No matter how efficiently you get things done in the office or at home, when you become a Freelancer, you face a whole different challenge where time management is concerned. Suddenly, the only person breathing down your neck about bringing in clients and looming deadlines is you. On the one hand, it sounds very appealing to be in charge of your own destiny…and job satisfaction. On the other hand however, you are now solely in charge of your destiny and job satisfaction! Your entire work life has undergone an upheaval in location, context and priorities. Everything is different, including the people sharing your work space and the distractions that can keep you from getting and staying down to business. What practices can you adopt early on as a Freelancer to take command of the time that is now all your own? Let’s explore some ideas for keeping you focused and on track as you travel the road to success alone.

Leslie Shreve, Founder and Productivity Expert at Focus Consulting, gives these tips to optimize the Freelancer’s time management:

Keep track of tasks electronically. Capture all you need to do, have to do, want to do, and dream of doing all in one electronic task list that allows you to easily plan, prioritize and be proactive. To do lists are great because they provide a place to get everything out of your head, but if the to-dos are written on paper (and usually they’re on multiple papers), they are easily misplaced or lost. Not only this, but it’s actually impossible to effectively prioritize ALL of your responsibilities (tasks from e-mail, voice mail, snail mail, papers, files, post-it notes, meeting notes and more) every day without using an electronic task list, such as the one in Outlook, where you can quickly capture and reprioritize in a second.

Don’t let your time be lost, stolen or given away. Be sure to use only one calendar, also recommended to be electronic. Keep an eye on your calendar so that you allow enough time to process email, work your task list, work on projects, work on client work and still have time for personal tasks. If you are overcommitted and don’t have time for all you want to do, it’s time to start over and write down the most important things you must do personally and professionally, and then add to the list the things you’d like to do and then after that, those activities which would be nice to do. Compare this list with your calendar and block time for the “must dos” first. Fit in the rest of the list as time permits. Don’t say ‘yes’ to everything you’re invited to do. Something may have to give in order to fit in what you value the most. To determine what goes, you have to be aware of where your time goes now. Document everything and then choose what to cut, either temporarily or permanently.

Be selective and decisive. Watch out for subscribing to too much: magazines, newspapers, blogs, e-zines, newsletters, e-courses… and then there’s social media: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Plaxo, LinkedIn, MySpace and the list goes on and on. You could spend your whole day involved in all of these, but you need to budget your time. Be selective. Choose only those pieces of information which will serve you the most in growing you or your business - those things which could impact your bottom line the most - and unsubscribe to the rest. Limit your time to any one or a combination of these and if time permits after a few weeks or months, you can gradually add more into your schedule if there is value and time permits.

Create systems for finding and filing. One of the worst time bandits is disorganization. Make time in your calendar to get organized in paper files, e-files, tasks, and contacts. The more you can create systems you can trust and rely on, the more time you’ll save in the future because you’ll know exactly where to look to find what you need when you need it. Being organized and taking the time to maintain organization truly supports your business and your growth. Nothing hurts a bottom line more than losing paperwork, email, e-documents, follow-ups and contact information. It could translate into lost time and lost opportunities.

Don’t fall into the “I’ve got all day” trap. Being en entrepreneur and being in business for yourself can give you the sense of having all kinds of free time. However, be prepared: working from home can pose new challenges in the form of distractions and interruptions which can easily pull you away from your work. You may think you have all day, but it could slip away quickly unless you carefully make a plan for what time of day and days of the week you can focus on your work and when you can focus on your family or home. Consider what time of day you will be sharing the house with other family members, pets and anyone else that may break your focus. Use your quietest times of day and days of the week for your most important tasks. Don’t risk combining priorities with possible interruptions or distractions.

Although as a Freelancer your time is yours to spend as you see fit, armed with these useful suggestions, you can take charge of your schedule. It takes a combination of solid prioritizing, detailed preparation and steely focus. Your time is the most valuable commodity you posses as a Freelancer so it will serve you well to spend it wisely.

What are your time-thieves as a Freelancer?

