I used to fall into that last group. I’d work 60 to 80 hours a week early on in my writing and PR consulting business. And the work I loved started to turn into something I hated. By the time Monday mornings would roll around, I was just starting to relax from the weekend. And then it was back to the daily grind. It was no way to live.

There was an important lesson I had to learn the hard way — productivity is king when you’re your own boss. There’s no one there to ride you when things aren’t getting done. I worked hard to increase my productivity and more than double the amount of work I could get done in a day.

The result? I stopped working 60+ hour weeks. I started working only four days per week, taking off every Friday so I had plenty of time to unwind. And in my 28 working hours per week, I got far more work done and I made more money. Best of all, I started to love my work again.

That’s not to say I never slip. When other things monopolize my time, I still get behind on work projects (like the last couple of months when I was settling into my new place and trying to plan a wedding). Now I’m getting back to normal and the weight is finally starting to lift again. I just had to get back to the fundamentals that helped me increase my productivity in the first place so I could get more done and stress less.

You can do that too! If you’re feeling overwhelmed trying to run a successful freelance business, or you just don’t feel like you have the time to do what you need to do in order to grow, try these tips. They’re some of my favorite tactics for increasing productivity and getting much more done every day.

1. Keep a Task List

I’m a huge fan of to-do lists. I keep both a daily one and a weekly one, and calendars help if I have monthly deadlines to keep track of. There’s just something about checking off completed tasks that motivates me to get things done. I keep hard copy lists for this very reason (on various sized index cards). You can use those, paper, a white board, your smartphone, or a computer document. Do whatever works for you.

2. Streamline

I run a lot of websites, and that means there are a lot of administrative tasks to deal with. They don’t take long, as long as I streamline them. For example, I open a bunch of blog admin windows at the same time. Then I go to each tab and eliminate spam comments and approve valid ones. Then I run any plugin or WordPress updates that have to be run. Rather than doing all of this for each site separately, I do one task at a time for the whole bunch. The process is faster, because I don’t have to change the thought process as often. See if there are things you can streamline.

3. Race the Clock

When I’m really feeling unmotivated, I try to make work feel more like a time management game. You can too. Race the clock by setting a timer (I use the one at e.ggtimer.com). You can set it for any period you want. Personally I do best using the Pomodoro technique — 25 minutes working, then a five minute break (and longer breaks between every four-session block). You might just be amazed at how much you can get done in 25 minutes when you fully focus on the task at hand.

4. Outsource

Can’t do it all yourself anymore? Then it’s time to outsource. I’m a big fan of the DIY approach. But sometimes it just isn’t feasible. Spending money to hire help can leave you with more time to do the real income-generating work (meaning even though you spend more, you still make more). For example, you might outsource your blog comment management, your social media promotion, market research tasks, email marketing, proofreading, or website administration.

5. De-Clutter

Clutter can involve more than a messy desk (which itself can be a productivity killer — and which I’m sometimes guilty of myself). You might also have a problem with virtual clutter — an unruly inbox, easy access to too many social media sites, or too many blogs in your feed reader. These things become distractions. Find a way to get them under control. For example, you might limit your email to the start and end of your work day. Or you might set aside social media and blog reading time for certain times of the day (even during your Pomodoro breaks if you use the “race the clock” tip above).

6. Tackle Tiny Tasks

Sometimes productivity issues stem from a task feeling overwhelming. So we can procrastinate. Try to break things down. For example, I have a weekly blogging contract with one of my regular clients. To think about the work on a weekly basis would make my head spin. So I break his work down on my to-do list into individual posts. I get to check off all the little tasks, which motivates me towards finishing the big one — the weekly contract. I do similar things with white papers and e-books that I write for clients, breaking them into things like the outline, research period, each section or chapter’s draft, and then proofreading for example.

7. Take a Break

This might be the last thing you think you should do if you’re trying to get more done in a day. But it’s probably the most important tip I can give you. I didn’t more than double my output in the past because of all the little tricks I’ve already mentioned. Oh, they helped. But they would have been useless had I not also gotten more downtime.

That was why the four-day work week led to bigger and better things. I got to de-stress in between bouts of work. I wasn’t getting that before. And now it’s an integral part of every day. If I need a break, I take one. It’s better to take a nap for 30 minutes and come back fresh than it is to stare at your screen for an hour because you really don’t want to be there. That’s not to say you can be undisciplined. You have to have limits. But breaks prevent burn out. And if you let yourself hit that burn out point, you can kiss any semblance of productivity goodbye.

What kinds of things have you done to improve your productivity as a freelance writer so you can get more done every day? What’s worked the best and what didn’t work for you? If you tried any of these things in particular, how did it go? Share your thoughts in the comments.

But I don’t have time for marketing! This is a common complaint shared by many freelance writers. However, you should not let this complaint turn into an excuse. If you do, you could be harming your chance of future success.

Need more time to market your services? Experiment with these three tips:

1. Set time aside every day. For example, you may decide that you are going to work on marketing related tasks every day from 12 to 1 pm. When you have time set aside it is much easier to focus solely on this task, without ever missing a beat.

2. Create a marketing plan. If you don’t have a plan you won’t know what to do next. And when you don’t know what to do next, there is a good chance that you will end up wasting time while making no progress. No matter if you are a beginner or have been freelancing for many years, you need a marketing plan that you can rely on.

