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As a freelancer, time management is one of the most important skills that you need to develop. If you aren’t properly managing your time — then you’re not going to earn as much money.

Are you spending an hour or two of social media every morning? This may not seem like a biggie — but is this your time-suck? You have to decide this. Could you have been working, networking, or strengthening your skills? Should you have been doing that?

I’ve been freelancing for a decade. Time management was something that I definitely struggled with over the years — and still do occasionally. What I’ve found, however, is that it takes a lot of discipline to effectively manage your time as a freelancer.

These eleven time management tips for freelancers have definitely helped me in the time management area. As a result — I’ve become a more productive and successful freelancer.

1. Rethink your to-do-lists.

I’m a big fan of to-do-lists. I would say that most productive people are. The thing is, if you aren’t using them correctly — they can become too frustrating and demotivating. If you have a to-do-list containing 30 vague items like “check email,” make phone calls,” and “write blog posts,” you’re not going to be very productive.

Reasonable, specific, and prioritized.

To-do-lists need to be reasonable, specific, and prioritized. Instead of 30 items listed in the way those above  str — trim your list to under 10 items. Make them more detailed — and compelling — like: “email Jim,” return Sue’s phone call,” and “write two time management blog posts.”

How will you do your experiment?

You will need to experiment and find an approach that works best for you. Some people love the traditional checklist on paper or bullet journaling. Others rely on apps like Todoist or Trello. Some freelancers  prefer adding the to-do-list to their calendar.

There’s one of my favorite techniques — the Eisenhower Matrix — which is a to-do list that’s divided into four quadrants: Do first, schedule, delegate, and don’t do.

2. Track your time.

If you want to improve your time management, then you need to see how you’re spending your days and how long it takes you to complete tasks.

You could go old school and carry around a notebook with you for a week. Jot down how long your morning commute takes, the time you spend wasting online, or the amount of time it takes to complete a task. You can use your phone’s stopwatch to assist you.

You have many choices — including staying just as you are.

However, there are hundreds of software and apps that can do this tracking and timing for you — through timers and time sheets. How long you spend on specific websites — Timely, for example, automatically tracks your time and then makes smart suggestions on where you can  improve.

However — knowing — can help you decide.

The idea is that when you track your time you’ll be able to see how and where you’re wasting time. It will also give you a better idea on how long it takes to complete a task and when you’re most productive. Knowing this can help you create a schedule.

3. Make and stick to a schedule.

“Being self-employed means you can literally work whenever you want. Experience shows me it’s best to set specific work hours,” writes Choncé Maddox in a previous Calendar article. “If you don’t, you’ll run the risk of procrastinating, missing deadlines or becoming easily distracted and falling behind.”

Setting specific work hours.

Choncé also says that, “It’s important to set your work hours because you also want to know how much you can realistically accomplish in a workday.” She uses block scheduling and a to-do list to organize her tasks for the day. It’s a simple and effective way to help “get a full understanding of what my day is going to look like and what I’m going to be working on.”

“Once I get toward the end of my set work hours, I know it’s time to wind down and start wrapping up. This helps me transition into other areas of my life without feeling stressed out or ‘guilty’ for stepping away from my business.”

Here’s a rough example of what my daily schedule looks like:

• 6:00 – 7:00 A.M.: Stretch, breakfast, email, and RSS feed.
• 8:00 – 11:00: Research and outline articles.
• 11:00 – 12:00: Meet or touch base with clients.
• 12:00 – 1:00: Lunch, email, texts, social media, and RSS feed.
• 1:00 – 2:00: Exercise and take the dog for a walk.
• 2:00 – 5:00: Write articles for clients.
• 5:00 – 8:00: Dinner, finish client articles, and prepare for tomorrow.

Bonus Tip:
Work during off-hours. I try to get my day started early, like everyone else. This way I’m not distracted by the other people in my home, emails, or texts. I’ve even gone into coffee shops after dinner because they’re not as crowded at that time.

4. Identify and eliminate distractions.

Distractions are arguably the biggest barrier between you and effective time management, as well as productivity. The common distractions are smartphones, social media, email, and messaging platforms.

The easiest fix of all — turn off notifications.

The easiest fix is to turn off any alerts or notifications on your phone or computer — both Android and iOS devices have “Do Not Disturb” features.

However, if you’re freelancer working from home, you may have to deal with distractions like the TV, your family or roommates, household chores, noisy neighbors, or not having the right tools or equipment.

Ever heard of earplugs or “Beats?”

