Nearly three years ago, my best friend invited me to go on a cruise. I was swamped with work and declined the invitation.

Months later, she was gone.

Mary Oliver beautifully poses the question that rests—sometimes nitpicks—at the back of all of our minds:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

With your one wild and precious life?

I can say with certainty the pile of extra work I had a few years ago that I chose over time with my bestie means nothing to me now. I don't remember the client. I don't remember the work. I don't remember the check.

I do remember the reget.

Now, I'm not saying that you should quit your job, shirk your responsibilities, and Thoreau yourself (get it?) into the woods to live more deliberately. Although, that would be super cool.

I am saying that if you have the luxury (which sometimes we don't), it's okay to slow down. It's okay sometimes to choose your family, mental health, or plain old fun with a friend.

As an independent business owner and natural over-achiever, slowing down is PAINFULLY hard for me.

While I do intentionally slow down at times, I am also continually looking for ways to work smarter and free up my time. Here's what I've learned so far.

1. Consider the opportunity cost.

That grand old economic principle of "how much will it cost me to do this myself vs. how much will it cost me to hire help?" should be a guiding polestar in life and your freelance writing business.

If I can make $100 in an hour writing an article, it makes more sense to pay the neighborhood kid $20 to mow my lawn and take on another project.

The same sentiment applies to subcontracting to writers you trust and with full disclosure to your clients.

Similarly, if the pay is low on a time-intensive project, it's a better idea to say no to that project and yes to a better client. 

2. Don't waste your time on things other people have already done for you.

If you're learning a new skill or building a new business, you don't have to start from scratch. Several experts and proven resources are available to help you avoid gobs of research and falling down a rabbit hole.

For example, I am continually looking for ways to improve my writing methods and business strategy.

Trial and error work, but it takes so much time to do everything myself.

Looking for help from top industry blogs, good ol' Google, and other freelance professionals saves me time (and headaches). I am always trying to learn what others do to be successful and using their strategies to speed up my work.

3. Raise your prices.

I started freelance writing penny per world articles during downtimes at my 9-5. While I had to decrease my funny cat videos viewing on YouTube, it was a fun way to get my feet wet and learn a new skill.

It would not be good if ten years later, I was still charging .01/word.

I've raised my prices several times since those first days and now I don't look at a project unless it at least starts at $1/word.

4. Create processes and invest in automation.

I cannot stress how important it is to solidify your processes and automate what you can.

Stats show that the average worker spends an additional 4 hours a week on mundane tasks that could be automated.

If you're working 20 hours a week, that means you're wasting 20% of your time--time where you could be making more money or doing something more enjoyable.

Here are some tools that will automate or speed up your work (FYI: some of these links are affiliate links, but I don't recommend crappy tools):

• A content brief

• An automated introduction email

• An automated onboarding email

• Proposal software (e.g., Bonzai or Proposify)

• An easily customizable contract

• An accounting and invoicing software (e.g., Freshbooks or QuickBooks)

• An editing software (e.g., Grammarly and Hemingway)

• A project management tool (e.g., Asana, Basecamp, Monday, etc.)

There are several other tools and processes I use to make writing faster, SEO optimization easier, and work move along more quickly. I'll share more soon.

5. Hire a research assistant or virtual assistant.

I personally haven't hired a research assistant or a VA yet, but I know many successful freelancers that do.

When I scale up my business when my kids are both in school, this will be my next step.

And there you have it

If you can take some time to slow down, do it. If you can't afford a break, then use the strategies listed above to speed up what you're already doing.

Either way, hopefully, you'll experience my favorite benefit of freelancing—flexibility and fewer time constraints. And that you'll take the extra time to take care of yourself in whatever way you need.