How to Stay Organized for a Better Work / Life Balance

It has been a couple of weeks since I launched my Facebook page for KEELYBURNS DESIGN, and so far I have had great feedback. As a result, I have landed a freelance job with a big marketing company and I have a couple of small businesses that asked me to make them logos and promotional design. Being a freelancer while working full time sometimes makes it difficult to have a good balance.

Learning that organization is key to keeping my sanity and keeping a work-life balance, especially since I still work full time as well. Therefore I created a filing system in both my computer and in binders that I keep in or on my desk has helped. I also have a binder for invoicing and budgets, one for projects that are on-going, one for my schedule.

Along with the binders, I have a notebook where I write all the project information (date the project was given to me, due date, specs and notes/ feedback from the client). This is extremely helpful when clients want the work done a certain way (a way you don’t usually work). For example, one client preferred that I used different layers in InDesign for different elements– text, images, vectors, etc., when before this I only worked that way in Photoshop and Illustrator. Now, this is the way I work, I found it way more organized.

Advice

My number one hint to anyone wanting to start freelancing or working from home: Get organized and stay organized. Make a schedule and stick to it. Clients appreciate when you are organized and it looks much more professional. Let’s be honest, if you are sticking to your schedule, all your work will be done on time, and clients will expect that. If you start sending in projects late, your client list will get thinner and thinner, which means: hello 9-5 office job, goodbye freedom.

Here are a few more ways to get a better work/ life balance