In most work environments, your workflow processes are usually already in place for you to follow.
As a freelancer, however, this is something that you will have to develop and implement yourself.
Why Bother Documenting Your Workflow Process?
Waitif nobody is making you document your workflow, why bother?
Isnt that what being your own boss is all about?
You might try doing without documenting for a while.
But as your freelancing career continues, youll probably find yourself documenting more and more.
This can be a long and painful process.
Taking some time to set out your documentation is definitely the easier, softer way.
Further, it can look pretty different depending on the kind of work that you do.
You might consider following along with this article using a project that youve already completed.
That can help you understand how a project breaks down.
Break Down Your Task
The first step is breaking down your task into parts.
As a writer or editor, this might be the outline of a book or article.
If youre an artist, these might be different planes or components of the final piece.
Breaking down your task into parts is important for a number of reasons.
First, its going to form the basic moving parts of your workflow documentation.
Further, it can help you psychologically.
You might also find it helpful to turn your checklist into a visual flowchart.
This is particularly handy if your project has multiple steps.
The solution that you use for this kind of setup can depend on how autonomous you are.
Define Goals and Objectives
This step may seem a little unnecessary.
Why do you need goals and objectives if you already have a checklist?
Even with a checklist, you cant do the whole project at once.
Do you want to start drafting one chapter when the previous chapter has yet to be edited?
These are questions that only you’re free to answer.
However, answering them in advance can help you stay organized.
How much time do you have to complete the whole project?
How much time do you have to devote to this project within that time frame?
How much of that time will need to be allocated for each objective?
If you get paid by the hour, youll naturally be tracking your time.
Just remember to note how much of that time went into each step of the project.
So, consider tracking and budgeting your timeeven when no one is making you.
Were there things that you found yourself breaking down further as you went along?
Did some tasks take you more or less time than you anticipated?
Were your goals too large to be realistic or too small to be helpful?
Youre Worth the Work
Most clients dont explicitly request workflow documentation.
But doing some extra work to fine-tune your scheduling can help you become a more efficient freelancer.
And thats good for everyone.
