It’s time to roll up your sleeves and start building a task management system that works for you. Something that ensures you get stuff done, while working alongside your creativity and business skills.
In previous articles, I’ve talked about why task management is important, and introduced you to some of the approaches and tools that you can use. You might want to refresh your memory on those previous posts, as in this guide we’ll be bringing all of it together.
This is a big project, and it’s not for the fainthearted. There’s a lot of effort involved in building a strong task management system — but the results can be lower anxiety, happier clients, greater resilience, and being on top of everything. I think it’s worth it, and I hope that when we’re done, you’ll agree.
This is my longest guide yet, so if it works for you, I’d love it if you could share it with a friend or hit that “like” button. Much appreciated!
Alright, let’s get into it.
Set up your task management system in a way that works for you
Now that you have an approach to task management and software to capture your stuff, it’s time to put the two of them together. This is where you create a framework within your software that makes sense for the way you want to work.
Experiment with your task management platform and tweak it so that it works for your creative business. Depending on the software you use, you might want to set up:
Folders for each type of task, like business administration, work projects, etc.
Tags so that you can attach them to tasks depending on the criteria that you want.
Priorities so that you can mark tasks depending on how urgent and important they are.
Lists that show you tasks based on the criteria and sorting that you set, like those due today, or in the next week.
Links between your task management system and your calendar or other external apps.
Dates so that it’s easy to set deadlines or other time-related information.
Notes so that you can add extra information to tasks.
Repeating tasks that pop up on a periodic basis.
Automation that copies tasks between different systems that you use.
As with the previous steps, the key here is experimentation. Try different ways of setting up your software so you can find something that works perfectly for you.
Review various sources for tasks and add stuff to your to-do list as it comes in
Tasks can come from all sorts of different places, so it’s important to have a daily routine to check these various task collection points — or buckets — and collect everything into your system.
This is known as “capturing your tasks” and they can come from all sorts of different places:
Ideas and activities triggered by research, like reading a blog article for a client piece.
Tasks assigned to you in the client’s project management tool, like Asana, Click Up, Monday, Gather Content, Trello, etc.
Ideas that you have to improve and streamline your freelance business.
Emails and messages that you receive from clients and others.
Briefing notes and other documents.
Notifications from freelance platforms like Fiverr or Upwork.
Repeating tasks that you set up because you need to complete certain admin on a regular basis.
External deadlines from clients, business requirements, or other areas.
Capture all of your tasks in a trusted system that you use to track what you need to do
Task management only works if you have everything in one system and you regularly use that system. You don’t want to scatter your mental energy and waste time by using and checking multiple task management systems. It’s also important to capture tasks in the right way to make them easier to complete later:
Split your tasks into the lists and tags that you’ve set up: I like to keep my lists in my task management app pretty simple. I have lists for various client projects, miscellaneous work, business admin, and a couple of other areas. I also use tags like “Next Action” for tasks that don’t have a due date, but can be completed as time permits. Experiment with different lists, folders, and tags to see what works for you.
Minimize the mental effort required to figure out what you need to do with each item, by writing your to-do list in a clear, specific, and concise way. For example, rather than capturing “Write article,” capture “Create an article on task management for my website.”
Start each to do with an “action” verb, like “Write,” “Create,” “Complete,” “Review,” “Study,” etc. This helps get you into the right frame of mind to complete the action and gives you a little energy boost.
Add notes and context when you capture the task, this might include links to your research, communications you’ve received, or a specific way to approach the to-do. For creators, you can capture supporting content and context, briefing notes, client requests, guidelines, suggestions, etc.
Use the “High” priority flag sparingly, most tasks in your to-do list are not that important. Typically you’ll want to use a “High” priority flag on your must-do items, like completing work, sending out invoices, and paying taxes.
Add reminders to tasks if you need to, as this can prompt you so you don’t overlook anything.
Only add due dates to tasks that must be completed by a specific time, other tasks can be tagged in other ways, for example with “next action” or something similar. Each day, you’ll focus on your due date tasks first, then tackle the others as time allows. I typically assign due dates to any client work that I need to complete, and any recurring tasks that need to be actioned by a certain time.
Break down bigger projects into smaller tasks: if you have a big project to complete, it’s helpful to break each one down into a series of smaller to-do list items. Each of those items should move the project forward in some sort of meaningful way. For example, if I’m writing a white paper for a client, I might break that down into: Send out briefing note, review client instructions, conduct initial research, complete outline and share with client, etc.
Review your tasks on a regular basis: I look at my tasks on a Sunday evening or Monday morning and plan for the week ahead. At the end of the week, I look back at the tasks I achieved to see if there are any lessons learned or new tasks I need to create.
Each day, do your work!
Once you have everything on your to-do list, it’s time to do the work for your creative business:
Briefly review your tasks at the start of the day, so that you know what’s due.
Add in, amend, or defer tasks if you need to.
Work through your tasks one by one, based on what’s most important and what’s due soonest.
Block out some time for each task so that you can work on it and not be interrupted or distracted.
Pay attention to your schedule and ensure you’re keeping to the time you have put aside for each task.
Use your best hours to do focused work, you can probably only expect to do three to five hours of deep, creative work a day.
Schedule your administration and low-effort tasks for when you don’t have quite as much energy or focus.
Tick off your tasks as you complete each one.
Once you’ve completed a task, briefly glance through what you have left to do in the day and reschedule as needed.
If you don’t have specific due dates for tasks, start looking at your next actions.
As the end of each day, review what you’ve completed and what’s important for the next day.
Advanced tips for managing freelance business tasks
See if you can automate the capture of tasks using services like Zapier or IFTTT. These services can do things like grab emails sent to a particular inbox and automatically add them to your to-do list manager. They also feature lots of other ways of automating your business.
Only work on one task at a time. Multitasking is generally a very inefficient way to do your work.
Understand your energy levels and rhythms throughout the day. Plan your deep work for when you have a lot of ability to concentrate and focus. At other times, schedule in lighter work.
Review your tasks at the end of each week and prioritize anything that’s coming up for the week ahead.
If you find a good process for managing and completing specific, repeatable tasks, capture the steps needed to do so and stick to them.
Always be looking to optimize how you handle your creative business and the tasks you need to do.
Periodically review your tasks, system, and approach to check everything is still working for you, and make changes as needed.
It can take a lot of effort to set up a good freelance business task management system, but it’s worth it. Once you have the right habits in place, the management and administration of those tasks becomes much easier, and you free up much-needed headspace to do your best creative work.
Frequently asked questions
What is the right task management approach for me?
The only way to find out is to experiment. Visual thinkers might like Kanban. People who need positive reinforcement to get through the day can benefit from Eat the Frog.
Freelancers who are easily distracted will benefit from Pomodoro. If you like to keep track of all the things, then GTD could be right for you. You shouldn’t force yourself into one way of managing tasks, or you won’t stick with it and the benefits will be lost. Play around. I’ve been using task management systems for many years, and I’m still finding better ways to do things.
What is the right task management software for me?
Again, it’s all about experimenting. Some software is better for specific approaches — Trello is designed for Kanban-style systems, while Todoist and TickTick are great for GTD and ZTD. But, don’t be restricted by that. Pretty much every task management platform has a free trial, so sign up and try them out. You can find links to some good software in this guide.
Although I’ve been working with task management systems for more than 20 years, I do not have all the answers. Please see this guide as a starting point, test, tweak, break, and duct-tape it all back together again to see what could work for you. If you have questions, ask them in the comments, and I’ll do my best to answer them.