When many people think of freelancing, they often have an over exaggerated idea of how flexible and relaxed it is. While these perks can be true, freelancing can be hard work at times. With this hard work, it’s only natural for you to put off some jobs that really need to be dealt with.
Here are some duties that freelancers often delay, that you should attend to, as soon as possible.
1. Send those invoices!
Without sending your invoices, you won’t get paid. Though you may love your job, getting paid is probably the main reason you do it.
Therefore, getting your invoices sorted and sent out, is an extremely important task to prioritize.Next, comes chasing payments for any invoices that you’ve already sent. Sometimes, businesses may not pay you when they say they will, and without constant reminders, this may get later and later. The longer you leave it, the longer they’ll leave it.
If you haven’t been paid, services like invoice factoring from fundinvoice.co.uk can really help.You can get working capital for any outstanding sales invoices and ensure that the late-paying invoice from your client doesn’t leave you with a low cash flow. Use the money for any purpose.
2. Sort out your taxes
Having to do your own taxes is probably one of the biggest downsides of being a freelancer. However, this might be one of the most important jobs that you shouldn’t be putting off. Getting your taxes done and out of the way, is a major weight off your shoulders.
3. Do some work admin
Most jobs require a little bit of admin, but when you’re freelance, it’s so easy to just focus on your work and postpone this constantly. You’ve probably made the little things you have to do, bigger in your mind, and actually sitting down to take care of them, will help you see this.
Whether it’s finally ordering that new device or catching up on emails, getting it done sooner rather than later, is better.
4. Do some life admin
Admin doesn’t just come into your work life though: “life admin,” is all those little things that you’ve been meaning to do in your personal life that you haven’t got round to yet. This could be anything, from calling a gas engineer, to ordering a birthday present for a loved one.
Not letting work get in the way of this stuff too much, means you’ll avoid that feeling of being overwhelmed by‘things to do’. Life admin is just as important as work admin.
5. Take a look ahead
In any job, it’s easy to get stuck in the here and now. If you are working on a big project or have been doing work for a client for a long period of time, it’s natural to not think too far ahead.
When you’re a freelancer though, you always need to be thinking about where your next paycheck is coming from and this involves a good level of planning. Making sure that you’re taking time to plan your next move, will set you on the right track andkeep you in the job market.