Maximize Your Freelance Earnings and Minimize Your Stress

Tips for Making the Most of Your Time as a Freelancer

By Andrew Knott

If you’re a writer or creative, you’re probably familiar with freelancing. Let’s face it, full-time writing jobs are difficult to come by, especially if you don’t live in large markets.

Fortunately, there are many freelance gigs out there that allow you to work remotely, maintain a flexible schedule, and gain experience in many different types of writing. I mean, what’s better than working in your pajamas? OK, reliable pay and benefits maybe, but sometimes you can’t have it all.

But with freelancing, you can have a lot if you know how to best use your time. Here are a few freelancing tips:

1. Work with companies who bring clients to you.

One of the biggest obstacles to making it as a freelancer is finding clients. As the saying goes, there are plenty of freelancers in the digital sea, so it can be difficult to stand out. You can waste a lot of your time — time spent not earning a dime — trying to find clients. Content companies who bring the clients to you (ahem…Write Label, for example) can save you effort so you can spend more time writing and earning.

2. Keep a consistent schedule.

Working while sitting in bed may sound easy, but it’s still work. As a freelancer, you can’t afford to give in to distraction (unlike salaried employees, you don’t get paid for watching cat videos online). And when you’re working from home there are unlimited distractions.

So, when it’s your work time, put the Netflix on hold and don’t give in to your sudden and intense urge to clean your baseboards. When it’s time to make that money, stay focused!

3. Schedule downtime.

One upside of freelancing is that you can often work whenever you want. One downside of freelancing is that you can work whenever you want.

To avoid burnout, it’s important to set your off-hours and try to stick to them. Chasing that extra dollar by burning the candle at both ends can work for short periods, but if you constantly let your work invade your off time, burnout is almost inevitable.

And in the long run, burnout equals lost earnings.

4. Don’t be afraid to say no.

In addition to maintaining consistent daily schedules with substantial downtime, when more freelance opportunities begin to come your way, you need to know when to say no.

Ultimately, the quality of your work will suffer if you take on too much and have to rush your work. When you secure large projects, take your time, do your best work, and put smaller projects on the back burner.

It can be tempting to chase the next shiny thing and say yes to every opportunity, but building lasting relationships with clients and earning a reputation for quality will pay off with higher earnings.

5. Don’t have children.

Just kidding, of course. You can build a solid freelance career even when you have young children at home. The flexibility freelancing affords is great for busy parents, but it doesn’t come without additional challenges. If you do attempt to work while your children are at home, don’t be afraid to loosen up on those screen-time limits. There’s nothing quite like a two-hour movie or some generous tablet time to free up some space for a little money earning!

Andrew Knott is a freelance writer in Florida and a father of three. If you’d like to earn additional income with Write Label, take the test here.