Five steps to building a more productive freelance routine

Juggling client work, admin, and business development? You're not alone in feeling overwhelmed – no two days of freelancing are the same. 

The good news is that lots of tasks are repetitive; you can develop systems to make your life easier. 

This blog post explains how to think about freelancing, manage your time and create processes that can make your life easier.

1. Picking a time-management system

Simple to-do lists often become overbearing when you’re working for yourself. The problem is that they don’t clearly prioritise work or reflect how long it will take.

There are a number of well-established approaches to managing your time and prioritisation that work well for freelancers:

• Pomodoro: Break your work into 25 minute sessions (called “Pomodoros”) followed by short rests to increase your focus.

• Eisenhower Matrix: Prioritise tasks by sorting them onto a grid with Not important and Important on one axis and Urgent and Not urgent on the other, which splits tasks into the following four areas:

  • Urgent and important: Do it immediately

  • Not urgent and important: Schedule a time to do it

  • Not important and urgent: Delegate it to someone else

  • Not important and not urgent: Delete the task

• Pareto Principle: Identify the 20% of tasks that create 80% of your results, so you know where to invest your time.

• Time blocking: Set fixed amounts of time for individual activities to structure your day and avoid perfectionism. 

Business adviser Nuno Soares is a big fan of time blocking:

“It's not about rigid scheduling, but about being intentional with your actions and making sure you set aside dedicated periods for focused work.

“Ideally, these blocks should be at least 30 minutes long, although many people find one-hour time blocks to be more effective.”

Read Nuno’s excellent article on time blocking to find out more. 

Figuring out what system appeals to your personality – how you enjoy working – is key to picking a time-management system that works for you.

2. Being more focused

Freelancing is frenetic. There’s lots to think about, but the most important thing you do is deliver work for clients, so we wanted to start here.  

Switching between tasks can feel productive, but you get less done.

Deep work is a state of focused attention on one particular task. It’s great for critical thinking and creativity; and getting into a flow state feels immensely satisfying. 

Try working on one task for 30 minutes, reward yourself when you’re successful and build up from there. 

It helps me to listen to harbour sounds from Lofoten, Norway, or other natural sounds while doing stretches of deep work.

3. Batching your tasks

Batching small tasks makes it easier to manage your to-do list. The approach is particularly useful for administrative work. 

You might have a list of finance tasks like invoicing and expenses that you do at the end of each month. Rather than tackling new things, like getting a delayed train refund, immediately you can add it to your monthly routine.

The best thing about batching tasks is that it allows you to manage your energy levels. You can write LinkedIn posts when you’re buzzing and file those receipts when your energy’s ebbing.

4. Learning to say “no”

The Eisenhower Matrix and Pareto Principle offer frameworks for deciding what’s important. 

You also need to learn to say “no”. That might mean doing less marketing, not going to an event or even turning down potential new clients. 

Here are a number of examples of situations when you should say “no” or push back on someone’s request:

• a customer is asking for something that doesn’t fit with your business model or align with your values

• a client asks for additional services that are beyond the scope of your project

• an activity is draining your energy levels

• the client’s timeline is unrealistic

Your energy and time are scarce resources – treat them with respect!

5. Building good processes

Simplicity and usability are key when you’re developing systems to help you manage your freelance work. 

If you get it right, tasks are a pleasure, if you get it wrong they’re a chore. 

• Start small: Pick one area of your freelance workflow to improve rather than trying to overhaul everything at once.

• Identify friction: Look for the tasks that are repetitive or frustrating.

• Map the steps: Write down how you complete the task you want to work on, so you can think about how to organise it.

• Reduce decision-making: Use templates or checklists to reduce the mental load of everyday tasks.

• Automate wisely: Add lightweight automations (like invoice reminders or scheduling tools) once your manual process is clear.

• Test your system: Try the process for a week and pay attention to whether it saves time and reduces stress, or becomes a chore.

• Ask for feedback: If a process involves clients – like onboarding – ask them if there’s anything you can do to make it more efficient.

Related resources about freelancing

Do you want to continue your learning journey? These articles will help you learn more about working as a freelancer.

• The complete guide to starting a freelance business (UK edition) (Enterprise Nation article)

• Digital tools for freelancers: How to organise your work and boost productivity (Enterprise Nation article)

• Time blocking: How to beat distractions and stay focused (Enterprise Nation article)

• Five tips for increasing productivity when working from home (Enterprise Nation article)