Procrastination vs. Profits: How to Beat Time-Wasters and Bill More
As a freelancer, it doesn't just hurt your productivity – it directly hits your wallet.
Mariana Holostenco April 3, 2024
Mariana Holostenco April 3, 2024
Let's face it, we've all been there. That looming deadline is staring you down, the client email you should be answering is flashing in your inbox, but somehow, you're deep into a YouTube spiral about adorable kittens or meticulously alphabetizing your spice rack.
Procrastination is a sneaky beast, and as a freelancer, those wasted moments don't just hurt your productivity – they're literally money down the drain. Every minute spent scrolling or rearranging your kitchen translates to lost billable hours and a direct hit to your bottom line.
Procrastination isn't just a minor annoyance. It has real consequences.
As a freelancer, every time you put something off, you're not just delaying a task – you're actively choosing
to
earn less.
This isn't just about delayed tasks; procrastination has serious consequences which impacts not just workflow but also finances, client relationships, and mental well-being.
Do you think those "quick" social media breaks or mindless chores don't matter? Think again. Every minute you spend procrastinating is a minute you're not billing for. Let's break it down:
The closer a deadline gets, the more panicked you feel. This leads to rushed work, potential mistakes, and a whole lot of unnecessary stress.
You've been putting off a complex website revision for a client. The deadline is approaching, and you haven't even started the detailed coding work. With only a couple of days left, you're forced into all-nighters fueled by coffee and anxiety. The final product is riddled with errors you didn't have time to catch, and you feel burned out afterward.
Missed deadlines and last-minute scrambling doesn't make clients happy. Procrastination can harm your reputation and make it harder to get repeat business.
You promised a logo design concept to a client by Friday. However, distractions and a lack of focus meant you didn't complete it on time. You hastily put together a subpar concept and send it over late, apologizing for the delay. The client is understandably disappointed, and while they accept the work this time, they hesitate to hire you for future projects.
The good news is that you don't have to be a slave to procrastination. With conscious effort and the right strategies, you can tame the time-wasting beast and maximize your billable hours.
Before you can fight procrastination, you need to know your enemy. What's tripping you up?
Common culprits include social media, email obsession, perfectionism, and even well-meaning tasks that can morph
into rabbit holes, like endlessly organizing your workspace or researching unrelated topics.
But remember, everyone's procrastination triggers are slightly different. It's crucial to be brutally honest with yourself.
Understanding the root cause of your procrastination is the first step toward choosing the right strategies to combat it.
Those quick Instagram checks can easily add up to major time wasted.
As a web designer, you find yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram during moments that you should dedicate to work. A "quick peek" turns into a 20-minute dive into home renovation inspiration and funny cat videos. These breaks happen multiple times daily, eroding your focus and seriously impacting billable hours.
Constantly checking your inbox breaks your focus and eats into your day.
At some point, you might be awaiting an important client email with updated content. Meanwhile, instead of focusing on a current task, you obsessively refresh your inbox every few minutes. The constant distraction breaks your concentration on the website you're building, leading to slower progress and potential mistakes.
As the logo designer we discussed earlier, when you're plagued by perfectionism, you'll keep reworking the same initial concepts for days. You're terrified of sending something imperfect to the client. Meanwhile, a new project inquiry for an exciting mobile app design lands in your inbox, and you immediately get sidetracked, sketching out ideas and neglecting the original logo project.
Want to see where your time really goes? Track it for a day or two. You might be shocked at how much time slips through the cracks. There are plenty of time-tracking apps, or even a simple spreadsheet will do.
If you're looking for a solution specifically designed for freelancers, PlanArty can be a real lifesaver. It seamlessly combines time management with automated time tracking and billing, giving you a clear overview of where you spend your time and how it aligns with your billable hours.
This insight is essential for identifying areas where you might be losing time and maximizing profitability.
It's time to fight back! Here are some tried-and-true methods for conquering procrastination:
Schedule blocks of time for specific tasks. When it's "invoice time," turn off all distractions and focus solely on that.
Remember how much time you might have lost to social media and random tasks? Use PlanArty's visual Calendar to change that. For example, block out 10 am-12 pm on Tuesday as "Client A Website Revisions" and dedicate an afternoon block to "Administrative Tasks" (which includes your invoicing).
