Competition is as strong in the freelance industry of any design as it is for other industries. Every time you turn around, there is a new batch of hopeful young designers who look at the demanding lifestyle in an agency and decide that life as a freelancer would be much more lucrative. They are willing to work long hours to meet the impossible deadlines, to get that client into their portfolio.

Then there is the ever-popular “kid-with-photoshop” stereotype. These individuals may not always possess proper design education, but are capable enough around the software and are willing to patch together something resembling a design, in exchange for extra pocket money. And let’s face it, we ALL know a client who’s done this with their nephew/neighbor/in-law’s younger brother.

And finally, there are the more experienced members of the industry who, for whatever reason, leave their agencies and bring their experience and knowledge with them into their own personal brand. These people are well-versed in the ways of their craft, and are able to spot a typography misalignment from a mile away.

So what does this mean for you?

It means that everywhere you look, there is most likely someone better than you, or faster than you, or cheaper than you.

It truly is a gloomy outlook, isn’t it? The ability to balance speed, cost, and quality is the holy grail for freelancers, and also for the clients who seek them. Most freelancers are able to achieve two of these factors to varying degrees of success, but few can claim a hat-trick.

And the sad fact is that clients will usually approach a project demanding excellence on all three fronts. They want the best designs, with the fastest turnaround times, at the lowest cost. If you prioritize speed and cost, the design’s quality suffers, and the client is unhappy. If you prioritize speed and quality instead, the cost increases, and the client throws a hissy fit. And if you focus on cost and quality, you risk taking too long on the project and not meeting the deadline.

What possible solutions are there to this dilemma?

One option is to outsource. Outsourcing makes a fairly strong argument for itself. If you have the resources, you can find another freelancer to share the load with, thus double your time factor, allowing you to focus on the quality of the project. If executed well, outsourcing can increase your efficiency, and that in turn will give a better impression of your abilities to your clients.

But it’s not a perfect solution. You’ll have to pay the freelancer that you outsource your work to, naturally, and that means dividing the profits. Now, usually for bigger projects, you can allocate a portion of your profits to outsourcing and not worry about your own income. But for smaller projects (which make up the bread and butter of most freelancers), it may not be worth it to hand a significant portion of your profits to another person.

Also, you have to take into consideration that the other freelancer is a human being too. He or she may not work like you do. For example, if this is a design project, he or she may have a radically different style compared to yours, resulting in a bizarrely executed project. A programming project may end up breaking down because the two different styles of writing code may not work together as seamlessly as hoped. Even worse, the outsourced freelancer may completely misunderstand the brief and may cause even more delay in the project. Also, if he or she has poor time management and cannot finish the work on time, your reputation and credibility will be dragged down with it.

Preston Lee from Graphic Design Blog offers another alternative, in the form of letting the client choose set the priorities for these three factors. Impress upon your client that it is not realistic to expect great designs in a short time at a low cost. Once your client sees the reality of this, he or she will be more likely to arrange the three factors.

Another trend I’ve seen recently is to market yourself with a preset order of priorities. For example, a freelancer who markets himself to high-profile, upscale clients (usually large companies), saying that he or she can produce great work in lightning fast speeds, but will not hesitate to charge for it. This kind of tactic works if you have the track record to back it up, of course. And the impression that it leaves is also somewhat permanent, so make sure that you know what you’re doing before you do this.

It also helps to market yourself to a specific type of client when doing this approach. Apart from the previous high profile clients, you will find clients that have stable businesses and a long-term marketing plan intact, and are bringing you onboard because you do great work at low cost. They don’t really need the work done quickly, as they have already factored in the production time in their plans.

Also, and this is sad but true, you’ll find a slew of clients who “just need something done quick”. I may be inviting the firing squad with this part, but the truth is that sometimes freelancers just need to make ends meet, and sacrificing your work integrity and quality to get paid is sometimes the only option. Be extremely careful about this path, however. Like I said before, the impression of you (not just to the client, but also whomever he/she recommends you to, and maybe even a few other people) is somewhat permanent, and being known as the cheap-n-quick freelancer who produces sub-par work is like being known as “that college girl who gets around”. You’ll probably never be short of clients, but you’re also likely to never see any project bigger than “my grandma’s bunch of friends are baking cookies this evening and need something pretty to put on the box”.

