For those who work as a freelancer (or with a company I guess..) I ask; how do you cope with an overload?

Have you experienced a time when you had far too much work and immediate deadlines and if so, how did you deal with it?

I type this because.. yes, you guessed it! I'm working simultaneously on several projects, two of which I would consider big enough on their own (in hindsight).

It's not like I was nodding my head at any job that came my way... Four of these jobs were enquiries made in a space of about a month so I gave my quotes and ETAs and then I got my first job to which a few days later, my second came along (I can handle 2/3, not a problem) so when I did finished the draft for the first project, I took on more work and one thing lead to another and now everything has come back to me with extensions, additions and revisions; BANG! at the same time.

Thankfully, there has been a storm for about a week in London so I have been very committed to staying in and focusing hard on the jobs (that's not to say I wouldn't have done otherwise. It just makes it easier when it is raining hailstones the size of oranges) but it can be a drag to work about 14hours in front of the computer for about 6 days straight.. especially when at times, you can be currently lingering in the abyss of no-ideas

I ended up having to outsource two jobs to two separate people since I did not want to add stress to my clients.

So, anybody else with a story? maybe a disastrous story where your computer exploded just as you were about to click the save button on a PSD you worked on for about 7 hours straight without saving it so you threw a tantrum thus breaking your computer in the process (no pun intended) and ended up going to a internet cafe to install photoshop and finish off the job while you wait for your new motherboard which is expedited via first class through the postal service only to find out you missed the postman so you had to drive 12 miles to the nearest depot to get it but once you finally sorted it all out you made a loss on time and money and the contract was given to your childhood rival?

Managing clients and projects is a very dynamic process in that the way you go about it can change from client to client and project to project. Some clients will be very responsive during the development phase and others you will wait on for an answer for two weeks and then expect implementation complete the next day. The agency world is certainly a hurry up and wait environment at times.

To your question about managing multiple projects, depending on what phase of the cycle you are in, typically you can throw a few todo items at the client which will buy you a couple days. Always be waiting on the client rather than the opposite. Investing in a project management application can streamline your internal processes by helping you to understand timelines so you can forecast for more human resources weeks ahead rather than at crunch time.

I ended up having to outsource 2 jobs which was a big shame since the jobs were something I was very interested in and one of which was something I haven't done before and so would be an attractive addition to diversify my portfolio.

When/if you outsource, do you list it on your portfolio or would you just take it as a payment only project?

If all else fails, you should be a responsible web designer and prepare an emergency kit. The following items relieve stress and your problems(temporarily).

(Sorry I couldn't provide you with more useful information, but hopefully gave you a quick chuckle and maybe make things seem brighter for a few seconds.)
Continue....

Oh man, I usually reward myself.. I can't use that for stress relief during a project.. otherwise THIS might happen...



and man.. I can kiss my job goodbye!!

Well be thankful that you have the problem with too much work than the lack of work. I think it's better(not easier) to cope with too much than too little. Just keep thinking how good that cold beer is going to taste at the end.

Two things spring to mind - Time management + Prioritisation

If you're a busy one man band there will always be times when you reach overload. This doesn't always apply to new sites, if you do updating work for clients and they all ask for work to be done at the same time, this also can lead to overload.

One solution is to manage your time effectively. How you do this is really up to you but getting the most of a working day can mean a big difference. Let's say you need to plan tomorrows work - do you spend all day on one job, or deal with many smaller jobs? If I have a choice I'd normally get the smaller jobs out of the way so I can concentrate on the one job the next day. What's psychologically better to wake up to - a dozen jobs or one?

Prioritisation is also a good one to consider. If you have deadlines looming then the nearest date usually takes priority because it's the most urgent. If you have any free time in between work on the site that has the next dealine, and so on.

Finally, don't be scared to communicate with your customers. If you know you're not going to be able to meet a deadline then tell them, along with a reason and a date when you will finish the work. For new sites I'd always recommend doing your utmost to meet the dealine, but for general work like updating existing sites customers are normally understanding if you need an extra day or so.

Sometimes you just get used to handling lots of work at the same time. I've currently got 6 new sites on the go, all at different stages, but can cope easily enough - I have had many years to practice though!

I plan ahead of time and I do not accept immediate deadlines.

In the past, I would and it would kill me. I would often stay up all night finishing it. Worse case scenario, I would tell them I can not do it and refund them. It was stressful and my profit went WAY down.

Now, I learn to not accept immediate deadlines or I reason with the client. I set up the deadlines with a day or two added. Adding a day or two helps for any problems or scheduling conflicts.

You have to learn to manage everything while fitting it into your schedule. Do not be afraid to say no because of a strict deadline. It will kill you if you don't.

I'm using a work laptop running Win2k.
If I create a folder in CAPS, it 'helps' me by changing my folder name to initial capitals e.g. "NAFTA" to "Nafta". What could it do better?

1. It could leave me the hell alone. I'm the one naming the folder. If I want a folder name in caps, it's my choice and my responsibility.
2. It could change it to initial capital - ONCE. But if I rename it back to "NAFTA", it should respect my wishes. (Win2000 fails to do this. It thinks that, even if I actively rename a folder to a term in full caps, I'm probably mistaken!)
3. It could use some intelligence and look the word up in a dictionary. If it doesn't recognise the word, leave it alone. If it does recognise it, change it for me, but only once.