Or maybe you feel overwhelmed with those endless reworks eating into your profits? Use PlanArty's drag-and-drop scheduling directly on the Calendar to reserve two hours every morning specifically for "Initial Concept Development" on that new logo project. This protected time helps you make significant progress before getting pulled into other things.
Do your most challenging or dreaded task first thing in the morning. It's a huge relief to get it out of the way!
You dread administrative tasks, especially dealing with invoices. Instead of letting them loom over you all day, use PlanArty to schedule your most focused time first thing in the morning as "Invoicing & Admin." Tackle your least favorite task while your mind is fresh, and then enjoy the relief of having it done for the rest of the day.
Key point: Invoicing billable hours is automated in PlanArty, so using this feature will be a pleasure.
Big projects feel overwhelming. Break them into smaller, more manageable chunks. It's easier to tackle a "draft outline" than the looming "write a 2,000-word article."
That 2,000-word article feels daunting, and the blank page is causing serious procrastination. Instead, break it down with tasks in PlanArty: "Research Topic" (1 hour), "Draft Outline" (1 hour), "Write Intro Paragraphs" (30 minutes), and so on. Each becomes a smaller, more achievable step.
As always, PlanArty makes it simple to put theory into practice. You can categorize, color-code, and schedule these smaller tasks within the app, giving you a visual plan of action and a sense of accomplishment as you tick them off.
Tell a friend or colleague about your goals. Knowing someone will check on your progress can be super motivating.
Connect with a fellow freelancer you trust. On Monday mornings, share your weekly goals with each other, whether it's completing a certain project, earning a specific amount, or finally beating your procrastination habit. Check-in with each other throughout the week for progress reports and motivation.
As a freelancer, time truly is money. There isn't a salary buffering those wasted hours; every minute you're not actively working on a billable project is a direct hit to your income. Procrastination isn't just an annoyance – it's a leak in your revenue stream. Let's look at the specific ways procrastination sinks your profits:
Imagine you've got a steady stream of smaller projects. Yet, those social media breaks and random distractions add up to two lost hours each day. If your hourly rate is $50, that's $100 a day you're not billing for! Over a five-day workweek, that's $500 missing from your income. Now, imagine what that looks like over a month or even a year of work!
You promised a client a finished project by Friday. However, procrastination has you scrambling on Thursday night, leading to sloppy mistakes and a rushed delivery. Even if the client accepts it this time, their confidence in your reliability is shaken. They might hesitate before rehiring you or recommending you to others, costing you potential future income.
The endless cycle of procrastination and panicked late-night work sessions leaves you feeling constantly stressed and exhausted. As burnout sets in, you find it harder to focus or produce your best work. Ironically, this often leads to even more procrastination, trapping you in a vicious cycle that damages your well-being and your business.
Now for the fun part – put your time management skills into action not only to make more money but also to gain control over your business!
Here's how:Detailed time logs are essential for accurate billing. Don't guesstimate – know precisely how long you spend on each task.
Instead of roughly estimating how much time you spend on projects, start using a time-tracking tool within PlanArty. It's integrated directly with project tasks, giving you detailed logs. You'll discover that those "quick" client emails are actually eating up 30 minutes of your day. With this knowledge, you can find ways to streamline communication or reassess your pricing to charge for that time properly.
Analyze which of your services bring in the most revenue per hour. Prioritize those to maximize your earning potential.
After tracking your time in PlanArty for a few weeks, you have a clear picture. You realize website design brings in the most revenue per hour, while social media management takes more time and less return. This data empowers you to actively seek out more website design clients and potentially raise your rates for those services.
Can you outsource admin tasks or hire a virtual assistant for some tasks? If doing so frees you up to focus on higher-paying work, it's a smart investment.
Dreaded tasks like bookkeeping chip away at your billable hours each week. If you can afford to outsource that admin to a virtual assistant, even for a few hours a month, that frees up your time. You can use those extra hours to land another client or work on higher-paying projects, leading to a direct boost in income.
Beating procrastination and maximizing your earning potential is an ongoing process.
PlanArty is here to support you on this journey. Not only does it streamline your time tracking and hourly billing, but we also offer a FREE Time Management Course. It's a hands-on way to learn practical strategies to overcome those time-wasting habits and get more out of your workday. You've already taken a massive step by reading this article; let PlanArty help you take the next one!
