Any kind of a template can be called a cheat sheet, and the beauty of them is that you only have to create them once.  You might have a template for press releases or grants, for a website design, or for CSS style sheets to help get you started. There’s no point in rewriting the same code a hundred times for a hundred different projects, so use a cheat sheet template as your basis then make the necessary changes.  Just be sure you use your template only as a starting point to avoid having to redo the basics.  Then make each project unique.

Cheat sheets for infrequent tasks can be a life saver, too. You won’t have to struggle with trying to remember how to do something, make false starts that waste your time, and in a worst case scenario can cause you to mess up your work.  If you have a cheat sheet on how to do something, you’ll only spend the time it takes to glance at the instructions and you’re ready to go.

You can find cheat sheets online for a variety of projects, from email templates to bits of handy code, and even ready-to-print instructions for certain pieces of software and certain tools within them, so take advantage of these web freebies.  Also, making your own cheat sheets is a great idea.  When you come across a task that you’re unfamiliar with, as soon as you’ve successfully used a software tool or found that shorthand you needed, write it down.  Write down the step by step tasks and store it in a “cheat sheet” folder or print it out for easy access, so next time you need to do the same thing, you’ll only need to glance at your cheat sheet instead of figuring the process out all over again.

Start on projects early.  If you know it’ll take you 5 days, don’t want until T-minus 5 days to start the project.  You don’t know what unexpected interruptions could slow you down, and you’re risking finishing the project late if you only give yourself enough time to finish it under ordinary circumstances.  If it’ll take you 5 days and it’s due in 2 weeks, start now.  You might have it done in 5 days, but you’ve gotten an early start and will probably finish it early.  And you’ve got a built-in cushion if something should go wrong.

If you start the project earlier, you won’t have to rush, which can cause problems.  You’ll be done early enough to be able to revise a little more before turning it in, too. While you might take a certain sense of pride in starting a project at zero hour and getting it done on time, how much better would it be if you’d had a day between writing and revising? 

A freelancer who delivers not just on time, but before the scheduled deadline, will stick out in a client’s mind.  You might benefit by getting more assignments or getting special rush assignments, for more pay, because you’re so reliable. You also might get some referrals from this client, because you started earlier and turned in great work ahead of schedule.

Don’t underestimate the opposite effect, what happens when you turn work in late or in less-than-stellar condition, even if you’ve always been reliable before.  That project that’s a week overdue might be a crucial one with other decisions and their own clients hinging on its completion.  No matter how much great work you’ve given them before, certain circumstances could make that one mistake the last you’ll ever make for that client.

Organizing your freelance life might seem daunting and will take a little time in the beginning, but once you get a system in place, every day will go much more smoothly and you’ll get more done in less time. The more organized you are when it comes to time and money, the more you’re freed up to do the creative work within that frame, and the more successful you’ll be.

Make a schedule and stick to it.  Look at your projects, and block out hours of your work day for certain tasks.  A common freelancing mistake is underestimating the time a project will take, so in the beginning, make a guess and add a few hours of extra time to your estimate just in case.  At worst, you’ll allot too much time and have that left over to do more prospecting or get a head start on another project.

Another common mistake when scheduling freelance work time is to only consider the actual work.  If you’re scheduling your writing or design time, and it’s going to take you 14 hours to do a project, it might be tempting to schedule two days to complete it at 7 hours each, and call those your work days.  But you have many other tasks to complete in a day like dealing with emails or phone calls, prospecting for new clients, billing completed projects and hey, don’t forget those breaks! Schedule all these things at specific times within your day so you have an accurate picture of what you need to do, and it will be easier to stay on track, be more efficient, and avoid squandering away your valuable time.

All freelancers have a few easy clients who assign a project, disappear into the background while you do your work, pay promptly and cause few problems. And then there are clients with their peculiar quirks, who are great in one way and more difficult in others, and of course, the downright picky and difficult clients. Chances are good you won’t know which category a client falls into until you’ve already accepted the job.  You’ll get some who seem to want to make every decision for you, some who give no direction but then complain that what you’ve done isn’t what they had in mind, some who just don’t understand the technical side of things and make suggestions that would basically undermine everything you do. 

