Bernskiold Media

I know, the administrative parts of being a designer/coder or generally a freelancer (or small studio owner) can be daunting and a part that I always forget is to start the timer and track the entire process even in flat-fee projects. There are a lot of good reasons why we should spend a little more time to keep track of both projects and opportunities.

1. Time = Money

This is the most obvious I think. If you don’t track your time well, you won’t receive an accurate amount of money (nor will clients like you). This holds not only true for projects where you charge by the hour but as much to flat-fee projects. It is only be measuring the time in the individual parts of the design making that you learn and can make more accurate estimates for your clients up-front and possible raise your income!

2. Even Workload = Even Income

By keeping good track of both projects and opportunities, trying to close the latter at planned dates can help to even out your workload and also your income. For me at least, projects seem to come grouped together a bunch at a time, where I sometimes would like them more spread out. By planning and monitoring the projects I am currently working on and the opportunities that I could be working on, I can balance out my schedule, make things easier to plan and create a more evenly balanced income. 

3. Knowledge = Power

If you know the details of the project you are working on, or can immediately pull up all the details and information about an opportunity, you have the power. A surprisingly large amount of clients think that if they’ve mentioned something once, you should remember it. Between you and me, I know this isn’t the case, but by writing it down in the client/project/opportunity file, you can access it right away and instantly remember what you talked about with client X last Tuesday!

4. Organization = Relaxation

Whichever way you choose to organize your client information and details, it will lead to a better relaxation for yourself. I can’t count on my hands how many times I’ve remembered something crucial I should have noted down about a project when I’m not supposed to be working, or when I’m just going to sleep. What it does is make my mind wander on to think about the rest of the project and, I am stuck! Instead, by just jotting that down right away,  you prevent this from happening.

5. Knowledge » Work = Time = Money » Relaxation

You can connect everything here into a long chain (like I’ve done in the heading here). With knowledge that you have, you can work. And work is time and time equals money. With having work (spending your time on getting money) you will be able to relax and not think about the immediate need for more work. All of these tie in together and should also be used together, for your own and your business’ sake.