How to Run Multiple Freelance Design Projects Without Overwhelm

You've got four projects on the go. Maybe five. None of them are hard, you know exactly what you're doing on every one...

So why are you completely fried by 3pm? 😩

Here's the thing: it's usually not the number of projects wearing you out. It's the jumping between them. Every time you switch from one client to the next, your brain has to stop, remember where you left off, decide what's next, and gather up all the loose ends.

That's the tiring bit. Not the designing.

So the fix is rarely "fewer clients." It's about stopping your brain from carrying all of them, all at once, all day long.

Let me talk you through it »»»

It's not the projects. It's the jumping between them.

Picture a proper busy week.

You're pulling together a moodboard for one client. Doing a round of revisions for another. Answering a "quick question" from a third (that's never actually quick 😅). And somewhere in the gaps, you're meant to be doing the real work.

None of it is difficult. But by the time you've bounced back and forward a few times, you're exhausted.

A designer I worked with once told me the hardest bit mentally was "switching back and forward between clients," and honestly, that's it exactly. When you've got five projects live, you're making that switch dozens of times a day.

Sound familiar? Here’s what to do about it »»»

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But hang on, isn't the answer just...fewer clients?

Sometimes, yes. These days I'd genuinely rather go deeper with fewer clients than spread myself thin. That's a completely valid choice, and if you're drowning right now, it might be the right one for you.

But it's not the whole story.

Because back in my growth-phase days, I ran thirteen clients at once. Thirteen! 😳 Too many, looking back, and not something I'd do again.

But here's the bit that matters: it was actually doable. Not because I'm superhuman, but because I had a solid system holding it all together underneath.

So the number was never really the problem. The real question is whether there's something holding it all up...or whether it's just you, your memory, and a small mountain of sticky notes.

Let's sort that bit out.

Write your project steps down once (you already know them by heart)

This one took me ages to spot.

Every time I started a new project, I was working the steps out again from scratch. Enquiry, onboarding, kick-off, first concepts, revisions, sign-off, wrap-up. I'd done it a hundred times. But because it all lived in my head instead of on paper, my brain treated every new project like a brand new puzzle.

No judgement if that's you too. It's so easy not to notice.

But you do know your steps. You run the same ones, in roughly the same order, every time, whether it's a big brand identity or a quick one-off.

So write them down. Once. The actual steps every project moves through, start to finish. Then run every client along those same steps.

And here's the good bit: once it's decided, your brain gets to stop asking "what's next?" for every single client. Next is already sorted. You just look at what you wrote down. 💫

Stop starting every day by deciding where to start

Here's the one that quietly drains you more than any of the actual work.

Deciding.

Making decisions is one of the most tiring things you can ask your brain to do. And when all of your projects only exist inside your head, every single morning starts the same way: you mentally sift the whole pile, trying to work out what needs you first.

Before you've done any real work, you're already feeling like you need a break 😩

Your brain is being asked to be the filing cabinet and the person deciding what to pull out of it. And it's too much for someone who is already under pressure.

So give yourself one place to see everything you're working on.

One spot showing every project, exactly where it's up to, and what's next. You can do this in a simple project management tool, my go-to is ClickUp, but hand on heart, the tool matters far less than the habit. It's important you choose whatever you'll actually look at.

Here's why it changes everything...

When the next step is clear, every time, you're not deciding what to do next from memory anymore. You're just doing.

Your tool holds the to-do list so your brain doesn't have to, and it points you at what's next. That's a whole layer of daily exhaustion, gone. And you get to keep that brainpower for the design. ✨

Batch your admin, but give creative work room to breathe

Now, you'll hear a lot of advice that says "batch everything, do all your same tasks together." And in my opinion, that's only half right.

It works brilliantly for the little stuff. The admin, the emails, the invoicing, the quick replies. Lump those into a couple of dedicated blocks instead of letting them dribble through your whole day, and you'll claw hours back.

But the big creative work? That doesn't want to be crammed together. It wants space around it.

Here's what a typical working day actually looks for me (and yes, it sounds a bit unhinged when I say it out loud 😅).

I do four 90-minute deep-work blocks, plus three little blocks for admin and email. And here's the part that probably sounds awful, but I want to help you so I don't mind embarrassing myself 🤣

I do my very first block before I've even got dressed. I start with my morning routine, a matcha and a bit of meditation, then go straight into a deep work block while my brain's at its freshest. Then getting dressed and making breakfast becomes a proper break before the next one.

The point isn't "copy my exact routine" (but you totally can if you want!).

It's this: the small stuff gets batched together, the big stuff gets breathing room. A little reset between the meaty tasks, so you have the space to enjoy the design work and you're giving yourself time to adjust to the next project and get in the headspace of that client.

And here's what actually changes

None of this is about doing less, or caring less, or turning into some colour-coded productivity robot 🤖

It's about deciding the boring stuff once, so your brain gets to stop re-deciding it forty times a week.

When every project runs on the same steps, when the details live somewhere other than your head and when the little jobs get batched and the big ones get space..."having five clients" stops meaning "trying to juggle five projects and remember where they're up to"

It just becomes the work. And slowly, the overwhelm starts to melt away.

You get your evenings back. Your headspace back. And proper, unbroken time for the design you actually went freelance to do.

What Next?

If this hit home, it's exactly the kind of thing I dig into every week in Freelance Diaries, my free newsletter for experienced freelance designers who want the work to feel lighter. Come and join us free here.

And if you're sitting there thinking "I know I need to streamline my business, I just never have the brain space to do it"... that's exactly what working with me is for. Together we get these systems properly built into your business, so you stop running on memory and start running by design. Click here to get in touch and find out more.

Vicki Wallis

Founder, Freelancing Simplified

🔥 Est: 2021

👗 Freelance designer since 2016

🌎 Travel obsessed

🐾 Dog Mum to Max

💜 On a mission to help overwhelmed freelancers find freedom

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