How To Be Productive As A Web Designer

Many people dream of ditching their forty hour, nine to five work week. Being able to leave behind the man, work for yourself, set your own hours, and make more money sounds awesome right? I mean, who doesn’t want that? If you’re a freelance web designer, then you’ve already made the jump in to self employment.

The thing that is funny about working for yourself is that you eventually run in to things that no one ever teaches you. For instance, you really don’t know what it takes to be self-employed, or how to run a successful web design business until you’re in the thick of it and need to figure your stuff out. What many people fail to realize is just how difficult it is to really work for yourself.

Outside of the need for good organization and keeping track of business expenses, you still have to bust your butt like everyone else in order to make money — a truth that all freelance web designers will come to realize, sooner or later.

As various projects come up and your work begins to pile up, it is rather easy to lose track of your focus as it begins to be spread across multiple tasks. This issue tends to bring productivity way down. When this happens, not only do you lose profits, but you start to lose your mind as your thirty hour work week turns into sixty while you scramble to finish something that should have been done yesterday.

I know the feeling my friend, but don’t fret just yet. There are ways to still be productive during a hectic schedule without working 8 days a week. All it takes is some organization and discipline on your end.

Set A Daily Or Weekly List Of Things To Complete

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When you work for yourself, organization can make or break a business. Even if your business consists of just you, a laptop, and the cheapest desk that you could get from IKEA, you still have to realize that you are a business. When you have work that needs to get done, then you have to get work — simple as that.

However, many find themselves sitting at a table, staring at their computer screen ready to work, but they have no idea where to start their day. You can easily waste 20 minutes before figuring out what to do, and another 20 trying to decide on what to do after that. This is a huge waste of time!

The surest way to keep this from happening is to take the time to create a list of what has to get done, both in a weekday and by the end of the week.

There are plenty of tools to help you create your schedule. You could use something as simple as a planner, or something more sophisticated like Asana or Wunderlist (available in desktop and mobile formats).

Whatever system you go with, be sure you stick with it and stay on top of things. If you set a deadline for yourself, then meet the deadline. Sure, that will mean missing meeting up with your friends’ at the local pub one day, but that option is usually better than procrastinating and then scrambling to get something done later. (Don’t do that to yourself. It’s not worth the stress.)

Have a To-Do List For Your Designs

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This is slightly different than the point mentioned above. A To-Do list for your designs should be comprised of a list of what needs to be done when designing your client’s WordPress site.

Your designs likely start with the same actions. Perhaps you start by creating a hosting package for clients on your re-seller hosting, connecting their URL to the designated nameservers, installing WordPress and generating the login information, saving that information somewhere, and the list goes on from there.

This may not be exactly how your work starts out when you need to design from scratch, but chances are that you know the routine you go through in order to get things going.

Put all of that on a list. Place the first thing that needs to get done and go down your list in the order that they need to be done in; check them off as you finish. Better yet, put your list together in a way that boosts workflow. This could be a little different for everyone, so it’s okay if it takes some time before you have this down.

You can create a list that encompasses your regular to-dos when designing, and then create a separate one for each of the projects you have to complete. This way you can help keep things organized. Again, applications like Asana or other task managers are generally your best option to creating this sort of thing, as papers tend to get lost or accidently thrown away.

Learn Ways To Speed Up Certain Tasks

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I know, I know. WordPress is not exactly the best system in the world when it comes to creating a smooth workflow. With that being said, there are still ways you can speed up the production of your designs without sacrificing quality. Here are some examples of things you can do to help speed up your web designs.

Learn WordPress Editor Keyboard Shortcuts. The keyboard shortcuts in the editor area in WordPress are ready to use right out of the gate. If you’re left to create the content for the site you’re designing, then these shortcuts can help speed things up.

You can find the shortcuts in the second menu of your editor toolbar; the little circle with the question mark at the end of the row is where you’ll find the keys for the shortcuts. You can also check out the post “The Ultimate Guide To Keyboard Shortcuts in WordPress” here on Elegant Themes that shows all of these as well.

Bulk Install Plugins. Chances are that you have at least a few plugins that you will regularly use on your client’s sites. Searching for, downloading, and then install each plugin is time consuming and as boring as can be. Instead of taking the long road, how about a shortcut?

