TASK MANAGEMENTFOR FREELANCERS
(From a Chill Guy Who is Still Figuring It Out)
G'day! I'm Ollie from Tasmania, and I have stuffed up my fair share of freelance projects to know what NOT to do. Here's my brutally honest take on managing tasks without completely losing your mind.
Right, so I am writing this while eating the porridge my girlfriend made for me (because left to my own devices I'd just have coffee for breakfast) and some precut fruit an Airbnb guest left in my apartment. Also procrastinating on three different client projects and questioning every life choice that led me to become a freelance developer.
ABOUT ME
But here's the thing... actually wait, let me back up. I've been freelancing for a few years now, and I've learnt some stuff the hard way. Like, REALLY hard way. We're talking missed deadlines, angry clients, and that special kind of 3am panic when you realise you've double-booked yourself.
I used to be an architect. You know, the kind that designs actual buildings that have to stand up along with complex BIM models. Had a proper career (well I thought), wore a black t-shirt and pants, the whole deal. Back then, my entire task management system was a list written on a tracing paper roll. Seriously, it was just one piece of tracing paper with todos scribbled on it from the client meeting. This worked brilliantly until you lose it, then you were properly fucked. Lost mine many times before major deadlines which left me just guessing and working from memory. Which is not great when you have 20 different things on your mind from various projects plus personal life.
But a few years back, I decided to take a sabbatical and rediscover my love for photography which then turned into programming (somehow - not sure what wrong/right decision I made). What started as "maybe I'll learn some coding during my break" turned into "holy shit, I can actually do this + it will let me work and live remotely " and eventually "right, I'm a freelance developer to some extent now, I guess."
Plot twist: turns out the organisational skills from architecture don't automatically transfer to managing chaotic freelance projects. Who would have thought?
WHY I BUILT BLENDLINES IN A WEEK plus many sleepless nights as I started to see the cracks form once it started to scale.
Look, TBH I am not some productivity guru, tutorial or template guy with a perfectly organised life. I'm just a chill Aussie guy who moved overseas and accidentally switched careers, building simple apps and websites, drinking too much filter coffee, and has finally figured out how to not completely balls up my task management. Most of the time. Well, sometimes.
I built BlendLines because I was sick of every other task app being either too simple or too complicated. Sometimes you just want something that works. Also TBH I needed a project to procrastinate with while avoiding actual client work or the work on my other 5 other uncomplete pre funding startups.
The Problem
- → Too many features you will never use
- → Does not fit how you actually work
- → Takes longer to organize than to do
- → Built for enterprise, not freelancers
Classic Disasters
(That I've Definitely Never Done...)
Double-booking yourself
"Sure, I can have both projects done by Friday!" *dies internally*
Scope creep
"Just a small tweak" becomes rebuilding the entire thing
The disappearing client
Ghosts you for weeks, then expects work yesterday
Underestimating everything
"This'll take 2 hours max"—8 hours later...
SO ANYWAY, HERE'S WHAT SORT OF WORKS FOR ME
(of course when I remember to do it)
Brain Dump
Every Monday morning... actually that’s a lie. Sometimes Monday, sometimes Tuesday or Sunday night. I dump everything in my head onto Blendlines. And I mean EVERYTHING. Client work, personal projects, that weird bug I noticed but haven't fixed, remembering to actually invoice people (seriously important, that one).
The key is... wait no, here is the thing though: don't organise while you're dumping. Just get it all out into the first column. Your brain is not a reliable storage system, especially when you're running on coffee and serious case of imposter syndrome. Mine certainly isn't. Yesterday I forgot I had planned dinner with my girlfriend, I went hungry and we live to fight another day.
Here's where it gets clever though - I added AI functionality that takes those messy brain dumps and breaks them into actual subtasks. You know when you write something like 'finish the website redesign' and then stare at it for three days because it's too bloody big? The AI breaks it down into 'review current design', 'create wireframes', 'code header component', etc. Turns overwhelming dumps into workable chunks.
This is where BlendLines really shines (yeah, shameless plug, but it's MY blog post). I tag everything by client or project type. So I've got tags for "Client A", "Client B", "Personal Stuff", and "Things That'll Probably Never Happen But I Like to Pretend They Will".
What actually works about this is I can filter by client when I'm in "Client A mode" and not get distracted by all the other chaos. It's like noise-cancelling headphones for your todo list. Except when I forget to use the filters and wonder why I'm working on the wrong thing. Which happened literally this morning.
Tag Everything
Reality Check Columns
My kanban columns aren't the usual "To Do, Doing, Done" nonsense. Mine are more honest:
Tasks
Things I actually need to do (eventually)
Waiting
Blocked on someone else (usually clients)
Doing
What I'm actively working on (max 3 things. sometimes 5... fine, 8)
Done
Completed tasks that make me feel less like a fraud
CLIENT MANAGEMENT TRUTHS
SET BOUNDARIES
I used to be a people pleaser. Client wants a rush job? Sure! Last-minute scope change? No worries! Weekend work? Why not! This led to burnout, resentment, and clients who expected miracles as standard. And when a client says “it is easy,” “you wll get great exposure,” or “you will learn something,” it usually means they are getting the real benefit, not you.
Now I am upfront about timelines, scope, and communication. Turns out, acting professional makes people treat you also professionally. Who knew? Still cave sometimes though. Last week I said yes to a "quick fix" that took two days, but you do live and learn.
MANAGE UP
Sometimes you need to train your clients. I know that sounds a little bit cheeky, but hear me out. If a client always sends urgent requests at 7pm on Friday, you need to realisitcally manage their expectations.
I've started sending weekly status updates, even when nothing dramatic has happened. It keeps clients in the loop and stops those panicked calls. Well, reduces them. Okay, they still do happen but less often.
WHY BLENDLINES WORKS
Obviously I'm biased (I built the damn thing), but here's why I think it works for freelancers specifically:
Visual Workflow
You can see everything at a glance
Separation between client and personal tasks
Tag and filter by client easily
Simple But Not Stupid
Powerful enough to handle complexity, simple enough to actually use. Unlike my old method of using a ripped off corner of tracing paper.
Reality Check
Look, I am not going to pretend I have it all figured out. This system never fails. Except when it does, which is often. I'm still learning, still making mistakes, and still occasionally eating cereal for dinner while coding till past midnight.
Last week I had this perfect system running, felt like a proper professional. This week I forgot I had a client call and was at the market looking to buy a new plant. But having a decent task management system has made the chaos a bit more manageable. The bar was pretty low though, considering I used to use a roll of tracing paper.
Found one of the 10 hidden Bugs, found a vulnerability? or got a feature request?
Look, I don't have some fancy bug tracking system (yet). I'm just one chill guy building this thing between client work, run daily and remember to eat healthy.
If you find something broken or have a feature request, hit me up on X at @bigols. I will probably build a proper feedback tool eventually (or more likely, subscribe to one when this thing takes off), but for now, Twitter DMs work just fine.
Fair warning: I might turn your bug report into another side venture. It's a sickness, really.
READY TO GET ORGANISED?
I built BlendLines specifically for freelancers and indie developers who need something that just works. No fancy features you wll never use, just a solid task management that fits how you actually work. Or how you pretend to work. Or how you work when you remember to work you chose your style.