When it comes to website design, pacing yourself is one of the most crucial elements of success. You must be able to effectively prioritize what you are working on, and when you should be working on it. One of the ways to help determine priority is customer urgency. How much does the client need done and by when? Can you get their website to a workable state, or does it need to be finished? Have you allowed yourself enough time to meet the set deadline? All these questions factor into the next element which is mental health.
Always take care of yourself before the customer. Yes, we are all adults and know how to sleep and feed ourselves, but as a web developer/designer it can be easy to fall behind on sleep or postpone a meal. With physical aspects, there are mental aspects to accompany such as stress. Stress can play a huge role in how your demeanor can change in conversation. If you’re stressed, you’re less efficient and not a true version of yourself. Occasionally this can be caused by a client with high standards or increasing demands. Be sure to establish boundaries with the client that respect the terms of your agreement with them. Is the time that you are spending on their website worth the money you’re making?
A good way to gauge time vs. money is total money earned on a project / total amount of time spent on said project. What does your hourly rate look like? Don’t forget to factor in every aspect of time spent like meetings, planning, reviewing, scoping, everything. If the amount of time you’re spending on a project is not worth the effort, it’s not worth your time. Your time is valuable, and you should treat it as such!
A good way to gauge time vs. money is total money earned on a project / total amount of time spent on said project. What does your hourly rate look like? Don’t forget to factor in every aspect of time spent like meetings, planning, reviewing, scoping, everything. If the amount of time you’re spending on a project is not worth the effort, it’s not worth your time. Your time is valuable, and you should treat it as such!
