How many different clients and projects are you juggling right now? How many clients do you think you can serve (or do you want to serve) at one time in your business?
There are a lot of moving parts just to keep YOUR business running. Add multiple clients with different scopes of work to the mix and it can feel like a lot.
Maybe you’re bouncing from task to task, hoping you don’t forget anything important. Maybe you want to add more clients to your roster, but you just aren’t sure if you’ll be able to handle it. Or maybe you just want to feel a little more flow to your workday or cut back your work hours a bit.
Whatever it is, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious about managing multiple clients and projects, these tips will help you get more control over your schedule and feel more calm in the process.
These are some of my favorite tools and strategies for managing multiple projects and clients in a way that feels clear, organized and efficient.
Balance Multiple Projects Without Getting Overwhelmed
As a service provider, you probably have multiple clients (or you plan to), and you may be providing slightly different services for each of them. You might be completing multiple projects, all with their own set of deliverables and deadlines.
To make sure you’re giving everyone exactly what they need and want from you, you’ve got to have a system in place to manage it all.
This helps ensure that you are delivering quality service to every single client. You follow through on the deliverables that you agreed on, meet deadlines and have a big picture view as well as the breakdown of actual tasks that need to be done on a daily or weekly basis.
Without a clear project management system, you run the risk of forgetting important project details, missing deadlines and disappointing your client.
Not to mention the mental load of trying to remember it all and the stress and time wasted when you can’t find that new logo file they want you to use.
You know that scatter-brained feeling? This is the cure!
Setting up a basic project management tool doesn’t have to be complicated or take a ton of time, but it WILL save you time and headaches down the road.
You might even streamline your work enough to add in another client – and boost your revenue in the process!
How To Create A Client Project Management System
My favorite tool to use for this is Trello (affiliate link…but I still totally recommend you stick with the free version for now).
Inside Trello, you use boards, lists and cards to organize #allthethings. Inside the individual cards, you can also leave notes, communicate with other members of your team, create checklists and set deadlines.
It is super easy to set up, customize, edit, and I love the visual layout to move around items on my to-do lists and schedule. It puts everything right in front of me so I can see the big picture and then break it down into smaller elements.
Even though I’ll refer to Trello throughout this post, there are a ton of other great options out there. The most important thing is that you find a system that works for you.
Tip #1: Keep your eye on the big picture, as well as the smaller elements
For each client I work with, I create a Trello board to house everything I need to know about their business, projects and tasks.
This includes a general list for things like their contact info and branding elements.
You can also create lists for daily, weekly or monthly tasks and one-off projects. I even love to keep a list of projects that come up in conversation that may not be a priority now but that we want to keep in mind to work on down the road.
In addition, you’ll want an overview board – sort of like your dashboard of everything you have going on in your business. Mine includes my weekly schedule (filled in with ongoing client tasks), a list for additional things that need to be done this week and one for things that are on my radar for coming weeks.
Tip #2: Break large projects into smaller tasks
“Build a freebie opt-in” is not a single task, my friend.
There are a lot of steps involved and you may not complete them all in a single sitting. You could break it down into tasks like:
- Create branded checklist
- Set up landing page
- Write welcome email
- Set up automations
In Trello, you can either create a list with each to-do on its own separate card or a single card with a checklist inside.
This is also where your SOP (standard operating procedure) comes in, ensuring that you know all the steps and aren’t starting from scratch every single time you do a similar project.
Tip #3: Assign deadlines to everything (and set a reminder)
Trello makes it super easy to add deadlines to any card. Remember to add yourself as a member and turn on notifications to get reminders of upcoming or past-due deadlines.
And when you need an overview of what’s coming up next, you can click on your profile pic and view your cards in order of due date.
Tip #4 Batch your work
Batching simply means that you group like tasks together, and there are a few different ways you can do it.
One option is to block off time dedicated for a single client. During this time, you focus on their work only.
Another option (and my current favorite) is to block together work of the same type.
For instance, I might do content creation on Mondays and podcast support tasks on Tuesdays. I’ll be doing work for multiple clients in the same time block, but my mind will be geared toward the specific type of task.
Tip #5: Stop multitasking
Multi-tasking is dead. I know, as women we’re often told that we’re built for multitasking. It’s a superpower.
But you know what’s more powerful than trying to do a bunch of things at once?
Doing ONE thing at a time.
Efficiency and productivity really come down to focus. When you focus on a single task, you do better work more quickly.
Slowing down actually allows you to speed up, and you’re less likely to make mistakes.
Set your priorities and top to-dos for the day and stick to it. Turn off or pause your notifications and be intentional about when and how often you check email.
These 5 tips are all things that you could incorporate today, for free, with just a little bit of time and effort.
But they’ll make a HUGE difference in both your client experience and the way you feel as you move through your work day.
If you’re feeling energized and ready to take some action, I’ve got a free Trello template for you to create your own dashboard like the one I talked about in this post. This is the actual board layout that I use every single day in my business, and it’s meant for you to customize and make your very own.
You’ll get the template and a tutorial to walk you through the process so you can feel less stressed and more focused throughout your week.
