When you're feeling overwhelmed, step back and take a deep breath.
It's not unusual for a freelancer to feel overwhelmed from time to time.
On some occasions, there is a very good reason for feeling that way. Even with the best laid plans we can find ourselves feeling things are getting a little out of control. Our individual clients don't know of our overall time commitments, and however well we plan, too many jobs can end up demanding our attention at the same time.
When this happens, simply step back, take a deep breath, and figure out how to reorganize either your work, your time or both.
What I do first is take a look at the jobs in question and ask myself whether I can reasonably just put one or two of them to one side for a day or two. I can often do just that, and I realize that I have simply been working too hard and planning too little.
Once I have put aside a couple of jobs that really don't need working on today, what's left looks a whole lot more manageable.
Something else I will do is become very disciplined about the time I spend on each job. In other words, I will allocate blocks of time to each project and make sure I finish within the time allotted.
The more work I have on my plate, the more disciplined I become.
Here's something else that can happen...
There are times when we feel overwhelmed, but don't actually have an impossible burden of work to get through.
What happens is that the problem is more in our minds than it is in our schedules. In other words, we get into a mild state of panic.
These freelance panic attacks happen to most of us at some time or another.
Once again, your first response should be to step back and take a deep breath.
Then ask yourself some questions. Is your workload truly overwhelming? If so, how did you allow that to happen? Was it poor planning, or was it one of those cases when too many client deadlines overlapped in a way you couldn't have foreseen?
Or...is your feeling of panic about something else entirely? It sounds totally counter-intuitive, but sometimes that sense of anxiety comes about not because you have too much work, but because you have too little. You keep yourself busy with what you're working on, but in the back of your mind are feeling very anxious about the fact you have nothing lined up for next week.
Finally, if stepping away from your desk and taking a little distance from your work doesn't seem to help, find someone to talk with.
When things seem a little out of control, a conversation with your partner, a friend or trusted colleague can help you regain your composure and see the way forward more clearly.
Whatever the situation, I have always found that the best first step is to disengage myself from my computer and walk away, even if only for a few minutes.
Just give yourself time to pause, disengage and look at things from a little distance.
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