conviction and motivation that leads the way in making you effective time manager with your free-lancing.

When something is done with professional approach and to make good impression over your buyers, it has to be well-managed to create a lasting relationshp between you and buyer.

If you are freelancing for fun, thats altogether a different story, nothing to do with time-management, everything to do with fun.

I’ve been in a designer for 8 years, working full time, happily, for other companies (signage, print, advertising, software) up to senior positions so taking briefs and communicating concepts isn’t a problem.

I’ve always dream’t of working freelance but at what point do/can you make that break? When you need to find £XxX amount of money for rent and other bills each month how much of a safety net do you need before you can start on your own?

Any thoughts/advice much appreciated…

H Simon

Its a big question and one that only you can decide. Most people I have met wished they had gone freelance earlier. However there are also the quiet times.

A few posts which may be of interest to you are
So Whats Stopping you from Becoming a Freelance Designer?
Freelancing - Breaking Free from Fulltime Employment
Freelance Rates Calculator courtesy of Lauren at Creative Curio
Good luck

Thanks Tara, it’s all food for thought.
Hopefully it’ll all come together one day and I’ll bite the bullet and give it a go.
Thanks again,
Simon

interesting stuff and tactics. fun to read and hopefullky well implemented

Cool blog, time management is the hardest thing to get right as a freelance designer. You either get tempted by other things and start to slack off or you over do it and your work starts to suffer. The best way is to try and set yourself working hours like you said.

Thanks for the great ideas, I been using a product called rescue time, its a great tool as I dont need to start and stop it, its automatically tracks for me and then I can run reports. Its got a single user free license.

you might have not master the art of time managements– whihc no body does — but the valuable tips are good enough to bring some changes in our alreasy mismanaged managment

When you work from home and work for yourself, you need to create a structure that works for you. There’s no reason why you need to work longer hours than if you were going to an office but the temptation is there because, as you say Tara - your home is your office. Many of the people I work with are working around a family and it’s important to put their needs first - dropping kids off at school and picking them up, spending time with the family in the evenings but also fitting everything in that you need to get done for the business.

Prioritising your time is important and if you feel your time is being stretched in too many different directions, you’re working long hours, feeling stressed and overwhelmed then that’s when you need to do something about it. Planning helps you to stay motivated and focused and not get distracted during the day.

Work flexibly, know what you want from your business and keep the balance.

Clare

I’m not a freelancers and I have a full-time job. But I have appreciated your article; I think it is the good advice for everybody. And you have really made the art of juggling time. As for me I always plan in what I intend to do and it helps me to avoid panic. And it is one of the most important facts of our daily life. Thanks.

Just to add to the conversation - my new book is just out - Time Management (For Dummies). Available on Amazon. Full of tips and strategies for everyone, especially home workers and freelancers.

100% agreed on the work/life separation. Working from 9-9 isn’t really going to get anyone ahead, as how much of your actual productivity decreases after a certain point? You may be racking up the billable hours, but at what cost to the quality of the product? Thanks for this great article!

Thanks for this interesting article. I’m interested in everything which is connected with the daily life. In our stressful world it is rather important to find the ways to avoid the stress and to learn to live with it. And I think your article is an example.

How to manage our time? I think now it is very difficult to find somebody who can answer this question. People live now in chaotic time and they have no time to think about it. And I think it would be necessary.

You know we can try to find the decisions of this problem but the human organism won’t be able to defend itself from the hours of work. The only way is to avoid the reboot and to have much time for the rest.

a good time management is important..there should be a schedule that you must follow in order to get things done and in a consistent way.

Man, I need better time management. It seems that I have built probably 10 schedules to manage my time over the past year and it was just an exercise in “time wastefulness”, lol

Self employed people have to get into a tight discipline to get work done, is easy to get carried away in other non important things.

Im terrible at time management i always want to work on personal projects or just not work.