If you are a freelancer, then you most likely work from home. That means your home must also double as your office, which in turn means you have to cram a lot of function into one space. How do you maintain your office so that it doesn’t get out of hand? Here are some office organization tips for freelancers.

Your schedule. Your work day is not a tangible, material object, but it is the number one thing that you have to keep organized or else your whole freelance business could go under. Set a definite schedule for yourself by blocking out your entire work day in a day planner, and stick to it – whether you’re leaving the house to interview recruitment services for your work or staying at home to outline your next piece.. When you are in your office, you are working – period. Otherwise, it can be all too easy to get sidetracked by a personal phone call, or by the latest episode of your favorite talk show. Organize the time you spend in your office, first and foremost, because everything else stems from there.

Designated area. Even if your office space is in your bedroom, it needs to be a separate space. Get a desk – even a small classroom-style desk will do – and keep all of your work-related materials at that desk to stay organized. That way you are not rushing around looking for the notebook you wrote project notes in yesterday, or for a working pen. They are in your office desk.

A filing system. As a freelancer, you have a lot of records to keep up with. First off, you are responsible for your own income taxes, which means you must be fastidious about accounting for the money you make, as well as the money you spend operating your freelance business. Additionally, you probably have an array of contracts, representing different projects, and these contracts should be readily accessible, should need to reference them. Get a simple filing system (even one of those filing crates will do), and separate all of your records – contracts, receipts, direct deposit statements, etc. – into their own files. You can even broaden the utility of your filing system by creating files for things like “project ideas,” “freelance resources,” and whatever you can come up with that may be useful.

The dry erase board. Every freelancer needs one, and the bigger, the better. Use the dry erase board to keep track of all of your projects – your progress, project due dates, what is needed for completion, etc. Hang your dry erase board over your desk, so that it is right in front of you while you are working. Now you have an organized office.

Organizing your office doesn’t have to be complicated. Take these simple steps to get your freelance office in order, so that you can focus on what you do best: freelancing.

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