Whether you've recently made the big decision to become a full-time freelancer, or it's something you've been doing for some time, you should know that there are some online tools that will make your life easier. Allowing you to better organize your responsibilities, properly divide time between tasks and easily communicate with your clients are guaranteed to improve your working conditions and skyrocket your productivity.
Clearly, depending on the sector in which one works, the use of different, specialized tools is required. However, the following article will list the must-have, tested and guaranteed tools that are essential regardless of your field.
1. Task Management Tool
“Task management tools”, “Task Managers" or otherwise, "the best ever created for freelancers" (after Google). Tools of this type allow you to visualise your tasks, make notes on them, organise your schedule properly and thus become more productive. They are simple to use and once you start using them, you will notice an immediate improvement in your time management and organizational skills.
The tools we recommend are Trello, if you are new to task managers and are looking for something simple, and the Asana if you need something more specialized.
2. Time Management Tool
With the ultimate goal of improving productivity, as well as organizing your schedule and enabling proper billing based on the time spent on each project, Time Managers are essential.
Enabling you to record the hours you spend on your tasks and create categories, tools such as Clockifythe Time Doctor and Toggl, will allow you to see in detail how many hours your work consumes and you will be able to proceed with the corresponding charges.
3. Easy Invoicing Tool
Something essential for all freelancers, is a tool that allows them quick and easy online invoicing. With the ultimate goal of simplifying the management of your small business, programs like Fresh Booksthe Stripeand the Xolo, will save you a lot of time and money.
4. Tool For (Organized) Notes
Perhaps, you belong to the category of people who can keep organized notes on notepad, in a simple doc or - for the more old-school, even in their notebook. But perhaps, you belong to the other side, the dark organization is an unknown term and you end up spending many hours a day looking for where it is what. That's just not a good thing, is it?
The same probably thought the creators of the Evernote and Notion, two of the best online tools that allow the user to keep organized notes, create tables, do keyword-based searches and manage them from different devices through synchronization. So if you want to make your life easier, give them a try!
5. Productivity Enhancement Tool
One of the things we humans love most is challenges. We like to set goals and experience the pleasant feeling of achieving them.
The GanttPro well, with this in mind, it gives the user the ability to set milestones and goals. Apart from the above though, it allows one to organize one's projects into categories and subcategories.
6. Legal Images & Graphics Provision Tool
As a freelancer, you are likely to work in a field that requires the use of photos, graphics and charts, either in the context of creating a website or managing your clients' social media. However, you will already know that using images without permission can bring legal issues and lead to problems.
This issue is solved by online tools such as Envato Element and Canva, which, apart from being extremely simple in their operation, offer the user a wide range of material which he can use fearlessly (after he has purchased a subscription).
7. Code Management Tool
In order to protect both your own personal data and that of your customers, you are forced to use complex and different passwords on each of the platforms you log in to. This is often a problem, as it is difficult to remember them all. Additionally, the alternative of writing them down somewhere raises security and privacy issues.
However, using an online password management tool, with the LastPass and 1Password are the best of their kind, you'll have your passwords organized in one place and no longer have to worry about your privacy.
8. Online Storage Tool
As a freelancer you will often need to store files of various types. However, the memory on your desktop or laptop is valuable and limited. Therefore, the ideal solution is to use online storage tools - they are secure, easy to use and allow access to your files from any device.
The simplest, easiest and most popular, is the Google Drive - which we highly recommend!
9. Tool for Easy Communication with your Customers
Tools such as Loom allow the user to connect easily and quickly with their customers. It enables screen recording, video sharing and offers support for many levels of freelancing. This is why it is considered a must - especially in the graphic design and design industries!
10. Social Media Management Tool
As a freelancer, social media is your main tool for reaching new clients, as it allows you to communicate your skills to a wide audience. However, managing them often requires more time than you have available.
The above can be easily overcome by using a social media management tool, such as Sprout Social or the Buffer. Tools of this type allow you to manage your profiles on all your different channels at the same time, schedule your posts and, in short, limit the time you spend on them.
