Hi everyone,

I am a freelance illustrator and work alone. Most of the time i have 3 to 5 projects running at the same time, some of which are recurring every couple of weeks. A project can last a day or several months. The most important planning related data is the amount of hours estimated and ofcourse the deadline. I bill my clients based on fixed prices.

What i am looking for is software that can help me plan my daily work. I have some very specific wishes that i just cant seem to get fulfilled with the software i have tried so far.

First of all, it needs to be simple, and if possible graphically well-designed. After all, i am a visually orientated person. I dont do well with tabular data.

Second, i dont need complex resource allocation, personel handling, billing, etc.

Third, i would like to have an overview of a timeline, where projects are spread out, each on a new line. Then, when i have some gaps (of free time), and i enter a new project, it must fill these gaps.

Fourth, i would like to be able to adjust the length of the project or the deadline, in such a way that it will automatically fill gaps if they are present.

Fifth, and very important, i need projects that are becoming short on time to get highlighted (possibly turning increadingly more red as they approach the deadline and the hours estimated are not met).

Now i must say i am a total newbie in this area, and maybe i am looking for the wrong thing. In fact, i am here to ask you what way YOU would plan the kind of work i do. That is, one-person freelance work, couple of simple projects running at the same time, etc.

I very much hope someone here can give me some advice. Thank you very much in advance!

Joah.