Happy New Year guys!
So the holidays are over and 2023 has officially begun, I hope you guys had amazing time over the holidays & are ready to power through. Since this is my first blog of 2023, I wanted to share something that might help you set a routine & make 2023 your year! So today I am sharing my perfected weekly schedule for a freelance designer!
I have been working as a full time freelancer for nearly 2 years now, and believe me it has taken a lot of time to create a nearly perfect schedule so as to complete all the different tasks for my small business without feeling burned out. As freelancers we wear so many different hats as designer, accountant, social media manager, coordinator, business manager and much more. It sometimes becomes a tad overwhelming when we get so caught up on one task and forget about all the other responsibilities. So today I am going to share my weekly schedule that has helped me run my business smoothly, complete my tasks on time & run my business like the boss I was meant to be!
Read through my weekly routine and feel free to remix/try out them out for yourself!
Monday — Monday mornings are generally a bit slow for me, so I block out the first hour to just researching and gathering inspiration so as to set the right mood for the week. This hour is generally spent on Instagram, Pinterest & Behance just looking at amazing designs, pictures and just taking it all in. As a designer (or an artist/creator/curator) we need to keep the creative juices flowing. So just sit back, drink a huge cup of coffee, and spend the first hour getting inspired. Usually after this amazing first hour, I am ready to charge back to client work and so I dedicate four hours to client work. And the last thing that I do on Monday’s is learning a new tool/skill. I dedicate two hours on Monday to learn something new & this has helped me a lot in gaining expertise over design software’s.
Tuesday — Tuesday’s start with one hour dedicated to marketing & networking. Believe me guys this has been a game changer for me in finding clients. So every Tuesday I market my business using free resources like cold-emailing, applying on LinkedIn, Marketing on Facebook groups etc. This is the time when I reply to client & collab enquiries as well. After this I dedicate 3 hours to client work & 1 hour to passion projects. Then I end the day by spending 2 hours taking a industry related course on Udemy or Skillshare. This helps to always stay ahead of the upcoming changes & trends in the industry & also helps me to enhance my knowledge.
Wednesday — Wednesday start with 2 hours dedicated to admin + business + finance. As a freelancer we need to keep track of our finances as well & I like to update my finances every week so that everything doesn’t turn into a huge mess by the end of the month. Usually after this, I am ready to charge back to client work and so I dedicate three highly focused hours to client work. And the last thing that I do on Wednesday’s is to work on my website/shop/brand docs. This has 2 dedicated hours and I work on anything that needs upgrading or I try to come up with new product ideas for my shop.
Thursday — Thursday’s are very mundane for me and I dedicate 3 hours to client work & 2 hours to passion projects. Then I end the day again by spending 2 hours taking a industry related course on Udemy or Skillshare. So 2 days a week I work on the course, so that I stay updated and can complete it on time.
Friday — Friday starts with dedicated 1 hour of client work or passion projects. Then I move on to utilizing 2 hours In learning a new tool/skill. Then I go on to the most important task of the week, organizing, task planning & content planning for the upcoming week. So I dedicate 4 hours on Friday coming up with content ideas for social media, Planning tasks for next week & organize my next week.
Saturday — Saturday’s have just one huge task “Recording, editing, finalizing & Scheduling social media content”. So every Saturday I prep my social media content for the next week and this has been a life saver for me (This also includes recording & editing YT videos). For the whole week I am able to focus on all my other tasks as social media work is already completed. This usually takes me up to 5 hours. Rest of the Saturday & Sunday I take a break from work!
So to summarize for you all -
Monday - research + inspiration to get in the mood — 1 hour Client work — 4 hours Learn a new tool — 2 hours Tuesday - Marketing & Networking — 1 hour Client work — 3 hours Take a industry related course — 2 hour Passion project — 1 hours Wednesday - Business + Finance — 2 hours Client work — 3 hours Work on your website/shop — 2 hours Thursday - Client work — 3 hours Take a industry related course — 2 hour Passion project — 2 hours Friday - Client work — 1 hours organizing, task planning & content planning — 4 Learn a new tool — 2 hours Saturday - Record, edit & schedule content for next week — 5 hours
I hope that this schedule will help you guys to manage your freelance business with ease. As a freelancer, what goals do you set for yourself each week? What other freelance tips have you learned to help you keep track of your many responsibilities? Let me know in the comments section!
See you all in the next blog! Tadaa✨
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