The Best Organisational Tools For Your Writing Business

As a WAHM these tools save my business!

As a freelance writer and a mum, I am busy! I am pulled in many directions during the day so I need to be super organised or I would never get anything done.

Hands down the BEST organizational tools I have found as a freelance writer and work-at-home-mum are school, childcare and my hubby! Those child-free hours are incredibly valuable and important. Strictly speaking, they are not tools….but they are most definitely needed as a support system to get anything done!

The following is a list of the tools and processes I have found that keeps me organized, productive and on track in business and in life.

* I am NOT an affiliate of any of the tools I discuss here, they are simply the tools I use and hope that they can help you too.

Content Calendar.

I use this for my website and client work.

I love Asana. Again, not an affiliate I just love this online project management system.

You can set up different teams, projects and boards to create workflows, to-do lists and give them all due dates.

One of the best parts is being able to share with your clients. You simply create a team for that particular client and share it with them. They can only see and access that one project. It is a great way to keep your clients in the loop and they can see where you are at without a whole heap of emails or long phone calls.

Social Sharing Calendar.

For this one, I use a combination of Asana and a spreadsheet.

Asana for Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and a spreadsheet for Twitter.

You can add photos in Asana and give each post due dates. You can even view them all on a calendar and shuffle them around until you are happy with the order of posts.

The good old paper diary.

Nothing beats a good old paper diary in my opinion. There is something about putting pen to paper to organise your life. It helps me remember more clearly and feel more organised.

I write out a time plan using batching and a to-do list the night before. When I get up in the morning I glance at it and then get stuck straight into it.

My diary is a combination of EVERYTHING I need to do on that day. Business. Nursing. Chores. Appointments. I know many people say not to have several different planners, but I have found that is the best method for me. So I have my monthly content and social media planners. As well as separate to-do lists for business, blog and home. I then combine it all into my Filofax diary each week so I know exactly what I have to do each day.

It may sound confusing, but it really isn’t. It is simply a matter of using batching, prioritizing and just getting it done!

Batching for time management.

I love batching for time management. It has been one of the best tools to boost my productivity and creativity.

I cannot speak highly enough of this method of time management. It has streamlined my freelance work, my business website and blog as well as home life. I am super productive, tick so many more things off my to-do list and feel in control of my time and projects.

Batching is pretty simple. You just group similar tasks together into the same time block.

For example:

Monday mornings I outline all my Medium articles for the week or month (depending on how much time I have available).

Tuesdays mornings I write 1–2 articles.

Wednesday mornings I write 1–2 articles.

Wednesday afternoons are for editing, finding images or creating graphics.

Thursdays for scheduling and publishing.

By grouping similar activities together you are not forcing your brain to jump from one unrelated task to another. You streamline your approach and it is easier to stay focused.

Planning toddler activities that require little to no supervision.

OK. Again, not exactly a “tool”, but ensuring I have a planned activity for my 3-year-old on the days she is home has helped boost my productivity immensely.

To do that, when I am planning out our week on a Sunday I have a list of toddler-friendly activities that require little to no adult intervention. I try to be flexible with what I set up and when. I mean, I may have planned a play dough activity for Thursday morning but then she refuses to play with it. So I need another activity up my sleeve to keep her happy and occupied if I want to get any work done.

I also have a special box of toys and activities that only come out when I need to work. This way she feels like she is getting a treat! It has simple things like her own little wooden office set up (a computer, a phone, a notebook and pen), different drawing activities and my personal favourite…boxes from My Creative Box.

A great invoicing program.

I use Rounded — an Australian invoicing system aimed at freelancers and sole traders.

It is simple to use and has a beautiful interface. Not to mention great customer service! All big ticks in my books.

This has really helped me keep on top of my finances. You can keep track of expenses and income in one place. You can even set it up so that it sends a friendly reminder to clients for overdue invoices!

Templates

Seriously. Templates are the bomb!

They are not only a great organizational tool, but they save you so much time! I have templates for everything.

• Cold pitch
• Client onboarding templates
• Graphics
• Opt-Ins
• Creative Brief
• Letter of Agreement
• Writing Contract

They can take some time to set up, but once you have they really do help you stay organized and save time.

Spreadsheets.

I am a huge fan of spreadsheets. I use them to track pitches and publications, projects, my novel writing, social media sharing (what blogs I have shared and where), finances, website traffic. The list could go on.

Do you use spreadsheets? I recommend them as a way of keeping your work and processes organized in one place.

Use these organisational tools to grow your writing business:

• Content calendar
• Social sharing calendar
• Paper diary
• Batching
• Planned toddler activities
• Accounting software
• Templates
• Spreadsheet

How do you keep your writing business organized? Have you found a tool that you simply cannot live without? I would love to hear about it!

Rachel Maree is a writer, mum and registered nurse. Bringing you the real truth to parenting, nursing and writing (even when it is downright ugly). You can read more articles or hire her to write amazing content for you — Rachel Maree.

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