How To Make Up For Lost Time As a Freelancer

When illness or malfunction takes you down, here’s how to get back up.

Last week was a lost week for me, for the most part. I came down with a bug — not Covid-related — that knocked me out of commission for a good three days, plus a couple of days when I was, perhaps, at half my usual effectiveness.

Needless to say, my work schedule took a hit. And the timing wasn’t great as I took on some new projects for the second half of the month and didn’t include sick time on my calendar.

More fool, me.

It has now been a week since I climbed firmly back in the saddle, and I am pretty much where I need to be. No clients are screaming for my head on a pike. No project is in danger of missing a deadline. Yes, I still have a little catching up to do, but having a sudden bout of illness knock me out of the game for a significant number of days hasn’t hurt my freelance career.

Not now, at least.

I’ve learned from past mistakes. I’ve learned from times when suddenly losing days out of my schedule hurt me as a freelancer.

But I’ve learned some critical lessons from those early years.

Here how you can keep from hurting your freelance career due to sudden, unplanned downtime.

Communicate, Part 1

Whether it’s an illness, a family emergency, or a major technical fail, your first responsibility will be to let clients know that there may be a delay in getting their jobs back to them.

Most clients are going to understand. In many cases, assignments given to freelancers usually have broader schedules, so there is some wiggle room when it comes to the due date. Your client will appreciate you coming to them as soon as possible to let them know there’s an issue on your end.

Few will hold it against you, and those that do… well, deal with them as best you can, but remember that they aren’t your boss. They’re your client. You can fire them if they’re being too much of a dick.

Triage

You’re sick, or busy, or frantic with panic because smoke is pouring out of the back of your laptop. Still, take some time to look over your calendar and task list and start deciding what projects can be rescheduled or shifted up and down your task list.

Last week, I had to forego a newsletter and a podcast recording. As I’ve been catching up this week, I’ve still had to put both on the back burner in favor of the jobs that a.) have clients waiting, and b.) dependably pay my bills.

I’ll likely be recording my podcast tonight and taking care of my newsletter over the weekend. Soon, I’ll be back on a regular schedule.

Decide what’s most essential and focus on those projects first.

Communicate, Part 2

Keep your clients updated as to your progress. Let them know if there have been any setbacks or if you have to further amend your production schedule.

The one thing every client hates is the same thing every freelancer hates — to feel like they’ve been ghosted.

Keep those lines of communication open. Yes, writing e-mails or making calls takes time away from work, but the professionalism of staying in touch will pay off in the end.

Do what you can, but no more

It’s tempting to go into overdrive once whatever interrupted you has passed. Be careful, though. The last thing you want is to burn out and stop again before you’ve started.

Look at your revised task list and tackle each project one at a time. Be methodical and be patient. As you whittle down each list item one by one, you’ll feel better about yourself and where you are in recovering your schedule.

But take your time. Take breaks between completed tasks. If you’ve just recovered from an illness, don’t do anything that’s going to send you right back to bed. Don’t try to work too quickly — that will only result in sloppy, error-filled work.

When you present a client a job they had to wait a few extra days on, you want to instill confidence in your work.

Communicate, Part 3

If you’re having problems catching up with your schedule, talk with the client to see if something could be given a more extended deadline so you don’t rush a job and risk doing it poorly, or see if the job can be passed on to someone else.

Again, this is where a mature, professional attitude will go a long way in keeping your client happy with you. Yes, it may be a hassle, and there will undoubtedly be clients who are less than reasonable, but you’ll find open, honest communication will be more profitable in the long run.

Keeping on top of maintenance

This isn’t just maintaining your equipment or your schedule, but your health as well. Always make sure to get plenty of rest, water, and good food. Avoid empty calories and sugary snacks. Get exercise, take vitamins. The whole bit.

Likewise, run regular virus scans on your devices so they don’t crash and burn on you and do data backups on a regular basis.

As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Communicate, Part 4 (last one, really)

My final word on being a good communicator with clients when recovering from lost time.

Be honest.

Don’t claim a sick day and then get caught posting beach photos on Instagram. If you need a day off, take a day off, but be honest about it.

It’ll be okay

Every freelancer falls behind from time to time. Usually, it’s due to an unexpected issue like illness or equipment failures, but sometimes it’s just because things get overwhelming.

It happens.

The critical thing to remember is that so long as you keep open your lines of communication and approach catching up on work sensibly, you’ll come out fine in the end.

You’ll be stronger for it and a better freelancer all around.

Thank you for reading. I’d love to share more with you via my Bi-Weekly Word Roundup newsletter sent to subscribers every other Sunday. It will feature news, productivity tips, life hacks, and links to top stories making the rounds on the Internet. You can unsubscribe at any time.