Managing a freelance career is a real challenge. You’re your own accountant, personal assistant, and manager.
That’s why you need all the tools you can get to make your life easier.
This post covers different applications that can help you boost your productivity in 2022.
The Best Focus Apps for Productivity
You likely work from home as a freelancer, and as you know, domestic distractions are a real threat to productivity. Studies have shown that you may spend up to 23 minutes to fully resume work after an interruption.
So, it’s important that you boost focus.
With focus apps, you can block these distractions and concentrate on your work. Here are two top focus apps you can use:
1. Serene
Keep in mind that Serene works only on macOS. So, if you use Windows, you’re out of luck. However, the company promises the app will soon roll out on Windows, so you can keep checking that space.
Serene is a focus app that helps you block out distractions so you can concentrate on work. It also helps you plan your day so you can set your eyes on your goals.
Once you start the program, you’re prompted to define your goal for the day. It also helps you break your day into sessions and encourages you to take breaks between those sessions.
2. Freedom
Freedom blocks distractions that may come from email, apps and website notifications. When you start the application, you get to select the websites and apps to block and select your schedule.
Freedom will go on to prevent those apps and websites from sending any notifications.
One great thing about the tool is that it works on Windows, iOS, Android, and Chrome. You can choose apps and websites to block across all your devices.
The Best Time Tracking Tools for Time Management
Time trackers are great tools for boosting productivity while freelancing because they tell you how you spend your time. Time tracking data shows you how long it takes you to complete tasks so you can measure your level of efficiency.
You could also use the data you get from time trackers to identify time wasters and distractions. For example, some programs show how much time you spend on apps and websites.
3. Toggl Track
Toggl Track is an intuitive time tracker that works with multiple platforms. It supports iOS, Android, macOS, Linux, and Windows. It also has a Chrome extension and web app.
So, you can install it across your devices and track your time comfortably. The browser extension has an option that allows you to start tracking your time once you launch the browser.
You can also correct your recorded time once you spend a bit of time idle.
Toggl also integrates with third-party apps such as Slack and Google Calendar.
4. Traqq
Traqq time tracker is a lightweight tool that helps you monitor and log your billable hours. You can use it to automatically create daily, weekly, and monthly timesheets and invoices.
The tool also works as a productivity tracker because it provides detailed analysis about how you spend your work hours.
You can also use Traqq to identify common distracting websites and apps. The tool keeps tabs on how you use specific programs and websites so you’ll know where you spend time outside work.
One great thing about Traqq for freelancers is that you can use all its premium features for free. You’re only required to go for a paid plan if you have a team of more than three members.
The Best Project Management Platforms
Remote teams normally use project management tools to collaborate on tasks and streamline workflows. That said, you can use them to keep your work organized and collaborate with clients.
While most project management tools are designed for teams, some are ideal for freelancers. Let’s walk you through them.
5. Trello
Trello is one of the best project management apps because of its ease of use and budget-friendly pricing.
It’s the best platform for people who love to use Kanban boards to organize their work process. The app’s drag and drop feature is among its main draws. That’s because you can easily move things around while you set up your projects.
Trello’s free plan allows you to integrate with multiple other apps that you work with.
6. Asana
When it comes to project management tools that won’t burn a hole through your pocket, Asana is up there. Its interface is one of its biggest selling points as you can go through it without issues.
Asana’s free plan allows you to have as many teams and projects as you want but you can only have 15 people per team.
The free plan also allows lots of integrations but they are limited, and at some point, you would have to go for the paid plan to get more third party apps.
Its 1,000 tasks per account limit is more than enough for you.
7. ClickUp
Clickup is another ideal project management platform for freelancers because of its budget-friendly plans.
That said, you may not need to go for any of the premium plans because the free version offers a lot of features that will likely be enough to get your project going.
You get to enjoy task-tracking, Kanban boards, whiteboards, unlimited tasks, sprint management, and in-app video recording.
Top Tools for Productive Communication
As a freelancer, you must communicate with your clients and their staff, colleagues, and peers. There are different communication tools designed for specifically communicating remotely.
From joining conference meetings to group chats, here are the top tools that will help you organize ongoing communication.
8. Slack
Whenever you hear Slack these days, you think about remote communication. That’s because small and big businesses with remote workers and collaborators love the tool.
You need Slack because you may be required to keep in touch with your clients’ teams and your own colleagues.
The tool is easy to use and offers powerful free features that help you organize your communication.
9. Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is another collaboration tool that is known for its virtual conferencing features. It was primarily designed to help remote team members communicate with ease, but it also helps freelancers stay in touch with clients and their teams.
Microsoft Teams comes with a Skype integration and also offers you a SharePoint site to organize files and share them during conversations.
10. Zoom
Whether you’re on your computer, phone, or tablet, you can always hop on to Zoom to join a meeting even if you’re on the go. That’s what makes the platform one of the most popular communication tools for freelancers even after the pandemic.
You can share your screen with clients and teammates in the middle of conversations to illustrate things clearly. It also makes presentations a breeze since you can share visual information without any barrier.
Best File Sharing Tools
File sharing tools allow you to store files in the cloud and share them. You can also take advantage of these platforms to collaborate on documents and edit files in real-time with your clients and colleagues.
11. Google Drive
If you use an Android device, you likely have a Google Drive account and already enjoy its many features. You can take more advantage of Google’s many offerings from docs and sheets to boost your productivity.
Google Drive allows you to easily share files and edit and work on documents in real-time. You can also collaborate on files across different devices instead of using a physical flash drive to copy your files from one place to the other.
Google Drive’s free plan allows you 15 GB of storage that covers your mail, photos and documents. Even if you exceed the 15 GB, you can go for one of its cheap plans for individuals.
12. OneDrive
OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud service that also offers similar features as Google.
You can use online Office apps from Word to PowerPoint to collaborate with team members and colleagues remotely.
OneDrive’s free plan comes with 5GB of storage and you can use the tool on Desktop, mobile, and web.
Best Tools for Scheduling
Your freelance career requires top-notch scheduling so you can keep up with your numerous engagements and obligations.
While you could use a piece of paper or excel sheet to mark out your schedules, that method may burn you out. That’s because it can be time consuming and you may have so much critical work to do.
Thankfully, you can book meetings and appointments with ease when you use some handy apps designed for scheduling. These tools are equipped with features that keep you up-to-date with your engagements and are able to send out reminders.
13. Google Calendar
Google Calendar is another free service that you can enjoy with your Google account. The service easily integrates with your communication tools like Slack and project management platforms like Trello and Asana.
With the integration, you’re able to sync things like deadlines, meeting and project report schedules, and deferred task reminders.
You can also easily share and sync your calendar with your teammates to properly schedule your activities.
Best To-Do Lists
To-do list apps are sophisticated task managers that help you organize your tasks and activities for the day. They can help you plan your days and weeks ahead. What’s more, most to-do list applications can help you prioritize tasks so you can do the right things at the right time.
14. Todoist
We’re mentioning Todoist because it’s one of the best task management tools out there. You can check out its free tier to confirm if it’s right for you.
That said, it may not be ideal considering the fact that it is quite pricey.
That said, there’s a lot you can enjoy from its scheduling and task prioritization features.
15. Google Tasks
Google Tasks is a completely free lightweight task management app. All you need to work with is your Google account.
The program’s interface is really easy to use with a minimal learning curve. It has a standalone Android application, but it’s best for simple task management. If you want the complex stuff, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Conclusion
You can give your productivity levels a boost when you know the right tools to use and how to use them. The apps in this post will no doubt be useful. You just have to find what works best for you.
