Accountability thread for freelance procrastinators - anyone?

[Runningoverthefields]

I've made a resolution to become more productive in my working hours - and then to switch off the computer sometimes and take a proper break.

Anyone want to join me?

We could check in on the thread each time we're going to start a work 'sprint' (eg in the next 30 minutes I'm going to do task xyz) and then check in when task is done. Or we could just check in every time we feel our attention wandering during the day to say 'drifted off for a second there, right now, I'm going back to do xyz') and let each other know whether we achieved it. Or we could swap any tips for staying productive... whatever everyone would find useful.

For me this is partly about getting more work done, but it's also about stopping work on time. Sometimes I procrastinate all day and then don't go to the gym because 'I really must finish this work off', or check email over the weekend because I feel guilty that I didn't work hard enough in my work hours.

Maybe I'm the only one who struggles with staying motivated through the day when being my own boss and with working from home. But I suspect not

Or maybe this thread already exists and I've missed it???

To kick off - I am now going to send 10 emails chasing clients for feedback/payment/paperwork and then I'll come back and say 'DONE'

Thanks FauxFox waiting to hear back. Yes, this thread does help hey? Am fancying a G & T tonight after my couple of days of being unwell. Catch up tomorrow.

It's interesting what things can be motivating!
For tasks that I'm really dreading and avoiding, I find that setting the clock for a 15 minute burst can get me started - it's such a short time commitment that it takes away the scary factor, and if I do this a few times then before I know it I'm a good way through the task.

I'll be joining this thread tomorrow. I need to put together a budget for a client that will only take me around half an hour to create but I have been putting it off all week.

I also have to pack for a weekend away - we leave tomorrow evening - which I hate doing can can easily take me an entire day.

So tomorrow's jobs are budget, packing and car loaded in the morning. Other chargeable tasks will be a bonus.

How is everyone doing today? Still no work in the diary but am gaining courage in 'putting myself out there' just plucking up the courage to contact an extremely successful business person to offer to review his website (show-stopping errors) also going to a couple of networking events next week, had a call about a permanent job (really don't want to work for someone else unless BIG bucks) and had a couple of random enquiries/new Linkedin contacts. How do I word my email to this prospective customer (known in my mind as Alan Sugar!)

Helloooooo.... anyone around? Hope you are all busy, just checking in to say...6 jobs on the go. funny how it can all change in a blink of an eye. Hope everyone is well, come back I'm lonely!

hello grumpy! congrats on your new projects....!

still here, I might pop by tomorrow as I have a packed day and hoping to spur myself on to completion of a few important items.... :-)

Grumpy you sound nicely busy! :)
I have procrastinated for over an hour already! :(

OK today I have to do:

1. prospect emails
2. client emails
3. try to avoid going back to the fridge as some sort of punctuation to my tasks...
4. 2 pieces of work for clients
5. Anytime leftover I will be attacking project paper mountain...

I might try the timer idea whiteiris...

God I am going so slowly........... only sorted out the family finances and a 100 other things, so,

1. prospect emails
2. client emails
3. try to avoid going back to the fridge as some sort of punctuation to my tasks... SO FAR, SO GOOD.
4. 2 pieces of work for clients 1 DONE, 1 TO GO
5. Anytime leftover I will be attacking project paper mountain...

I am doing the timer, I just have little self-control!!

Yay, done everything on the list for a change! This means I can reward myself with.. the laundry... hmm.. not very exciting :(!

This online accountability does work, so did the online timer.

I'll be back in a few days. Hope everyone has a good rest of week...

Grumpyoldblonde - I hear you. I had a really quiet May, but am ridiculously over-booked now.

Not helped by one client 'reserving my time' (his words) over the weekend, then only sending 1/3 of the work. I've edited it, sent it back and chased him for the rest, but he has not answered. I am very tempted to bill him for the 15 hours we agreed.

I think that's fair primal! You could say you cancelled a family outing or something so it was wasted time your end.

