10 key strategies to become more efficient as a freelancer


Rinkel colleague Maria
Maria Bielsa
update: 30 May 2023

Being self-employed and being your own boss brings great personal and professional satisfaction, but it also brings with it the challenge of maximising your time to be as efficient as possible, especially if you work alone. Here are ten strategies that will help you manage all your resources optimally to increase productivity and keep stress at bay:

Set schedules and boundaries. This is the only way to avoid burnout, physical and mental fatigue, and to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Learn to prioritise. Identify the most important and urgent tasks and projects, and focus your time and energy on completing them before moving on to others.

Plan and manage your time. Organise your daily and weekly tasks, set deadlines and use time tracking tools to keep track of how much you spend on each project and task. This will help you to be more realistic about the workloads you can take on or spot obstacles in your workflows.

Start delegating. If you work with collaborators, learn to delegate to them to free up time and energy that you can invest in more important tasks that will grow your business. 

Take regular breaks. Not taking a break can end up affecting your productivity and concentration, and ultimately your business. Take time off, days off and holidays so that you can be at 100% for your working day. 

Keep your workspace organised. Clutter and clutter in your workspace can affect your ability to concentrate and waste time, your most valuable resource.

Set clear goals. Set clear short-, medium- and long-term goals and objectives and review them from time to time to be aware of your progress, detect what can be improved and, if necessary, readjust your goals realistically based on your experience.

Automate tasks. Technology can be your great ally to gain efficiency and reduce costs by delegating certain tasks to it in order to save time and minimise errors. 

Have collaborators. Looking for talent and establishing collaborations with professionals who bring a new vision to your company can help you expand your business, win new clients and even offer new services. 

Never stop updating. If you have taken the step towards digital transformation, it is important that you stay connected to the advances and updates in your sector and all those digital tools that are helping you to reduce costs in order to benefit from all the advantages in the long term.