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Calendar Organization- The First Key to Small Home Business & Freelancer Success

by Heather Gowrie

Working from home, it can be all you want it to be.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike working, I just dislike not being able to do anything else. Working from home and for myself allows me the freedom to work how and when I want. Many writers and articles focus on balancing an at home working parents schedule with family commitments but what about the single person working at home? It’s not as easy as simply concentrating on your work; there is still housework and other fun things to do each day. There is no one else around to run the errands while I finish this project, no one else to blame when I simply don’t feel like working. The skills required to balance a freelancing work lifestyle are needed by the single person just as much as the family parent, my slant is on the single girl, but the rules apply just the same.

Calendar Organization-The first key

1. Keep work and personal commitments separate.

Always strive to keep your work life and personal life separate. If you have a meeting with a friend for lunch, have lunch with your friend; do not work during that lunch. The same goes for working time; no personal commitments while you are at a working appointment. Never schedule a personal appointment and a professional appointment for the same time, and always give yourself plenty of time between appointments if you have a personal and a professional appointment scheduled for the same day. Booking the appointments too close together will always force you to choose, and last time I checked my closet the shoe sale usually wins.

2. Control your life by only using one calendar.

Control your work by only using one calendar. Make life very easy for you by only have one calendar for both personal and professional appointments. How will you ever know if you have time for a personal commitment if you cannot see your work schedule at the same time as your personal life? Only work from one calendar but always keep the entries separate and distinct. Remember rule one, never schedule a personal appointment and a professional appointment for the same time. Color-coding appointments is a great way to do this, one color for personal appointments and another color for professional appointments, never do the colors overlap.

3. Be distinct with what is an actual appointment and what is a to-do.

Don’t mix them up. Only appointments should be scheduled on your calendar, to-do’s are recorded and tracked on your working to-do list. If I know on Tuesdays I need to review a web site, that’s a to-do entry. If I have to review the web site with a client on Tuesday at 9am that’s a calendar appointment. Knowing what appointments you have will help you to know when you really have to be in full work mode (appointment time) and when you can be a little looser (to-do work). Work from the calendar to the to-do list (we’ll talk about to-do’s later). You must always be prompt and prepared for a meeting on your calendar, but if you determine that the to-do can wait a hour or two, sometimes all the better.

4. Create the calendar system that actually works for you.

As a freelancer, you decide the office rules; in my office we have one calendar, and one to-do list in order to keep coordination down. Reoccurring and exact time meetings (which I like reminders popping up on my computer) go into my computer calendar. My day planner is my to-do list and controls my day with tasks and projects listed that are due sometime that day. I keep both items together, and review daily. I actually write a hand-written to-do list everyday, if I day after day have to write the same silly to-do, I will do it just to stop having to write it in my planner.

Calendar organization is only the first step to a great running freelance business.

Being organized with your calendar and time helps me to determine if I can really take on a new client, skip work for a day, or even just sit and watch TV for a hour in the morning instead of working. There are more keys to the single girl’s freelance lifestyle but right now, I’m off to a personal appointment.

Heather Gowrie is a freelance virtual assistant and writer. She may be reached at heatherlorrmay@mac.com

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