Beginning freelance work from home takes skill and focus. If you are becoming a freelancer for the first time, a learning curve is expected. Whether you use paper and pen, a calendar, or software, organization of freelance projects is possible.

Why do you need organization?

Clients come to you to get a job done. They want it as soon as possible in many cases. If you are beginning freelance work from home, you might find it hard to say “no” at first if you want to get established and earn money. Keeping your freelance projects organized will help you accomplish what you need to keep clients happy.

1. Use a calendar. Having a calendar to list when stuff is due will help you remember stuff. If you have Microsoft Outlook, you can add reminders and projects due. Reminders will pop up on your computer to remind you of short-term tasks throughout the day.

Apple has a program called Mobile Me, which can keep you synced across all of your work gadgets. If you have an iPhone, PC, Mac, iPad and any other Apple products, you can log in online and update the calendar. It automatically synchronizes to all computers and Apple products.

2. Keep a notebook. If you are a pen and paper type of person, notebooks are an inexpensive way to organize freelance work from home. Pros to using a notebook are all of the space in front of you to mind map or write “to-do” lists.

Cons to using a notebook include not being able to find information when you need it fast. One way to get around this when you are becoming a freelancer is to keep a binder and as you write stuff in the notebook, tear out the pages and keep them tabbed in the binder. This way you have a dedicated area for each client or project and can retire the papers to a file as you complete the freelance work from home.

3. Create a task list online. Being able to access your task list is essential to staying organized when becoming a freelancer. Google Docs has online spreadsheets and document creation so you can create the task list and go online anywhere to use it. Create a spreadsheet and label it with the task and dates for getting stuff done.

While you are becoming a freelancer, you will organize your freelance work from home by using these ways to get stuff accomplished. How do you plan to organize your freelance projects this week?

photo credit: kenkwsiu