Whether you are just starting out in your business or have been at it for a while, we can all use a little motivation to keep us on track and productive. We’ve all had those days when it feels like you’re working so hard and then 5 pm rolls around and you wonder why your to-do list isn’t any shorter. Working from home and managing multiple clients has taught me some serious productivity hacks for juggling multiple clients and working from home!
Ever wonder if a client isn’t right for you? Read this blog post to find out.
Productivity Hacks for Juggling Multiple Clients
Use a Task Management System
As much as we think we can handle our workload by writing it down on post-its, notebooks, or calendars, it’s not the most efficient way to manage our tasks. There are some helpful programs like ClickUp to keep your clients’ tasks separated and organized.
With ClickUp, you can input tasks that need to be completed with detailed information for each one and include a due date. This helps you stay on task and meet deadlines. This is especially helpful if you have a team assisting you with your clients’ work. You can assign your team members different tasks and stay up to date with their progress.
Batch Your Content and Work Ahead
Another productivity hack that I love to use is batching content. If you’re scheduling Instagram posts daily, try scheduling posts for a week or even a few weeks at a time. This saves time because it means less switching between tasks. It’s even helpful to do one client’s scheduling for Instagram. Then, do another client’s scheduling for Instagram after that.
Think of your brain like an airplane. It takes a lot to get up in the air, but once you’re there, it’s smooth sailing with little effort after you’ve reached the perfect altitude. Well, your brain is like that too. Each time you start and stop tasks, you’re having to “take off” and “land” the plane. This wastes time, brain power, and energy.
I highly recommend working ahead as much as possible to allow life to happen. If you’re constantly chasing your tail to get tasks completed, maybe you have too much of a workload and need to evaluate it. Or maybe you can subcontract work out. Working ahead allows your brain to breed creativity so that you can create optimal workflows for yourself. If you feel like you can barely keep your head above water, there’s no room for you to be creative and look at the big picture for your business.
Make a Big-Three List
Whether you love making lists or not, you should always have three must-do goals/tasks to accomplish each day. Not just goals or tasks like answering all your emails, but goals that actually move the needle for your business. For example, it could be you have to get a blog post written for one of your clients or send out 10 pitch emails to potential clients. These tasks should also be attainable for the time you have available that day. Don’t overwhelm yourself because you’ll feel defeated right off the bat. Feel free to use your Google calendar for this. You can even set reminders or tasks within the calendar so that you don’t forget things you might need to do a month from now!
Time Tracking
Time tracking is one of the biggest time management tools that we believe in. This is a big one for managing your productivity and keeping all your clients and projects organized! We love to use Toggl for time tracking because it’s easy to use, and best of all, it’s completely free! You have to enter what task and project you are working on, so it forces you to stick to the task one task at a time and not jump around. When you’re managing multiple client projects, it can be easy to want to jump from task to task, as different things pop into your brand. However, staying focused and working through your big three is going to get you the best results. Not to mention, excellent results mean flawless work, which means happy clients, which means you’ll be able to increase your prices!
Cut Out Distractions
There are lots of distractions in today’s world. There’s of course our cell phones, kids, emails – the list can go on and on. But it’s important to eliminate as many distractions as possible when you’re working on important tasks, especially when you’re working on a big three task.
Put your cell phone on the other side of the room in “do not disturb” mode. That way, you won’t see any notifications like emails, Instagram, or text messages coming through. You can personalize your “do not disturb” mode like your phone still rings when your favorites call. That way, if it’s an emergency, you’ll still get a phone call and can have peace of mind knowing that. All other notifications can wait until you’re finished with what you’re working on.
If your spouse, partner, or roommate also works from home, kindly let them know you’re going to be working on something for the next hour or two – or however long you need – and you’ll talk to them after you’re finished.
Set Up Communication Guidelines with Clients
At the beginning of your working relationship with each client, you should set up clear client communication. It’s a good idea to ask your client when task loads will be received and how will they be received. For example, if your client sends tasks to you on Friday mornings for tasks to be completed the following week, you could plan out the following week on that Friday afternoon. That way, when you’re going into a fresh week, you know exactly what you need to get done and when. Will the tasks be emailed to you? Will they be uploaded to a shared Google calendar? Those are questions you should get answered from each of your clients as well. Setting up boundaries around communication not only benefits you but the client as well! This is a great way to ensure you are both on the same page as well! You will want to ensure you dive into all of this during your first client meeting. Remember, it’s your job to ensure you are managing your clients and fostering a great working relationship!
The phrase working smarter, not harder couldn’t be truer for this type of work. It’s all about organizing, prioritizing, and creating open lines of communication with each of your clients. With those skills, you’ll create a productive workflow.
Use a Project Management Tool
We love to use Clickup here at The Notoire Media House! The free version is perfect if you’re just starting out and starting to get used to having everything all in one place. It may seem like a robust tool when you just have one to two clients. As you continue to build your business, we promise, that a project management tool is going to be essential for keeping track of all the details and deadlines that pop up with managing multiple clients. If you’re wondering what other tools we use in our business daily, CHECK OUT THIS POST!
Do you have a productivity hack to share? Let me know in the comments below!
