The Freelancer’s Biggest Enemies - Procrastination

Posted on October 14, 2007
Filed Under Freelancing, Principles, Red Flags |

Have you identified your niche? Have you started seeking out clients? Are you working on keeping your clients happy? Are you a freelancer yet?

Why not?

I have found that one of the freelancer’s biggest enemies is procrastination. Whether you’re an established freelancer or independent contractor, or whether you’re just starting out, you will find procrastination to be one of the biggest deterrents to your success.

A lot of good intentions get buried by procrastinating.

A lot of good ideas get forgotten and put away because of procrastinating.

Money is lost to procrastination.

Deals are lost to procrastination.

So stop procrastinating. Break that habit now!

You may know exactly what it is you want to do, but you keep putting it off, waiting for the mythical “perfect” time. But here’s the truth, there is NO perfect time. If you want to be a freelancer, start now. Just start. Don’t wait for the perfect time, or the perfect idea, or the perfect resource. Start with what you have, even if what you have is just yourself and your idea. That’s an excellent starting point. Don’t procrastinate.

If you’re an established freelancer, and you’re sitting on a job, not doing it because you just don’t feel like, or you’re not sure the client will pay, or you want to start it next week, or it’s too hard and you’re not sure how to do it, or… whatever your reasoning is, stop procrastinating and do the job. Start, and deal with the hurdles as you reach them. The job won’t do itself.

If you just do it, you’ll be amazed at what a difference this will make to your productivity, and to your eventual success.

Learn to tackle jobs as soon as you get them. Return calls as soon as you get them. Respond to emails as soon as you open them, unless it’s something that you need to think about or research on. In other words, tackle things as soon as you possibly can. Don’t put off for another time what you can do right now.