When a client insists on backseat driving while you maneuver your way through the project, you can let them—to an extent.  Make it clear that you appreciate knowing exactly what they want, but that you’re happy to do the work without quite so much involvement.  Sometimes a client can be so specific about their needs, it almost seems that they would have been better off simply doing it themselves.  When you come across a client like this, weigh your frustration against your income from the job and decide if it’s worth it to do projects for this client in the future.

Clients who take an opposite approach can be frustrating, too.  When you first start working with a client, you might not know if one who gives little direction will be one who leaves the creative and technical concerns to you and will be happy with your judgement, or they’ll end up upset because you can’t read minds and didn’t deliver quite what expected.  When a client gives little direction, ask pointed questions in the beginning to get as much input as possible, and make sure they’re aware that  changes caused because you weren’t given enough information won’t be included in your original price quote.

The problem with these freebies is that so many people trying to break into freelancing are so willing to do them, that it tends to undermine their entire field.  If a client has 20 freelancers willing to do a project for free or for unbelievably low rates because someone wants the experience, and your rates are $50 an hour, your rate is going to look extremely bloated comparatively.  Even $20 an hour might seem high if almost everyone else is offering to do the same work for $5.  The more freelancers who are willing to do work for slave wages, the less everyone makes as a whole. 

If you worked an hourly or salaried job, no boss would come to you and ask you to to spend a couple hours out of your day working for free.  And the clients that you’re considering doing free or cheap work for, they get paid for their time, too.  While you might not consider it working for nothing because you are getting a reference for your resume, consider how hard it might be to bet a decent rate out of that client once you’ve done work for a pittance.

If you’re not convinced, then only do a very small project this way when you have the promise of more work at regular rates if the client is happy.  Better yet, contact a charitable organization and rather than working for nothing, consider your portfolio-building work with them as a donation.  Many charities actively look for writers, graphic designers, project managers and website designers to volunteer their services.  Choose a charity for your freebie work and you’re helping them and yourself.

First, take immediate action.  If you know your client is upset about something, anything, face it immediately.  You’ll look proactive and concerned about your client’s needs.  You might be tempted to wait to contact the client after a cooling-down period.  But don’t assume that everyone feels anger the same way.  The longer you wait to deal with the situation might end up being just a longer amount of time for your client’s blood pressure to rise.  Wait too long, and you might find you’ve lost the client completely.

Second, listen to the problem and acknowledge it.  The worst thing you can do when the client is trying to tell you what’s wrong is to interrupt or even try to explain that the client’s anger is unjustified. 

Third, start discussing solutions.  Explain that you’ve heard what they’ve said, you understand their frustration, and you’ll do whatever you can to make it right.   The client should be able to point out specific things that made them angry or dissatisfied.  If the client is very vague about just what the problem is, you’ll have a hard time fixing it, and chances are they’re just being unreasonable. Explain that you can’t fix a problem if you’re not sure exactly what the problem is.

Finally, be realistic about the solutions you offer.  If the client wants the project revised in 3 days, and that’s what would make them the happiest, don’t agree to that just to appease them if you know there’s no way you can make that timetable.  It won’t be worth the 3 days of peace you’ll have with your relieved client to have them twice as angry on day 4 when you don’t deliver.

Continuing education is a great way to make sure you always know what’s new in your field.  Classes and workshops, of course, are an easy way to stay abreast of the latest search engine techniques or design principles.  But there are other ways to continue your education and keep yourself valuable as a freelancer in an ever-changing marketplace.

Participate in industry forums, message boards and mailing lists.  Before you’re able to find 20 articles online about that new trend in Internet marketing, you’ll hear about it extensively on a business message board. If you’re seeing freelance programmers start to talk about a style that’s taking off with their clients, you’ll know it’s time to look into it for your own business.

Are several of your peers considering taking a certain course or workshop, or learning a specific skill?  There’s a reason for that.  Look into it for yourself so you’re ready when a potential client mentions something that will require those new skills of yours.

Continuing education is valuable for freelancers who want to expand to new areas, too, not just to learn what’s “hot” and “now.”  Take courses in your field to expand your knowledge and make yourself a more valuable freelancer able to do more things and handle projects larger in scope.  If you’re a web designer, for instance, consider learning the basics of writing for the web, so you can take on complete websites in the future rather than just handle the design.  If you’ve only ever written grants, look into learning how to write search-engine optimized articles or sales letters.