I find it so hard managing client expectations around what I can achieve and when I can do it. Frequently they email me at 6pm asking for it to be done by morning, or over the weekend. Also not considering I am a LP with a toddler and little help!! So I am constantly fighting fire.

Am currently chasing a new client who asked me to do urgent work, which I did (second project for her, first paid fine) and then she has ignored two weeks worth of emails and calls and the invoice - I have been trying to get her to confirm it was all ok. It's £180 and I am getting worried as I have no way of contacting her other than her number!! I hope she's not trying to do a runner. It was a referral from another colleague she sometimes uses and I don't think they even have a proper address for her. :-( lesson learned for next time. I rarely have any issues like this but I think I need some sort of checking process for new clients and payments upfront.

Oh, late payers and time faffers, the joy of the freelance life, I hope you get paid soon Griselda, I am owed £500 at the moment which I could do with so I get you.
I went to a networking event today and have 2 further jobs to get done but I won't make the deadline as I have my interview tomorrow and I am having a clothing crises plus need to do my nails. So, I am busy and really don't know if I would want the part time job I am going for. It is quite a distance and my house is not small so takes a fair bit of cleaning plus all the 'mum' stuff and freelance work. The job itself would be fab if it were nearby but the idea of getting home at 7pm does not thrill me much. Only so many hours in the day and I really want to make a go of working only for myself but a bit of stability would be great. Oh my head, she pounds!

what did you decide on the job Grumpy?

Had a bit of an odd day, a client I did work for last year but turned out to be incredibly hard work (e.g. was working into the early hours for not enough ££, expecting everything ASAP, generally quite rude but polite as anything when they wanted something - other colleagues even warned me about them on other matters) asked me to help out with another project this year. Last year they loved it but were such hard work I was a bit reticent. However I accepted it as it was a reasonably prestigious project.

They gave me a really vague brief and said they were open to ideas, my project was sent and they pulled it apart, changed the brief completely so I said I wasn't interested in doing it further unless the budget was significantly increased....they wanted me to go in and work on it in house which I didn't want to do and we agreed to part ways with a part payment for work done to date. I am relieved as they are such a difficult client to work with and I don't want my life turned upside down to accommodate their ridiculous demands, however I am gutted as well that it didn't work out, particularly as I thought what I did was actually very good, although I am blaming it on the poor brief.

They wanted me to go in and sit with them to do it as they wanted but I wasn't up for this. Never liked the guy anyway, seems slithery and fickle! Nevertheless my confidence has taken a massive knock. :-(

Can I join? I had an exceptionally bad week in terms of procrastinating this last week - couldn't seem to get my arse in gear mentally until Friday and then had a really productive day. Got a really busy 2 weeks ahead as multiple copy deadlines and a website branding and other stuff ahead plus a Gulf War memorial to do!

So I really need to buckle down and stop being distracted!

griselda101 that client sounds awful, don't let your confidence be knocked by it. I've had some hideous clients like the one from Dubai that skyped and expected me to stay up all night doing his brochure, just really rude because I wasn't going to do it!

I am going to make a resolution to plan my days better in terms of focussing on projects and taking lunch breaks properly (tend to grab crisps and coke and it's not doing my waistline any favours) and making time to do a run before school pick up time.

welcome sporting! sounds like you have a lot on, I always find my work slows down when I have less on as I am out of the "flow" of things, then when I get busy again once I am up to speed it's ok!! Maybe just do the easiest bits first to get you going again

Thanks for the words of support too. I had an awful weekend where he was refusing part of the invoice then I said I wouldn't release original files until he'd paid all, eventually paid and I released the files. Then he had the cheek to forward on a dialogue between the new person he's hired and him (indicating the new person's pay and comments about my work) asking me to forward their documents (unrelated to me) to the new person! I have ignored but am very angry as it's completely unprofessional and felt like he was rubbing my nose in it. The cheek!!! Two other professionals I know have fallen out with him so at least I know it's not only me. I usually get really good praise from clients so I have to remember that to avoid going into the pit of despair!! :-)

Best of luck with the projects this week, I need to get back in flow and have a couple of easy briefs on so hope this week goes better!!

