Work Overload and How to Deal

I’m on a train headed to a Mets game, and I’m finally enjoying a rare window of time to take a breather and reflect on all that’s been going on around me these days.

I’ve been literally drowning in a sea of client work over the past month.  And it’s attacking from all directions: ongoing website design/development projects, a flurry of website maintenance requests, new client referrals, plus internal business tasks.

Sometimes I joke that all my clients and prospects secretly get together on Sunday nights to plot a massive attack of work requests to bombard me with on Monday morning.  How else could I explain why my client requests always seem to come knocking when my plate is already full?

Ugh.  Being busy is…

The norm.

It’s the job.  Running a freelance web design business is so much more than the job title implies.

It’s more than pushing pixels in photoshop.  It’s more than firing up code.  It’s more than project management.  It’s more than entrepreneurship.

It’s all of these things, mashed together to form a ginormous beast of a job description.  Here are a few of the perks:

• Working an average of 60 hours per week.
• Managing all sorts of stress.
• Working alone.
• Working with others – often over email or instant message.
• No paid vacations.
• No paid sick days.
• No guaranteed pay.
• Little or no job security.
• Employer health care? 401k?  Never heard of it.

Why would anyone subject themselves to this torture you ask?

It’s worth it.

It is for me at least.

I love knowing that I’m in control of my own destiny as a freelance business owner.  I love every part of the job.  Even the parts that are hard, frustrating, annoying, aggravating.

It’s a challenge.  Every day.  And for all the hardships that this job entails, it has proven to be extremely rewarding in terms of personal growth.  I have learned so much about myself through my work as a freelance business owner.

How I make it work

A tremendous amount of mistakes and lessons learned the hard way have brought me to where I am today – a self sustaining freelancer who actually enjoys his job.

My learning, tweaking, and improving is far from complete, nor will it ever be complete.  That aspect is a major part of the job.

But let me share a few things I have picked up along the way that keep me from going completely insane:

1. Time management. There is work time and there is leisure time.  You have to mentally distinguish between the two.  That means letting that “urgent” incoming email on Sunday night during your favorite show (Entourage on HBO) wait until normal business hours on Monday morning.  It also means waking up just as early as the rest of the working world.
2. Task management. I recently began using Things for mac.  Before that, I relied heavily on Google Calendar.  Before that I relied on written to-do lists.  Always keep a bullet-proof system for managing the tasks you can’t forget about.  Don’t rely on your own memory, or scribbling things on post-it notes.
3. Priority management. You have to know what is most important to your life at all times.  Yes, client work and deadlines are important.  That’s how you make your living.  But you have to weigh the other parts of your life heavily as well.  Family, friends, and your own personal time-off.  Without these support systems, you won’t be able to produce your best work.  When prioritizing within the boundries of your work, don’t forget to think big picture.  Where is your business going?  What are your long-term goals?

Obviously, these are just the tip of the iceberg of the freelance business owner’s lifestyle.  I plan to expand on all these ideas in upcoming posts.

Whenever I find another bit of time!