We’re in an economic crisis. Yes, I’ve heard that and felt that, and I know how it affects me and my family personally. But thinking about my company, I realized I had to rework the way I think about business spending. Here are a few things I’ve decided in order to keep more cash flowing in than out, even as the flow in slows down while everyone is tightening their belts.

1. Rethink company expenditures. I used to never think twice about putting a lunch on the company card or picking up a piece of equipment or a peripheral on the company’s dime. Instead of simply using the company card for company expenses, we’ve switched teh process so now we use our personal money for business expenses and then submit an invoice. Suddenly, what seemed easy and painless has become something that I think twice about before spending. By making your team - and yourself - dig into your own pockets for smaller expenditures and then submit receipts for reimbursement, everyone gets a quick dose of reality in terms of how they are spending. We still put larger travel expenses on the card.

2. Reassess your monthly auto-pays. Like us, you probably have at least half a dozen products and services that you’ve put on autopay and basically take for granted that money is being sucked out of the company on a regular basis so you can use those tools. Our autopays include 5pm for project management, eFax for Web-based faxing and LibSyn for podcast hosting. We recently cut monthly expenses by shifting from Freshbooks back to Quickbooks Pro (at the behest of our bookkeeper). But we had to add more expense to upgrade our 5pm account to accommodate more team members. Just make sure that you list out your auto-pays, and make sure you have the exact service plan that you need. In some cases, you can downgrade and save some money.

3. Hold off on most purchases. While we could all benefit from buying an updated version of Microsoft Word (I’m working off a 6-year-old version on my 6-year-old PowerBook that is holding onto life by a thread), we’re waiting a few more months before purchasing it and some other pricey software. I do have a newer MacBook but none of the latest software on it. I’d love an even newer, lighter-weight and faster computer but that has been put on the back burner. Weigh out productivity costs when looking at big expenditures. If you can point to real savings by making a big purchase, then go for it. But you really have to look closely at when you will actually start saving.

4. Go free where you can. When I was equipping my MacBook with all the software I needed, I went for the free open source solutions such as NeoOffice to stand in for the Microsoft suite of office tools. 99% of the time it serves me well, but it is becoming the 1% of the time that can be a real stickler in productivity. Still, go free when and where you can. Got a PC and want to avoid Microsoft? Try OpenOffice. Need PhotoShop-like functions? Try G.I.M.P. There are many open source options out there for just about any software or service you need - just do a Google search. Make sure you have at least the minimum functionality that you know you need or free will end up costing you more in the long run.

5. Justify your travel. I am traveling more and more for business but now look at each trip through the lens of “how can I make money for the company while on this trip?” This could be a short term hit like speaking engagement honorariums or a longer term infusion like a warm lead to a new client or meeting face-to-face with a potential strategic partner who can bring you in on new projects. I’m going to Izeafest in Orlando and Dreamforce in San Francisco and was able to get legitimate writing assignments for both that will help me offset the travel expenses. Not everyone is a published freelance writer, but if you have a popular, high-trafficked blog, you may be able to get into an event as media for free or at least get a nice discounted pass from the event host.

Tightening your company’s belt should not mean loss of productivity. It simply means thinking twice - or even three times - before whipping out the company credit card to pay for something.

How are you tightening your company’s belt these days?

We had the opportunity to interview Olympic gold medalist Hannah Teter about her entrepreneurial venture. Teter is leveraging her celebrity status to feed orphaned Africans in Kirindon, Kenya.

For the past three years, Hannah’s Gold has sold bottles of amber Vermont maple syrup in order to help with numerous projects including water purification, farming tools, seeds, fertilizers, sustainable farming initiatives, and much more.

Teter’s business works symbiotically with her Olympic snowboarding career: Snowboarding drives Hannah’s Gold which, in turn, drives Hannah to snowboard her best for the success of her charity.

Q: How did your business come about?

It came about after the 2006 winter Olympics in Italy. I wanted to start a nonprofit that would raise money and awareness for children in struggling areas.

Q: What was a challenge you overcame getting started and how did you overcome it?

I overcame the challenge of wanting to do something that wasn’t self focused and outside my realm of experience. I over came this by researching statistics on the areas in need, other charities in the space, and watching videos on living situations in the 3rd world.

Q: How do you “juggle” sports commitments and running a business?

