This is more of a search for ideas and methods than an informative article. No matter how often I tidy and plan ahead, my desk after about 2 weeks always seems to revert back to the same crazy chaotic mess that it does. Trying to give everything that I have to do/ handle organised is something that I attacked recently and have come up with a somewhat 3 level solution.
1) Client Work
I like many, hate a messy desktop and computer, with files everywhere with uninformative names etc. So I bought a 500GB External Hard Drive and moved all Client related files onto the hard drive and organised them into folders. So basically, each Client had a seperate parent folder, each client folder had 5 child folders:
- Contact and Correspondence
I keep copies of all e-mail correspondence, as well as a .txt file with all their contact details
- Invoices, Contracts and Accounting
- Raw Files
PSD’s, AI files etc
- Client Supplied Content
- Saved Final Versions
2) Accounting and Finance
The big stuff, money!. Keeping track of it, payments, deposits, tax and invoices can be a hasssle. I went seeking some sort of software to do this (there is 0 for Mac, as usual) and came up with nothing. Then I got told about Freshbooks.
They have a simple 3 field sign-up form. You can invoice, and then e-mail the invoices as PDF’s complete with your logo and strapline or send them in the post to your client’s. It auto-responds to bank payments for you, sends late payment reminders etc, all completely automatically. A great web app and I highly recommend it.
3) Where and How I Work
This is basically an evolution from a previous post I made: A Good Work Environment
The space I use is often in a state of ‘organised chaos’ full of everything from text-books from university, plates, rubbish, video games, wires and all sorts of extra irrelevant clutter. I took the time to one day, clean out everything and I felt so much more ‘interested’ and ‘inspired’ in getting down to do all the client work I had waiting.
Ideas? How do you stay organised and efficient with your workloads?
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I have much the same content, but I keep it all in folders named after the projects. So my moflow.ca project is in a folder called “moflow”, containing a folder called “Authoring” (my source files), as well as any invoices or instructions from the client.
My email correspondences are kept in Thunderbird, tagged with the project as well.
Blogicians last blog post..Restaurant servers with bad manners
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I’ve found that for the last half hour of my business day, it is immensely beneficial to take the time to tidy up the clutter I’ve created that day. This is true for digital clutter too.
The best way to keep organized is to do it constantly – instead of struggling with it when it becomes overwhelming.
Another way that I’ve found to stay organized is to plan specific days of the month (the 20th of each month for our business) to send invoices, plan marketing, etc.
You also mentioned that you were unable to find any great invoicing software for Macintosh. I highly recommend Billings – visit http://www.billingsapp.com for more info on that.
Philip Downers last blog post..Business Card Basics
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is use this folder structure
PROJECT
_design (underscore so it stays on top)
psd mockups sources
documents
demo (screenshots i send to client)
scrap (where i throw stuff that i probably wont use again)
Invoices i “definately” keep in a seperate folder
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Great read thanks.
I think the one thin is “How the Heck to get work as a freelancer”?
http://www.leafydesignz.co.za
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I’m very much like you in the way I organize myself.
My laptop is extremely tidy and I too bought an external hard-drive to keep work on. however, I also use something called drop-box which puts the work into the cloud meaning i can get at it when not at the laptop.
I did have one issue with this however, I managed to overwirte some work with an old version. Only happened once though and didn’t take too long to re-do. I certainly learned my lesson with that one!
My workspace needs to be clear and tidy. I would really love to get a place that allows me to have a separate office space. This would allow me to decorate with inspiration all around and put in a nice big desk.
Sadly, I think this dream is a little way of at the moment…
Great post though
AtiKuSDesigns last blog post..10 ideas that will make you millions without even trying!
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Blogician: I have been meaning to get thunderbird configured and working, any links to a tut?
Rob: Similar folder structures!
Justin: That post should soon follow haha
AtiKuSDesign: You have any links to drop-box? sounds very interesting. Office space / studio is something many of us dream about at night, your not alone
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You should take a look at On the Job and Billings 3 for invoicing and accounting needs. On the Job is super simple to use, but Billings comes packed with features very similar to Freshbooks.
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Thanks for the good article. For invoicing and billing i really like using Invoy from the Empty Factory company. Very simple, easy and elegant to use and with a very good price. Invoy and Empty Factory website http://www.emptyfactory.com.
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is use this folder structure
PROJECT
_design (underscore so it stays on top)
psd mockups sources
documents
demo (screenshots i send to client)
scrap (where i throw stuff that i probably wont use again)
Invoices i “definately” keep in a seperate folder
[Reply]