Afternoon, hello sporting Oh Griselda, sounds like the client from hell, hope you can move on and forget quickly.

I have 2 jobs lined up for tomorrow but the client hasn't sent me the correct files - much faffing and I am going to have to charge for the time spent checking and emailing hem and waiting, no more Mrs Nice Woman!
I got the job I went for! I am going to take it as it is 3 days a week, great money and lovely people so on the other days I will continue my freelance work and try to build that up, getting more experience and so on. I am going to be uber busy, so must get organised with clothes, shopping deliveries, school stuff and the rest of it. I am thinking one task a day in housework e.g.change beds Friday morning, clean bathroom (properly) Sunday morning so I keep on top of things but don't get stressed. nearly 12 year old daughter can pitch in more for extra pocket money I guess, she is more than capable of dusting, emptying dishwasher and putting out recycling. I just felt the job would be too good to turn down at this point and a bit of stability will be good, I just hope I can cope with everything. If anyone has any tips I am happy to read them.

huge congratulations grumpy!! sounds great!! does sound like you will be very busy!! Getting your daughter to help sounds great. Maybe if your new income permits you could get a cleaner for an hour or two a week to do a once over to help out. it would help ease the load a bit, or rely on your daughter a bit more...

Congrats on the new job Grumpy! It musty be great to have some regular £ coming in ... I'm a bit envious! Getting the kids to help can save a lot of aggro if you can get the right incentives!

Griselda - hope the easier projects this week make up for the crappy client from last week...

Sport - I can spend a lot of time hanging around the fridge when I'm working at home... how can you survive on just coke and crisps?!

After my customary 90 mins doing naff all that's useful...:( (It was the crazy wedding thread that got me! - I'm going to do 1 piece of work for a client (90m) then a load of prospect/client emails, (90m) and then 60m of CPD. Well that's the plan anyway. OK, and I'm using the timer thing again, too. Ready steady go...!

Is anyone else working today?!

Didn't get to do my CPD but did all the paid work, so.... I'm spending time doing some marketing seeing as it's more do-able than CPD at this time of day... :)

hi slinky, congrats on getting your work done!! Marketing is a good idea, I must get on the case with mine!!

am trying to work but feeling low as had such a rubbish time with that client :-(. It even seeped into my weekend with them texting me asking me to do things that were not even my job to do!! Was angry and upset.

Also got a few personal things going on that are making life a bit hard. Why does everything rubbish have to happen at once?? I'm also struggling a bit with another client that thinks they can do my job. Most of the time I get lovely clients but the last couple of weeks have been really hard!

I do have a few projects I should be getting on with though. Just procrastinating a bit, confidence knocked and need to get head down and get over the other issues going on....

Might check in tomorrow morning and see if I can do a couple of hours with anti-procrastination timings!! Doesn't help that had no-one to help with DS since last Weds (am LP & his dad sometimes helps - in a limited way!) so am getting a bit stressed. I seem to have a lone parenting tolerance limit that I hit several days ago with all the other stuff going on.

God I sound like Eeyore, don't I!! Must try to snap out of it.

Griselda, sounds like you've had a tough week & a lot going on... it's definitely the hard side of being SE.. you can't have a joint bitching session with your colleagues as to the sheer unreasonableness of the client in question to take the edge off things!!

The fact that even stupidhead client needs you should give you as boost...! A bit?! It's nice to feel needed... Can you look on it more as you can get better paying and more respectful clients somewhere else..? This is why I am contemplating a work mobile!! It will go OFF at weekends and not take messages! When I can afford one that is...

Parenting tolerance limit - check! Can you plonk your DS in front of the TV for a bit and try to do something for yourself for a while?