I put a lot of time and effort into both! They are very important in each of their own ways. Both supplement my passion for the other. It gives me even more of a passion to do well in my snowboarding career to benefit my charity, so I try to give it all I got on both sides.

Q: How do you manage to run your business from the road?

My mom plays the biggest part on helping to manage and keep things on track. She is really the most “on it” person I know and helps keep it all together.

Q: What tools, sites, applications, and devices do you use to help you do your work especially when on the road?

Well, I try to advertise through MySpace, Facebook, and go211.com to get people stoked on the charity.

Q: What do you think being involved in sports - particularly at the Olympic level - brings to your involvement with business? i.e. how does being an Olympian affect your work as an entrepreneur or vice versa?

It provides an elevated platform that partially guarantees the fact that, if you got something to say, people are going to listen a little more than the average person. So when I realized this, I wanted to start to know everything and anything and share with people what I’ve discovered. I’ve started to talk a lot about the importance of eating organic, non-genetically modified food, and being healthy because I know a lot of sickness and disease stem from body and mind health. I want to be an information source to young people, and because I am an Olympian, people might listen to me a little more than if I was not. I’m able to raise more money for my charity because I have that platform. Without it, I don’t think it would be as successful.

How have you sweetened your success with charitable work or donations? Which is your favorite celebrity charity?

Photos Courtesy: NBC-USOC

“The economy is in the dumps. People are stressed to their limits. And the environment continues to suffer from our excesses. If those with compatible jobs worked at home just one day a week, U.S. companies, individuals, and communities could over $350 billion a year and the environment would be spared thanks to the equivalent of taking six million cars permanently off the road. What’s more, our savings in oil would total almost 80% of our annual Iraqi imports,” says author Kate Lister in a promotional email pitching her book Undress For Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home (Wiley, 2009).

The book, and the companion web site at Undress4Success.com, are places for employers, employees, freelancers, and entrepreneurs to get inspiration around working at home. I had the chance to email Kate by email about the book she co-wrote with Tom Harnish and about her theories on working from home.

Q: What was your “aha” moment about working at home?

When a mattress flew off the car in front of me as I traveled to work on the Sure-Kill Expressway one morning. Well, that was the final straw anyway. I simply could not stand the whole business suit and pantyhose scene. I grew up in a home-based business and always knew that’s where I’d wind up.

Q: What would you consider some main qualities a woman must have in order to successfully work from home?

Discipline, discipline, discipline. While there are plenty of distractions in a regular office setting—co-workers stopping by, coffee breaks, birthday parties, water cooler chit-chat—the workplace culture keeps you in check. When you start working from home, you face different kinds of distraction—household chores, the sofa—only now, there’s no one to keep you in check but yourself. You need to find a way to stay focused. And you need to train your family and friends that just because you don’t leave the house in the morning, you do have a real job and you really are working.

Q: What would you consider some main issues a woman must consider before working from her home?

Be sure your family and friends buy into the concept. No, you can’t run their errands, come out and play, and have dinner on the table when they get home. You have a real job!

Q: What are some common (and avoidable) pitfalls that someone working at home might fall into and how would you recommend avoiding them?

Someone once said “the nice thing about having your own business is you get to work half days; you just need to decide which twelve hours.” The same could be said about working from home. When your work is right there, it’s sometimes hard to turn it off. There’s alway one more email to read, one more phone call to make, one more text message to send. One teleworker we interviewed for Undress For Success—The Naked Truth About Working From Home told us she actually resorted to climbing in the car at 6pm, driving around the block, and returning home to mark the end of her day.

Q: What is the downside(s) of working at home?

For some, loneliness is an issue. We’re social creatures, after all. That’s why you see the coffee shops filled with people working on their laptops. One coffee shop owner we interviewed said his business has been transformed by the work at home movement. He’s actually remodeled twice to make more power outlets available.

Q: What is the one major takeaway you’d like people to get from reading your book?

There are legitimate home based jobs and business opportunities out there. If you want to work from home, we can help you make work what you do, instead of where, how, or when you do it.

How do you feel about working from home? Do you do it? Want to do it? Love it? Hate it?