I managed 12 projects at once as a solo freelancer.

I managed 12 projects at once as a solo freelancer, and here's how I kept things organized while working with multiple clients.

From 2016 to 2020, I worked with several clients at the same time.
And things got messy fast.
Everyone wanted updates.
Everyone had “urgent” work.
And I was switching tasks every 10 minutes.

Here’s what I used that time and you can follow this to solve this issue for you as a solo freelancer:

1. One rule for communication
   Clients can message me anytime, but I respond twice a day. This helps me stay focused. For new clients, I reply as quickly as I can.

2. One place for client info
   No scattered notes.
   One folder. One doc.
   Easy for me. Easy for the team.

3. Templates for repeated messages
   Project updates. Followups. Onboarding.
   I stopped writing the same message every day.

4. Weekly checkins
   This removed random “quick questions” in the middle of the week.
   Clients know when they’ll get updates.

These small steps made my workflow calm and predictable.
Even one change can help you feel more in control.

Do you have any new ideas that I can learn from?