Find which distractions are hameping your productivity and then find solutions. For example, you may want to start working at a coffee shop or coworking space since they eliminate most of the distractions listed above.

If that’s not an option, then have a dedicated work area that’s in a quiet location. Ideally, this is would be a spare room where you can close the door.

You should also invest in noise-cancelling headphones and dedicate one day a week to household chores so that they don’t take your focus away from work.

5. Break larger projects down.

You just received a large project assignment from a client. Your first instinct is to look at the entire project as a whole. As a result, you get overwhelmed and procrastinate because you don’t know where you’re going to start.

Break down large work projects — just as you would any project.

Instead, break that project down into smaller tasks. For example, when I’ve had to write an eBook, I focus on one chapter at a time. I start by researching and outlining only that chapter that I’m working on. After it’s been outlined, I focus only on writing that chapter.

A place to start and makes the project seem much more manageable.

Here’s another tip I’ve learned along the way –break your day into blocks. This is a productivity hack known as the Rule of 52 and 17.

So when I’m writing a big project, I block out two hours of writing into my calendar with a 17-minute break in-between where I go for a block, meditate, or clean the dishes real quick. This keeps me focused on what I’m currently working-on, while also preventing distractions from disrupting my flow.

6. Limit your client base.

When you’re just starting out as a freelancer you have no reservations in accepting each and every gig that comes your way. It’s not a bad idea when you need the cash and building a portfolio.

Eventually, however, you’re going to start working with more high-profile clients. Because they’re paying you decent money, they’ll demand more of your time. In this case, you may no longer be able to handle those smaller jobs.

You take the next advice — when you have the luxury to do so — and not before you are covering your bills. Until bills are paid — shut your mouth and hustle.

Additionally, you may also want to fire specific clients — even if they pay well. I know that may sound ridiculous, there are just some clients who demand constant revisions because they’re perfectionists or don’t know what they want. This prevents you from getting other work completed, which means you may have to part ways with them.

7. Just say “no!”

Your best friend texts you asking if you want to go to lunch. A client emails you asking if you can start working on a project ASAP. Your gut reaction may be to say “yes” to either situation. This means you’re getting pulled away from the work at hand.

I know that you don’t want to offend anyone, but sometimes you just have to say “no.” If you’re swamped, then you need to let the client know that you have a full plate today and can’t start on their project until next week. If you’re in the “zone,” then plan to have lunch with your friend on another day where you have some more flexibility.

8. Work in batches.

“Batching is a form of productivity where you arrange tasks in set groups,” writes best-selling author Amanda Abella. “In other words, you block off time on the calendar for similar tasks.”

For me, when I go to write — I do all of my research and outline for the day’s articles in the morning. I then write all of my article — then edit and format them. This way I’m not switching between tasks or bouncing between tabs.

When it’s time to write, I can just crank an article out, instead of researching, writing, and editing it at the same time.

9. Gamification.

This doesn’t mean that you literally turn you work into a game. It means using game principles in your process to motivate you and make work more fun.

This gamification can be accomplished by:

• A reward system. You completed a project ahead of the deadline, so you reward yourself by going out with your friends.
• A point system. You receive points for completing tasks, such as earning one point for cleaning out your inbox.
• A timer. You have a specific amount of time to complete a task.

Find out which one of these suggestions beats with your heart. You will have to figure this out — if you succeed at freelancing.

• Compete with a fellow freelancer. Set up a challenge to see who can complete a task or project faster.
• Chart your progress. I’ve tracked how many words I can write in a day. It’s amazing how many more words I can write now compared to when I started. And, it motivates me to do even better.

10. Outsource and automate.

As a freelancer, I’ve had to learn many new skills over the years in order to market and manage my business. Whenever I have to balance my books or market my services, I’m taking time away from work.

Learn when it is time to outsource and automate the extra tasks.

For example, I recently had to launch an email marketing campaign for a client. Even though I know how to, I found someone on Fiverr to get it started for me. This way I could focus just on creating a content calendar and composing articles for the client.

Once set up, the campaign used automation to respond to clients, such as receiving a welcome email when signing-up for the newsletter or receiving a confirmation of a sale.

11. End-of-day reviews.

“Before finishing up work tonight, review your calendar and reprioritize your meetings, appointments and planned work for the next day. Look to see if you can reschedule non-priority meetings to the following day if you need to,” suggests Jason Womack, author of: Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More

You should also look into the following week of your calendar to see “if you can collapse two meetings into one by meeting with two people at the same time.”

