Nobody wants to miss a deadline. Missing a deadline can not only look bad, but can also limit the amount of work you receive from your clients in the future.

Sometimes a missed deadline seems unavoidable…it can sneak up at the least opportune time and create havoc on your work schedule. Nonetheless, there are many ways to help yourself conquer the evil double-circled deadlines on your calendar. By learning tricks of the trade you’ll protect yourself against having to say “I’m sorry”.

Here are seven tips to ensure you’ll never miss a deadline again:

1. Communicate a Deadline – You should always make sure that you and your client are clear on the deadline for your project. Sometimes buyers can be vague and difficult to communicate with. However, by discussing the deadline at the start of the project, you will be able to set a timetable that works for both sides.
2. Don’t Promise Too Much – If you’re busy, you’re busy. It’s much better to exceed expectations than to be late. By managing their expectations and being realistic about your productivity, you’ll save yourself a lot of sleepless nights and be able to meet your deadlines more consistently.
3. Write it Down – If you have a deadline, you should always write it down. Personally, I put a note on my desktop widget, my monthly calendar, and my daily planner every time I receive a new project. Deadlines are extremely important to your freelancing business and you simply can’t forget about the projects you have lined-up.
4. Organize Your Project – Set “mini-goals” to make sure that you don’t fall behind. If you need to write ten 1000 word articles this week, then find a way of working it in with your pre-existing schedule. This may end up looking like 2 articles per day or it might turn out that you’re busy a few days and need to write 5 articles on two different days. By organizing your project in a way that works for you, you’ll remove unnecessary stress and improve your efficiency.
5. Set Enough Time Aside – Never underestimate the amount of time that it will take to complete a project. If you don’t want to be working through the night, then you need to set enough time aside during the day to complete your jobs. Use past experiences and estimated research times to help you out in this area.
6. Backup Your Files – Nothing is worse than losing a project that was almost done. While it may seem like a meaningless task 98% of the time, you’ll be extremely happy the other 2% of the time when you realize that backed your files up. Some easy ways to protect yourself against a computer crash include emailing computer documents to yourself, saving files on a USB drive, and burning your files onto a rewritable CD or DVD.
7. Be Committed – Most of the previous tips were meant to save you from having to stay up late working on projects. However, if you’ve failed to stay on track with your client’s expected deadline, then you should be committed enough to stay up late and get the job done on time.

It can be difficult to make every deadline as a freelance writer, but it’s always worth taking the time to organize your projects so that you can reach your goals. You never know where you’ll get referrals or repeat work from. By always doing your best and meeting every deadline, you’ll give yourself a much better chance to become a successful freelance writer.

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