And don’t overlook continuing education for you when it comes to personal productivity.  Don’t limit yourself to learning only about your work; take workshops and classes on how to organize yourself, how to keep good records and how to find new clients. If you can learn new skills in business organization and financial record-keeping, it’s time well spent and will let you devote more time to actually doing your work.

Isolation is a freelance pitfall that takes many new freelancers by surprise.  Happy to be away from the drudge of the office and working independently, many freelancers find out right away that being alone for most of the day is hard to get used to.  Gone are the the co-workers heading out to lunch together, the water-cooler chatter, and all the social aspects of the workplace.  Now you have only yourself to talk to all day.  To avoid this freelancing loneliness, network with other freelancers online.  But don’t limit yourself to Internet relationships. Go out to lunch with friends occasionally and intersperse more social things like returning phone calls or calling a friend between your more concentrated tasks.

Procrastination is another problem that can go hand in hand with newfound freedom.  Now that you don’t have to clock in and out but can set your own hours, you might find yourself mulling about the house, doing laundry, going out to shop or eat or even watching those talk shows, because you tell yourself that if you have to stay up a little later at night to work, that’s okay, you have the freedom to do  so.  While freedom is part of the beauty of freelancing, discipline is one of its necessities.  Don’t let yourself slip into the trap of playing during the day and pulling all-nighters to get work in on time.

The worst freelance pitfall is lack of organization.   If you ever get up, sit at your desk, think over your list of projects and wonder which you’ll work on first, you’re in grave danger of falling into this particular pit.  Take the time to make short-term and long-term goals so that each day, you can look at a list of tasks and know exactly what you’ll be doing from hour to hour. You’ll know whether you can take on a new client or project at a glance, and you’ll get the most from your workday.

It sounds easy enough to decide on an amount per hour that you want to earn, and you should think this way.  But as a freelancer, it’s more likely that you’ll be billing per project rather than per hour, unless you tend to work on long-term projects where you are paid per hour by agreement.  Freelance writers will probably bill per article, press release, grant or other project, where designers might bill by website, logo or other graphic creation.

In the beginning, you could very well end up working for far less than your ideal hourly rate, simply because you underestimate the amount of time a project will take.  If you quote a client a rate of $150 for a project based on your desire to earn $45 an hour, for example, and the job takes you 7 hours, or 12, you’ve undercut yourself by quite a bit.  Those are live and learn moments—it might take doing a certain type of project a few times before you come up with the right quote for the time you’ll be spending. Among new freelancers that’s a common phenomenon.

So how do you decide which hourly rate is reasonable? Don’t pluck the number out of the air. Look at your competitors and other people in your industry, even contact a few and simply ask about how their rates break down per hour, and set your prices accordingly.  Be sure to consider your experience when choosing your prices, but don’t undervalue yourself even if you’re just starting out.  Find a few freelancers in your field with years of experience and some fairly new freelancers. Think of their rates the far ends of the scale, and choose yours based on where your experience lands you in that range. As you gain more experience, your rate can climb the scale accordingly.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s impossible to get into a rut when you freelance.  It might not be as easy to stagnate as a freelancer than in that corporate cubicle job, but it can happen.  When you face new projects with little excitement, or find yourself, in the middle of projects, wishing a particular client wouldn’t call on you again, or even feeling like you hate certain projects, it might be that you’re stagnating as a freelancer.  What do you do? Stir things up a bit.

Prospect for new clients

Of course, you should be doing this anyway unless you’re guaranteed all the work you handle for some time.  But this time, go beyond your comfort zone a little.  Cold call that company you dreamed of working for but never tried before.  Bid on a project that’s different from the ones you typically do, to challenge yourself. Do something different.

Learn a new skill

Get a new piece of design software and learn how to use it.  If you’ve passed on jobs before because you weren’t familiar with a certain type of code or style sheet, take steps to learn that now so you’ll have more diversity in the future.  If you’ve only ever written web content, invest in learning how to write grants, press releases or ebooks so you can take on a larger variety of projects.

Take a break

You could be stagnating because you simply need a little more time away from the work.  Schedule yourself a short vacation in the near future, or loosen your daily schedule a little to allow for more downtime.  If your “office” is actually part of another room, like your bedroom, you’ve fallen into the work-from-home trap of making it seem like you’re at work 24 hours a day!  Consider setting up a separate office so that when you’re in bed or just relaxing in your private space, you’re not faced with the projects waiting to be done.