Working for yourself and doing what you love is quite possibly the most fun a human being can have. But do you ever feel overwhelmed with the incredible number of things you have to juggle to survive as a freelancer? I know I do; some days I have clients calling me with urgent work as I drive home from class, only to rush inside, flip open my computer, and find myself flooded with reminders of things that need to be done yesterday.

Or sometimes I have a solid afternoon to work on a project, only to find that the time slips through my fingers and I end up accomplishing next to nothing. How does that happen? I’ve read a few books and blogs lately that have opened my eyes to a few tricks that really help me manage my time.

If you ever feel overwhelmed, read on for a 3 easy ways to simplify life and handle things a little more efficiently. I’d love to hear your tips on time management and simplifying life in the comments below.

1. Limit email checking

One basic tip for simplifying life as a freelancer is to check email at a set time, and no more. What?! But shouldn’t I be ready to respond immediately to any email that shows up in my inbox? Isn’t that part of good customer service?

Here’s some breaking news: your clients will probably not fall over dead in their chairs if they don’t receive an email response from you within 1.5 minutes. In fact, your clients will probably be fine as long as you respond within 1 business day.

Are you addicted to your inbox? Do you find yourself mindlessly checking your email whenever you have nothing else to do? STOP! Have a set time (or 2 times, if you just can’t bear to be away that long) that you check your email, and then don’t even look at your inbox the rest of the day.

Tim Ferris has an excellent book called The 4-Hour Workweek in which he discusses a number of time management principles, including the idea of checking email once per day, or, in his case, once per week. Check out his blog for some very interesting articles on how he does this while keeping his business running.

I know, I know, maybe your particular business will crash and burn within a few hours if you aren’t there to instantly respond to emails. If that’s the case, you might want to consider figuring out a way to unleash yourself from your inbox, allowing you to have a life and increase your productivity in other areas.

2. Outsource

Are you the type of person who is a top-notch designer, freakin’ awesome coder, and pretty much an all-around freelancing ninja? Yeah? Well if you are, outsourcing can still be useful in simplifying your life if you ever feel overwhelmed.

On the other hand, if you’re a great designer but haven’t mastered the development yet, rather than trying to learn every necessary skill to design/code/write copy/walk the dog, outsource work to other experts. You should have a basic understanding of the back end of things, but you’ll save time and end up with happier life if you focus on what you love and what you’re good at.

3. Plan ahead

Try taking about an hour each Monday morning to plan out your goals for that week. Goals can include a number of sales calls to make, blog posts to write, self-promotion to accomplish, clients to sign, or peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches to consume.

Also take about 10 minutes at the end of each day to plan what you will accomplish the next day. This will help you hit the ground running in the morning and accomplish more within one day. See my article on how to improve your productivity with mini-deadlines for more tips on planning and goal-setting.

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1. How to get started as a freelancer and make money
2. 5 Ways to Make Clients Feel Like Royalty
3. Business models for freelancers