Ah, deadlines. Many of us have a love-hate relationship with them. On one hand, deadlines are absolutely necessary to ensure we get things done. On the other hand, though, freelance deadlines can be stressful!
If you view deadlines as a “necessary evil,” try to adjust your mindset. Take out the “evil” part, and you’re left with the reality: deadlines are necessary.
So, how do freelancers come up with reasonable deadlines? How can we be sure to give ourselves the right amount of time to get the work done? We have six tips to help you figure out this mystery.
1. Involve Your Client in Setting the Freelance Deadline
Just to be crystal clear, clients should not be imposing their deadline on you as a freelancer. Instead, a deadline is a date that you and your client mutually agree upon. Setting a deadline is a conversation.
You’re working on multiple projects, and, while it’s important to give great customer service, you need to be realistic about when you can turn a project over.
You’ll take into account your client’s ideal completion date, and you’ll consider your own schedule. You will agree on a freelance deadline that works for both of you.
This all happens at the beginning of the project. Which means you will never run into a situation where you agree to do the work and the client demands an unreasonable deadline that you’re beholden to.
You have control over each freelance deadline you accept. So make sure you’re realistic about what you can and cannot accomplish within a time frame.
2. Think in Terms of Days
The ability to control a project’s deadline sounds intimidating to some freelancers, especially when just starting out. There are so many variables!
- How can you tell how long a project will take if you’ve never done it before?
- What if it’s a new client whose needs are different?
- How does the review/feedback process impact the deadline?
The good news is that you have more flexibility than you might think. And it’s a bit easier to figure out than it sounds.
The key is to think about each freelance deadline in terms of days, rather than hours.
You can steal time to work on projects throughout the course of any given day. (Even if you have a full-time job, a partner, kids, pets… etc.) So count backward from the client’s desired due date. How many days does that give you? Is it do-able based on the other things you have on your plat
3. Be Realistic When Setting a Freelance Deadline
Once you set a realistic and reasonable deadline with your client, it’s tempting to put off working on the project until, say, the night before it’s due.
Most people view deadlines as a one-day event. The entire project is due on *this* day. It’s the end of the line. D-Day.
But this approach doesn’t help you pace yourself. It’s like using a brick wall to stop your car. Sure, the wall will work, but it won’t be pretty!
So, what’s the best way to manage your time so that you’re not knocking yourself out to meet your deadlines?
There might be several phases of a project for you, depending on your industry. For example, are you expecting to receive feedback on your work? Will you need to make revisions?
The date the first draft is due might not be the final due date of the project. So make sure you’re accounting for each phase of your process.
The length of time you need for each project will vary. So make sure you give yourself enough time—and try to So make sure you give yourself enough time—and try to build in some extra time, too.
I’ve found that it’s more useful to set myself some speed bumps.
Smaller deadlines along the way help to set the pace for the overall project. They keep you on track throughout the different phases, and will all but ensure you meet that final deadline.
4. Give Yourself the Chance for “Fresh Eyes” Before Submitting a Project
It’s a good idea to give your brain a break between completing a draft of the project and editing or revising your own work.
If you build in a day to sleep on it and come back with a fresh perspective, you’ll ensure your client gets your absolute best work.
And here’s a related tip: for most clients, “end of day Friday” is basically the same as “first thing Monday.” In other words, give yourself the weekend to breathe.
5. Enforce Your Deadline Speed Bumps
The key is to enforce each speed bump with a consequence.
It’s easy enough to say to yourself, “I’ll definitely, 100% have this task finished by tomorrow.” But, unless you are great at internal deadlines, it’s even easier to speed right over that speed bump.
If there’s nothing to enforce that mini-deadline, you’ll be back at square one with the giant project due on the final due date.
You can, and should, share milestone deadlines with your clients. For example, if your project is due by March 1st, break it up into reasonable phases. You’ll have to decide what phases make the most sense on a per-project basis.
Here’s an example from my world, copywriting:
- Copy for an entire site is due on March 1.
- I’ll turn in the about us page by February 5.
- The home page will be complete by February 15.
- Then the product page will be done by February 20.
- And I’ll complete the last page, careers, by March 1.
When you know you can’t let your client down, you’re more likely to stick to these deadlines. And, by completing each element of the project on time, you’ll stay on track to hit the project deadline as a whole.
It’s like running a marathon, pacing out your miles, versus an all-out sprint.
This tactic works wonders for freelance deadlines!
6. Your Client Needs Deadlines, Too
In most industries, revisions are a normal part of the freelancer-client process. It’s likely that any given project will need a few tweaks to get things exactly so.
And the quicker they give you useful feedback, the quicker you can finalize the project for them.
So give your client a deadline for their review. Here’s a sample email you could send if they’re taking longer than you’d like:
“Hi, I’m checking in with you about your feedback. In order for me to make changes by [PROJECT END DATE], I’ll need your feedback by [DATE OR TIME].”
You can’t be responsible for holding up a project if your client isn’t giving you feedback in a timely fashion.
But What if I Still Misjudge My Freelance Deadline?
It’ll happen from time to time: you’ll make every effort to carefully plan a project and give yourself adequate time. But then life gets in the way and you’re thrown off course.
When that happens, you have to push through and get the work done anyway.
You may have to skip your typical downtime. Or work late into the night. Or get up before the sun rises.
Meeting your freelance deadlines is crucial to success in your career. So do what you need to do, and try to learn something from these stressful situations.
You will definitely get better at setting realistic freelance deadlines, even though there’s no perfect formula. The #1 takeaway is to give yourself enough time while using a timeframe your client is satisfied with.
Your turn! How do you keep your deadlines in check? Let us know in the comments below!
Last Updated on July 1, 2023.