Tomorrow is another day and all that... maybe start with something easy if you have no motivation?

I have lots to do tomorrow, little of it paid so I need to produce some decent marketing efforts to justify the day... I'll be around if you want a whinge!

thanks so much slinky for words of support!

being SE is hard work isn't it, as there's always that stress that everything is on your shoulders and no-one to sound off to as you say, or pick up when things are hard or help to ensure you have the right work on etc. I do find it quite stressful like a kind of mid-level ongoing stress that never goes away! That on top of the LP stresses is difficult, so when things go tits up with a client on top it tends to get to me!

But I am picking up a bit better this evening and focusing on an easy task as well as thinking about my career as a whole and where I really want to go with it! I've been thinking about this for ages it's just difficult to find the time to refocus in the right direction. But as DS gets older it is getting slightly easier to do more than just survive at both work and home!! Phew!!

Work mobile is a great idea. You could get a cheap as chips sim only contract and the cheapest ever phone if it's a secondary one. I use sim only plan and it's only about £3.50 per month for 300 minutes, which I figure is worth it for a secondary phone.

sorry for going off topic with my ranting! It's good to let it out a bit and thanks again for your support slinky. Wishing you a productive day tomorrow :-)

Morning all,
Griselda sorry to hear how affected you are by your stupid client, I hope you are able to put it behind you soon. Feel free to rant away here if it helps.
I don't have any work booked so far, my client really messed up with what they sent me Friday and Monday and I took far longer to do so I am going to have to charge them my time for all the emailing, printing and what not. Their fault not mine. I start new job next week, so I am planning to give the house a really good scrub, sort clothes out and fill the fridge and freezer with easily prepped food as I will be having long days with the travel and am already panicking rather about the long summer holiday approaching - childcare worries.
Agree about the work phone, we pay 10 and 7 a month for our phones and not a penny more.
Being SE is very hard, knowing the work can dry up at anytime and also working at home being distracted by the laundry and mounting dishes. I make myself go for a walk every day, even if only round the block to clear my mind. I am very grateful that I will be both employed and SE soon, although it is going to mean a lot of hard work and organisation.
Have a good day all.

...sounds like we all have irritating clients!!

The phone is an interesting one. Do you find it a pain to carry 2 phones around though?? SIM only is a good idea... I'm sure I've got an old handset knocking around somewhere. It would mean a bit of re-organisation...but definitely do-able.

Walking everyday sounds a good idea Grumpy. I like your idea of getting everything straight in order to start your new job. I am also distracted by the house stuff... some days I have built in a housework/meal prep 'cushion' so I'm not always running around trying to knock together a decent meal when my head is full of work and the children are already starving and fed up!

Griselda - I'm totally with you on the mid level stress that never goes away, I totally understand!! Although recently I've started to manage my time a lot better, and give myself enough breaks etc and it's made a big difference to how I can separate out what I am supposed to be doing and when. See housework cushion, above...not saying it always works though.

OK, tasks for today
Client emails & diary DONE
Work 1 - 60 mins
Work 2 - 30 mins
Go for a walk
Work 3 - 90 mins
Start dinner & do a load of laundry...

So, this week has been more productive, although yesterday was not as great as I had an appointment to add DH to savings account so had to trek into town and as always when he is on day off he is a bit of a pain for disturbing me. Monday I was called to collect DS from school as he threw up on his writing book, so then I had to spend parts of the day looking after him, who remarkably got better once I had him home so I think it may have been overheating in the class .

So one client is loving the website stuff I've done for him and wants full stationery/branding etc so good result there. Another is very pleased with their stuff. Just a double pager to do today and another 3 clients to come with info/briefs for their stuff and then to see what next week is bringing!

I'm thinking about a work phone too as it will separate it all out for tax purposes!

Will take a break shortly and toddle off to Aldi. Guaranteed a client will ring me whilst I'm in there, they always pick their moments!