8 Ways to Efficiently Manage Multiple Freelance Projects

As the demand for remote workers grows, many freelancers nowadays are beginning to understand the importance of managing multiple projects and priorities. If you are a freelancer who would like to make the most of your time and resources, you will want to grab as many work opportunities as possible. Thus, you should start learning how to manage multiple freelance projects. If you haven’t gotten used to this work style yet, here are eight things that you should keep in mind if you want to manage multiple projects and tasks efficiently.

Keep Track of Your Time

As a freelancer, your time is one of your most valuable resources. Learning to manage your time efficiently is imperative if you want to optimize your earning capacity. Whether or not you are handling multiple projects at once, you need to monitor how much time you are spending on each of your tasks. Use a time tracking app to help you monitor and manage your time. You can also use the data you’ve gathered from tracking your time to identify which tasks you can do more efficiently.

Use a Project Management Software for Multiple Projects

Apart from using a time tracker, another important tool that you should have is a project management software. Sure, you can just write down your tasks on a notebook or a sticky note. But if you want a more efficient way of tracking and monitoring the progress of each of your projects, a visual project management tool is the best choice. In fact, many remote teams and freelancers around the world now use Kanban to manage projects. This project management tool makes it easy to organize projects and accomplish them on time.

Set a Schedule for Your Projects

One of the biggest challenges of freelancers who manage multiple projects is being able to allot sufficient time for every task within each project. To satisfy your clients’ demands, you will want to set their expectations properly and be able to render enough hours as agreed upon. Thus, the need to setup a schedule. By properly scheduling your work hours, you won’t get yourself overworked and you’ll be able to allot enough time for each project.

Create a List of Your Tasks

Sometimes, because we’re too busy with getting a lot of things done, we tend to forget our other tasks. You might think that simply making a mental note will work, but once you have a lot of things to think about, the possibility of you forgetting a thing or two will increase. This is where a Kanban board can come in very handy. With a Kanban board, you can easily create a list of your pending tasks using individual Kanban cards. You can then use the board to manage multiple projects, by updating and monitoring the progress of each of your tasks. By doing your project management with Kanban, you can avoid forgetting any of your tasks and be able to accomplish them on time.

Prioritize Tasks Based on Deadline and Importance

Another benefit of creating a list of your projects is that you get to have a visual of the number of things that you have to accomplish. It may seem overwhelming at first, but if you break down each project and identify which ones to give first priority to, then you can get them all done sooner or later. With a Kanban board, you can label which of the cards are urgent, depending on their due dates and importance. This way, you get to plan out how to tackle each task until you get all of your projects done.

Review Your Pending Tasks Daily

To efficiently manage multiple projects, it’s important that you monitor all of your tasks regularly. With so many distractions available, especially for freelancers who are usually working from home, it’s easy to get preoccupied by other non-work related tasks. If you are using a Kanban board, you can easily check your pending tasks anytime in a day. To help you have a better grasp of your pending tasks, it’s important that you check your to-do list regularly. To stay productive daily, you should see to it that you accomplish as many tasks as necessary within a day.

Give Your Clients Regular and Timely Updates

Apart from being able to manage multiple projects efficiently, giving your clients regular updates is also necessary. Even if your due date is still a few days away, giving your clients an update will serve as an assurance that you are working on the project. This will help make them feel at ease. Think of it this way: if you ordered a product online, and the seller informed you that they will send out the product in five days, you will still want to get regular updates about your order. Has it been shipped out? Is it in transit? Will it arrive on time as expected? Or will there be delays? Same thing goes with your clients. If you want to be more transparent with the status of your tasks, you can choose to create a Kanban board to share with your clients. This way, they can automatically receive regular updates about the progress of the whole project and track the status on their own.

Outsource Your Tasks if Necessary

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by the loads of tasks waiting for you, then it might be time for you to consider getting an extra pair of hands. One of the few challenges that most freelancers face is being able to manage multiple projects on their own. As a freelancer, you will want to take on as many opportunities as possible, knowing that your livelihood depends on the number of projects that come your way. There’s not always a guarantee that the same great projects will come knocking on your door again, so what do you do? You take them on. And if you think you’ve bitten off more than you could chew, get help. Outsource your tasks. If you have a network of freelancers who you think can provide you with quality services, go ahead and tap them. With more hands on deck, you can get more projects done sooner.

Knowing how to manage multiple projects efficiently will greatly improve your productivity as a freelancer. If you are thinking about scaling your freelancing business, it’s essential that you find ways to improve your project management skills. Of course, it will take more than just skills. It’s also important that you have the right set of business tools to help you accomplish more tasks within a shorter span of time. And if you are thinking about trying out the Kanban system to help improve your focus, time, and task management, check out Kanban Zone.