Juggling several clients at the same time while delivering quality work is a skill that involves careful planning and execution. If the thought of delivering quality work to an increasing number of different clients seems daunting, don’t worry! Take a deep breath and have a look at these time management tips from the Upwork Facebook community.
“As someone who spends her entire workday at a computer, I find having a simple notebook to handwrite my day down in keeps me the most focused. Not only is it a visual representation of my day, but I tend to remember everything on my plate better when there’s a hand-to-paper connection. I know a lot of people who use Google Calendar (or something similar) but nothing I’ve found beats this simple tool for staying on task.”
“Yes indeed, [Carissa]! Speaking from my own experience: Writing with a pen is much slower than the keyboard, but it actually gives us time to process the information and think of the things we are putting into our notes. Unlike the online organizing tools where you can just copy and paste… then you turn your head to find your ‘organization’ is just a bunch of endless to-dos. A good old agenda and some lovely markers, and there we go—that’s my case!”
– Jeca Novakovic
“I base the amount of time with each client on the priority of the project. If there is a deadline for one project, then I calculate approximately how many hours I will need to invest in that project each day to complete it on time, and factor this into my daily schedule. The more projects I’m working on at a time, the more necessary it becomes to maintain a detailed and specific schedule each week.
“I use Google Calendar to create the schedule. I also use a color-coded spreadsheet to keep track of all of my past and present clients and the details of the projects I completed for them. I color code them based on whether they are past, temporarily inactive, or active projects/clients. This helps a lot when I’m contacted by a former client for a new project, because I can look them up and be prepared for their new project needs.”
“I usually juggle 5-6 projects at a time. I have made a spreadsheet in which I block my working hours per day. I have a realistic daily target (usually not more than 6 hours)… I’ve set up the spreadsheet so it shows the percentage my workweek completed and the number of [estimated] hours remaining per client.
“Every day I set 30 minutes to do ‘small things first’ such as e-mails and making a to-do list, sometimes submitting proposals. This is time I can’t book [for a client]. I divide the to-do list in ‘Today’ and ‘Tomorrow’ to keep it from getting messy. The to-do list is flexible, and I change the priority [of tasks] daily based on client requests. I plan free time too.
“If an incoming email involves less than 3 minutes work, I usually answer right away. I write down bigger questions in my to-do list, then send a confirmation of the new task to my client. Works like a charm.”
“The key to juggling multiple projects is to set realistic deadlines for each individual project before committing to it with the client. The quality of the work should not suffer because of the juggling.”
What do you do to manage your time when balancing multiple clients? Tell us in the comments!
Editor’s note: Responses edited for grammar, spelling, and clarity. The statements above are those of their authors and do not constitute the views or opinions of Upwork.
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