What about you? Do you know of other problems that come up in this balancing act? And for non-freelancers, how does this affect you in your work and your life? How do you approach it? Let me know in the comments!

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While shaving milliseconds off of your daily routine may not sound like much, there are changes that you can make at home to save minutes and even hours. Read on for some ideas.

1. The night before, prepare some juice or milk in a sealable container, and put it in the fridge. In the morning, instead of running out with a biscuit in your mouth, grab the drink. You’ll get your morning perk, it’s healthy, and it’s cooling.

2. Get a tray by the door for all your keys. If you live with someone, consider a separate tray or maybe a hook for only your key bunches, so you can grab everything in one motion.

3. The standby – You can combine this with the key tray. Get a shelf, rack, or even a corner of the kitchen counter that has plug point access. When you come back home, immediately put your phone, music player, PDA, and any other gadget that you might have, on that counter. You don’t necessarily have to charge it (in fact, overcharging is not good for most gadgets), but it’s important that you make a habit of automatically putting your chargeables on that counter, and only then considering whether to charge them. Also make sure that the standby is in a convenient location on your way out so you’ll remember to grab everything in the morning.

4. Is your bathroom in one corner of the house, your towels in another corner, and your laundry basket in a third? You get where I’m going with this, right?

5. Invest in single-portion containers and no-brainer recipe books. On the weekend, cook up a batch each of two recipes (if you share a living space, this is a great ‘together’ activity, or you could even take turns surprising the others!) and store it in those containers. You now have instant fuss-free dinners that you can just heat up and enjoy. (Extra tip: some recipes can be varied with some herbs, garnishing, or seasoning. Experimenting will make you enjoy your food more.)

6. Take number 5 further by investing in a good rice cooker. I’m not sure how common it is in other parts of the world, but in Southeast Asia it’s a staple for most houses. Although most obviously known for cooking rice, the rice cooker can actually be used for a whole variety of dishes, and the best part is that it requires almost no management from you.

7. Stick a piece of paper to your fridge or pantry door, and jot down items as you notice your need for them. If you can, reduce your shopping to once per week, at off-peak hours, so you can get in and out with minimum delay. Also, before you make that trip, look at your list, and sort them by your aisles in the mall. (Bonus prep: The next trip you make to the mall, take a pen and paper and list down the categories in each aisle. You’ll be zipping through the aisles with a smirk on your face.)

8. Lists. They save time, tension, and temper. A list of things you usually pack on trips, a list of documents you need to makes copies of, or even a list of things your kid needs for his field trip. I usually take one weekend morning and make a list of chores and other tasks I need to do. In fact, I find this to be quite motivating.

9. A dry-erase board, or a whiteboard as it’s sometimes known, may be an odd thing to find around the house, but the advantage of having a space to combine grocery lists, to-do lists, birthdays, memos, and anything else, far outweighs the wall space it may take up. Just be sure to stick it in a place you’ll see.

10. Arrange your office clothing in advance. This tip may seem more geared towards women, but you’ll be surprised by the number of men who really wonder if that shirt and that tie go together. Setting aside even ten minutes on the weekend can really work wonders for those frantic mornings.

But can he walk the walk?

Those of you who know me will be surprised that I’m writing a post about time-management, since my own time management skills are less than impressive. However, I find that the best way to commit myself to these changes is to also spread word about them.

I have managed to practice some of these tips at home. All my keys are in a key holder that I cannot miss on my way down the stairs. Since my phone doubles as my alarm, my gadgets are always beside my bed. I’m naturally a list nazi, so I’ve got that covered. And while I don’t have any particular office clothing (ah, the sweet life of a designer), I do find that packing my gym bag the day before saves me a lot of rushing the next morning.

What time management methods do you practice around the house? Share your ideas in the comments section.

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