The WP Install Profiles plugin is one service that many turn to when they want to cut back on the monotony of installing plugins one at a time. It takes a little time to set things up the first time, but it’s well worth the effort in the long run. Here’s a link to a walk-through I wrote a little while back that will help you get up and running with the plugin:

• WordPress Hacks: How To Bulk Install Plugins

Build and Clone. Instead of doing every single design from scratch, why not try and build Test Sites, and then clone them when time comes for it during another project. This may be a new thought for some, so let me explain how this works. Many WordPress themes shops or authors offer a preview of what their theme looks like in hopes that such a preview will prompt you to buy it. Well this is essentially a Test Site, chock full of demo content to show a potential buyer what their site can look like. You can do the same thing for yourself in order to showcase your work to your clients.

Build a few tester sites on sub-domains and then use those mockups to show a possible customer what their site could look like. Let them pick one, clone the site over to their domain name, and then start your project with a pre-designed template of your own making.

This can take your designs from a week down to a couple of days — depending on what is involved in the designs, of course. Not sure how to clone a test site? ManageWP comes built with an easy-to-use Clone tool to do just this.

Given some thought, you can come up with other little shortcuts like these to help trim back the time it takes to build a website.

Get Rid Of Unnecessary Distractions

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Life is full of distractions. There are emails, text messages, iPhone alerts, Facebook messages, the television, and the whole bunch of other stuff I don’t need to list. One of the hardest parts about being a freelance web designer, is keeping these things from distracting you from your work.

Many people have their cell phones within arms reach as every hour of the day, but trying to answer every text, email and phone call as they come your way is going to eat away at your day faster than you can shake a fist at.

It’s hard to ignore these mini distractions, so instead of ignoring them, why not try eliminating the distractions altogether? If your phone has a Distraction-Free mode, turn it on at the start of your work day and back on during a break. If you use Google Chrome, then try a Google extension to block or limit your time on other websites.

Lastly, learn some discipline. Don’t get on your social media channels, don’t check your email every 5 minutes, don’t have your favorite TV show on in the background. You couldn’t do those things if you were working in an office for someone else, so hold yourself to the same rules. Doing this will help increase your productivity. It’s not all that easy to do, but it’s something that you’ll be happy you figured out.

Stop Saying Yes To Everyone and Everything

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The hardest thing for many freelancers is saying a single word: no. For whatever reason, turning away work and the money that would have come from that is one the hardest thing to do, but always saying yes to everyone and everything is just a bad idea.

If you’ve been in the freelancing game for awhile, then you have likely come across a client or two who has turned out to be a bigger headache than they’re worth. Most times, you can tell when a potential client will be this person for you. If that is the case, don’t be afraid to say no to the project. Afterall, you are your own boss, therefore, you can pick and choose your work. Obviously, you don’t want to be too picky, but just know that it is okay to say no.

If you can’t say no, then raise your rates for that client, and outline what you will and will not do — and don’t forget the contract.

Even your great clients can take you for granted sometimes. You may get calls from them asking you to tweak something here and there for free. Though it can be good for customer service to do this from time to time, there are times where you need to say no to free work. Only you can gauge when that will be, but do be a “doormat freelancer”.

You have bills to pay just like everyone else, and if you can value your worth, then your clients’ will too. And don’t even get me started on those people who come to you looking for a million dollar website, but only want to shell out two hundred bucks. Avoid these types of clients like the plague — they’re not worth your time or your talent.

Don’t Overwork Yourself

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Nothing hampers productivity like stress and a lack of sleep. Sure, things come up in life that make this unavoidable at times, but there are other times where we bring it on ourselves. Too much work, too little sleep, and not enough time spent off the computer and breathing a bit of fresh air will lead you down a path that is hard to come back from.

Although you need to make sure you’re working hard to stay productive, staying balanced is key to keeping you from running yourself into the ground. Don’t sell your soul for a bit of extra cash in your pocket. There is more to life than money and you should be out there living instead of focusing solely on making a living. (There’s your little nugget of grandma wisdom for the day. *wink*)

Being productive as a web designer can mean less time working and stressing out, and more time enjoying life. All you need is to get focused and organized, and the rest will fall into place.

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