3. Set goals. By setting goals, you will find it easier to hold yourself accountable. In turn, you will always save time for marketing.

There comes a point, though, when you physically can’t take on anymore work and you need to start turning projects down – something which you probably never thought you would do.

Although it might seem a relatively simple thing to do – saying no – to ensure that you are as professional and respected as possible, maintaining and developing your reputation as a quality freelance, there are 4 points you should always keep in mind when turning down a freelance writing project.

1. Never, ever be rude – no matter if someone’s come to ask you to write a 300 word blog post that will require a few hours worth of researching for $0.02 per word, it’s imperative that you’re never rude to them.  Ever.

   Apart from the fact manners don’t cost a thing and (as old fashioned as it may sound) you should always treat people how you would like to be treat yourself, you never know who exactly the person is, what contacts they have and who they network with.

   They might seem like someone who is simply after some work for next to nothing, but if they are a part of a large online community and you’re rude to them, you can bet your life they’re going to have a moan to someone about it – most likely their friends and colleagues in their online community.

   Plus, they might just be really misinformed about prices and need advice more than anything.  Simple.

2. Always explain why you’re saying no – whether it’s because the per word / hour rate is too low, you don’t have enough time or the topic isn’t one you know a great deal about, make sure that you always give a reason and don’t just say “sorry, I can’t do this project”.

   The reason behind this is simple – if you give an explanation as to why you can’t take on the project, the client will be aware of, for instance, what topics you do actually cover.  Therefore, they’ll know who to come to in the future should they need someone who can produce work in the niche(s) you cover.

3. Give an alternative – whenever I turn down work, I always make sure I give an alternative option to the client.

   If they’re wanting someone to produce work in a niche I don’t specialize in, I refer them to a writer I know who covers that topic.

   If they’re looking to have someone write to a per hour / word rate that I can’t  work at – and none of the writers I know could – I’ll generally try and see if we can work together by looking at what it is they need and if we can reduce the number of words so to increase the per hour / word rate.

   And if I simply don’t have enough time, I let them know that I’ll send the details of the project to a few different writers, who’ll then contact them directly should they be able to help.

4. Thank them – there are two things which can make a discussion instantly more pleasant – whether it’s by e-mail, over the telephone or face-to-face – ad they’re “please” and “thank you”.

   They’re both two simple phrases but they can transform, in this instance, an e-mail from one that might sound a little ungrateful or harsh into one that is polite and friendly.

   It doesn’t have to be a whole paragraph saying how much you appreciate the person getting in touch, but a short sentence thanking them for considering you for their project will suffice – remember, they’ve contacted you so they feel that you would be best for their project.  That alone is something to make you smile and say thanks for.

This post might make me come across as particularly old fashioned, as when it get’s down to it, it’s all about being pleasant and polite.  But like I said above, manners really don’t cost a thing and when you get to the point where you can say no to clients, although you’ll feel like you’ve hit a milestone, it’s important that you are always professional in your approach to rejecting projects, so to ensure that your reputation as a freelance writer never falters.

Good for Me. So What?

My productivity has at least doubled recently – I’m getting far more done every day even though I have far more to do every day (client work has been booming, and I always have my own sites to spend some time on).

The Best Part?

I only had to make one little change in my routine to improve my productivity and satisfaction with my freelance writing work. Just one. What was it?

I reset my alarm clock.

Now, instead of dragging my sorry ass out of bed at 7 or 8 o’clock in the morning, squeezing in a workout, and then working straight into the evening on one thing or another, I get up at 5am.

Oh, I can hear the grumbling now. “There’s no way in HELL you’re going to see me up, nonetheless working at 5am!” you’re saying. “But I work better at night,” you’re thinking.

I used to say the same things. I work very well late in the evenings – as things are winding down and getting quiet. But there’s no way around the fact that our brains, late at night, are prepping to rest. We can’t expect to truly be at our best when we’ve been working our minds all day long, even if on seemingly mundane, non-work-related things. (Now of course, I’m talking about people who actually sleep during “normal” hours in the evenings – if you sleep in the afternoon and then get up to work all night, you’re a completely different animal).

I’ve found that the biggest reason I didn’t do this earlier was the fact that I kept telling myself that I couldn’t, or didn’t want to. I still struggle in the mornings sometimes to convince myself I’ll be happier later if I get up “now.” But that’s exactly what happens.

I wish I could tell you how incredible it feels when I have nearly all of my “required” work done by lunch time, and just a few things to clear up after lunch before I quit (anywhere from 1:30 – 2:30 depending on how long I was out walking or whatever before work).

The thing is, afternoons had always been my most unproductive working time. Lately though, even after putting in a full official day at work, I have more energy during those afternoon hours where I seem to be getting a heck of a lot done (either around the apartment or my less creative personal projects – I do still get into my most creative mindset after dark).

Try it. Even if you only do it for a day, or a week, try it. Make a note of your biggest problem areas with productivity, and then see how you fare with an early start-time. You may just be surprised and realize there’s “more time” in the day than you previously thought. At the same time, it may very well not work for you. If that’s the case, try 6am. Or try an even later time. Maybe try working overnight and sleeping in the afternoon. Obviously what you can manage will depend on some external factors, such as whether or not you have children that need to be shuttled around during the day, or if you have another full-time job. But play with your clock (external and internal) if you can, and come back to let me know if changes worked as well for you as they did for me.