Don’t forget to locate “and schedule 30 – to 60 – minute chunks of a time (perhaps even multiple times per day) during which you can close your door or turn off your email or phone. You can take these chunks of time if you must focus on a single project or priority without being interrupted.”

Jason Womack adds that he has found his clients like this technique and have reported that they “become more aware of the changes they can make for a more productive, engaging day.”

I don’t think that’s it’s always deliberate. But, when it comes to productivity, we’re sometimes our own worst enemy. For example, you did your due diligence by adding your most important tasks to your calendar. But, you didn’t schedule them around when you’re most productive. Here are 12 ways to avoid self-sabotaging your productivity.

That may sound inconsequential. But, since you didn’t plan your day around productivity peaks, you may be working on an essential task during an energy dip. As a result, it may take you longer since you don’t have the energy and focus.

But, that’s just one example of how you may be self-sabotaging your productivity? If you want to avoid participating in this self-destructive behavior, then here are 12 ways you can do so.

1. Manage your attention.

Maura Thomas is an award-winning speaker, trainer, and author of several books, including “Attention Management.” According to Thomas, if you want to avoid self-sabotaging your productivity, then you should first pay attention to your attention.

“We have framed our efforts around productivity and efficiency as ‘time management’ for way too long, all the while knowing that no one can actually ‘manage time,” Thomas told Forbes. “It passes, no matter what we do. We can’t slow it down or create more of it, and we all have the same amount.”

In other words, not having enough time isn’t the culprit when it comes to productivity. “It’s a distraction and misplaced attention that interferes with our ability to achieve the results that are most significant to us,” argues Thomas. The solution? Attention management.

Thomas defines attention management as “the practice of controlling your attention.” While not necessarily a new concept, this idea can be traced back to William James in the 1800s, Thomas believes that this “is an essential productivity skill of the 21st century.”

At its core, attention management is about being proactive and not reactive. It’s deciding where we want our attention to go. And, it’s identifying and changing the bad habits that prevent us from being productive.

To get you started, Thomas suggests:

• Either put your phone away or put it in do not disturb mode.
• When on your computer, work offline or close distracting websites.
• Allocate specific times to focus on less important tasks like email.
• Declutter your workspace.
• For uninterrupted work, find a quiet space where you aren’t distracted by others.

Most importantly, “plan, organize, and make thoughtful choices about what gets our attention.” Ideally, this should be based around your priorities.

2. Don’t get too comfortable.

“The critical inner voice likes to keep us in a box, pigeonholed by an identity assigned to us and not necessarily one we earned,” writes Lisa Firestone Ph.D. “It can be tricky and flood us with thoughts that are seemingly self-soothing. After all, it’s much easier “to recognize an internal enemy when it’s yelling at you that you’re stupid or a failure.”

However, most of us struggle with identifying those thoughts that encourage us to engage in unhealthy habits. For example, when you’re exhausted after a hectic week, you may tell yourself that you’ve earned the right to eat junk food and veg out on the couch all weekend.

“Listening to this voice may feel comfortable at first,” adds Dr. Firestone. But, “once we give in to bad habits or avoid going after what we want, our inner critic starts in with the self-punishing thoughts,” such as “You’ll never amount to anything.”

Definitely — make (and schedule) time to rest and celebrate your accomplishments. But, at the same, don’t get too cozy. Keep looking for ways to learn, grow, and get out of your comfort zone. When you do, you’ll embark on more productive and healthy habits. It’s also a great way to silence that pesky inner critic.

3. Create a Pavolian reinforcement system.

We all have those days when we don’t feel like doing squat. As a consequence, we end up procrastinating. Next thing we know, your productivity has taken a hit. More worrisome, this could screw up your entire schedule for the day or even week. And, you may also put your business in jeopardy by failing to meet deadlines.

The good news is that you can use some good old classical conditioning to address this problem. It’s a simple way to trick you into doing anything that you don’t want to. For example, I was having difficulty getting in the zone this week. But, I promised myself that as soon as I completed my work, I would treat myself to a trip to the movie theater. It was simple, but it worked.

The key here is to find a reward system that works best for you. If you don’t want to go to the movies, then treat yourself to a healthy snack, having lunch with a friend, or purchasing a new book.

4. Get over your preconceived notions.

I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of forming an opinion about someone or something before meeting or experiencing them. For example, you may skip a party or networking event because you assume that it will be a waste of time. Other times you won’t try new food, tool, or business process since you’ve already told yourself that you won’t like it.

Sure. There will be times when your preconception was right. But, if you always listen to this bias, then you aren’t opening the door to new experiences, ideas, and perspectives. What’s more, by refusing to try out new things, you’re potentially missing out on an improved routine or system that can boost your output.

5. Working through breaks.

In theory, it’s understandable why we do this. You’ve got a million things to do, or you’ve fallen behind on a project. To resolve these problems, you don’t take any breaks throughout the day. You even work straight through your lunch break, subsisting on a Snickers bar — or two.

You begin to believe that it’s counterproductive to stop what you’re doing merely to take a breath — a breather, or eat a healthy lunch. But, breaks are essential to productivity. We need these intermissions to decompress, rest, and recharge. We can also use these lulls to process everything that’s going around us. And, they give us a chance to refuel so that we have the stamina and mental energy to get through the remainder of the day.

6. Making decisions — quickly.

As a leader, you’re expected to make tough decisions daily. Because some of these decisions are important, you should take your time so that you can weigh the advantages and drawbacks.

But what about less essential choices? You should be able to make them quickly. If not, we’ll spend a portion of your day ruminating over something insignificant.

Author and former clinical psychologist Alice Boyes use picking a hotel as an example. Instead of doing extensive research each time you search for a room, you should have five criteria points that you look for. If the hotel meets your requirements, then book it.

“This helps me de-prioritize marginally productive behaviors, like spending 30 mins returning an unsatisfactory low-value item to a store when I could be doing something much more productive,” Boyes writes for Harvard Business Review.

7. Avoid comparing yourself to others.

“How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

It’s so easy to fall into this trap. Between conducting market research or just scrolling through social media, you’re tempted to compare yourself to others. Whether it’s sizing up your competition or seeing which tropical location a college friend is currently at, comparing yourself to others isn’t just a waste of time. It also sabotages your productivity because you’re more worried about others are doing than how you can improve yourself personally and professionally.

8. Don’t fear change.

Change is a part of life. But, that doesn’t mean that it comes easy. Most of us resist change because we’re petrified of the unknown. Others are just creatures of habit and don’t want to shake things up.

Whatever the exact reason, change is confusing and frightening. But, by embracing change, you can evolve into a more well-rounded, knowledgeable, and productive individual.

Some ways that you can fight back against this resistance is to seek out different perspectives and try something new. For example, if you’ve never had Indian cuisine, make visiting that new Thai restaurant in town a part of your date night agenda. And, make sure that you ask lots of questions.

9. Seek out inspiration.

Although often attributed to C.S. Lewis, it’s most likely Les Brown, one of my favorite quotes is, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” The reason? It encourages me to chase my dreams and find new sources of inspiration constantly.

If you feel like you haven’t felt excited in quite some time, then everything from motivation, residence, and productivity will stifle. Eventually, like The Boss, you’ll get stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey.

Thankfully, there’s an inspiration all around you. Books, podcasts, exploring your city, or taking in the arts are all simple ways to give you an inspiration spark when you need it.

10. Lower your standards.

Obviously, you don’t want to ditch your high standards when it comes to your work or the products and services you offer. You should also expect your team to deliver quality work. But, it’s unreasonable and not possible to demand perfection.

Perfectionism prevents you from improving, discovering new opportunities, and wrecks your productivity. To avoid this cycle, lower standards just a little — a smidgen won’t kill you or anyone else. Try:

• Not being so demanding and nitpicky.
• Setting realistic goals.
• Welcoming feedback from others.
• Not comparing yourself to others.
• Admit to the fact that you’re imperfect.

11. Delay gratification.

Our brains prioritize instant gratification. The main reason for this is because of the emotional part of the brain that responds positively to immediate rewards.

“Our emotional brain has a hard time imagining the future, even though our logical brain clearly sees the future consequences of our current actions,” says David Laibson at Harvard University. “Our emotional brain wants to max out the credit card, order dessert and smoke a cigarette. Our logical brain knows we should save for retirement, go for a jog and quit smoking.”

While you should savor the moment, you also need to find the right balance. If you stay up all night drinking, then how productive are you going to be the next day? If you keep neglecting your health, then you aren’t going to have the energy and focus to power through your to-dos.

So, definitely have fun. But, it should be within reason. And, more importantly, don’t immediately reward yourself. Save it for later so that you’ll make a better choice.

12. Embrace failure.

Finally, don’t fear failure. You should welcome it.

I know that it isn’t fun and wasn’t your intention. But, failing is one of the best ways to learn and grow. You can take that painful experience and use it to your advantage so that you can become a smarter and stronger entrepreneur. It may even make you a better person overall.