Top 8 Productivity Apps for Freelancers and Entrepreneurs
Whether you’re a freelancer or entrepreneur, your productivity is probably the fiercest asset. The more tasks you effectively get done, the higher net profits you’ll eventually get.
Don’t get me wrong – running a successful business (freelance, small, or corporate) involves a variety of requirements, though the ability to get things done is one of the primary differentiators between the successful and the unsuccessful.
“Time management, discipline, motivation, inspiration, consistency, persistence, and resourcefulness…these are all critical components of a successful entrepreneurship or freelancing journey. Being resourceful means to effectively leverage the knowledge, skills, and tools that you have at your disposal. “– Jane Finnis, CEO at EssayOnTime.
Nowadays, you can improve your work’s speed and quality by taking advantage of various productivity apps that were specifically designed to suit your needs by providing concrete solutions. In today’s post, I’m sharing the top 7 productivity apps for freelancers and entrepreneurs.
Trello
Trello is one of the most widely adopted productivity apps by freelancers and entrepreneurs from all across the world. The solutions provided serve not just single professionals but also big companies who want to keep their performance on track.
On Trello, you can create projects, tasks, deadlines, notes, and you can visually represent them the way you want. If you own a business, you can use Trello to provide assignments and to check on people’s work. Trello also allows you to host files and send them to your group members.
The benefits are gorgeous, as well as their features. If you ever have trouble organizing your work, Trello is the app that’ll change your work ethics and perspective.
Timely
By completely automating time tracking, Timely offers accurate time keeping with minimal effort. It runs silently in the background capturing everything you work on – from time in documents and websites, to meetings, emails and GPS locations.
Everything is mapped out in a clean private timeline, ideal for identifying time on tasks, workflow inefficiencies and distractions. For those who bill for their time, you can also get Timely’s AI to draft accurate timesheets for you.
Ideal for both teams and individuals, Timely helps entrepreneurs capture and explore their time without ever compromising their productivity.
Tomato-Timer
Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro technique? If you haven’t, I’ll explain it quickly. This is a time-management technique that involves working for 25 minutes, then taking a 5 minutes break. Once the break is over, another 25 minutes should be dedicated exclusively to work.
This particular technique carries a psychological factor. When you only have to work for 25 minutes, you no longer feel the urge to cheat. You no longer feel the need to take another short break, to check that notification, or to answer that email.
Tomato-timer is a simple, free app that gives you an alert when the 25 minutes have passed. After the alarm is triggered, you can sit back and relax for 5 minutes. Check your notifications and do whatever you want. When the break is over, head back to focused work!
Our tendency as professionals is to constantly grow by improving our mindset, knowledge, and skills. We can only find enough time for that if we know how to effectively organize our study material.
Pocket is the one tool that every entrepreneur and freelancer shouldn’t live without. This amazing app allows you to instantly save articles, videos, photos, and audios to the cloud, permitting you to check them later when you have enough time.
By installing Pocket on your phone, laptop, or PC, you can simply tap the Pocket logo and check everything later. If you want to keep your educational material organized, I’d suggest you make the use of Pocket a habit.
Feedly
Keeping yourself up to speed with the latest industry trends and news is critical. Why? Simply put: you’ll be able to reach opportunities and develop business twists that would have never crossed your mind otherwise.
Feedly is the perfect app that’ll automatically bring the most relevant niche news straight to you. Point your interests and set keyword alerts, and you’ll be receiving only highly relevant information. Instead of searching for it, let it come to you!
Upwork
As a business owner, you’ll often encounter tasks that require more knowledge and expertise that you and your employees won’t be able to handle. In these circumstances, hiring outside work using platform like Upwork, one of the biggest marketplaces where freelancers and business owners meet, should be your top priority.
Productivity doesn’t mean to resolve every problem on your own. If you can invest $50 for a solution that will bring $1000, you’re doing it right. Upwork can help you whenever you’re in need of quick and effective work. When you recruit freelancers, make sure you keep your expectations high. Offer a decent pay to attract quality freelancers instead of inexperienced ones.
Toggl
Toggl is a great software that allows freelancers to track their work and operations on a real-time basis. By tracking and measuring your workflow, you can identify the PROs and CONs of your actions, spot disadvantages in your behavior, and fix problems that waste your time.
This app is compatible with Trello and Asana, two of the biggest organization and task management tools. You can also use Toggl as a browser extension, and keep track of your activities as you work on your laptop or PC. Use this tool to set parameters, deliver your work expectations, and accomplish your goals.
Dropbox
Moving files online can never be easier with the use of Dropbox. This tool allows you to store every possible type of file (documents, designs, videos, spreadsheets, music, and photos) on a digital cloud and access it later using any of your preferred devices. As long as you get access to an Internet connection, you’ll never have to worry about storing and managing your professional documents ever again.
If you want to watch an educational video, read a document, or study a book later when you can’t connect to the web, Dropbox lets you access your files even offline, so you can get things done even without the presence of a Wi-Fi connection.
Time to Start
Taking your productivity to the next level is a matter of will, strategy, and smart work. By leveraging various productivity tools, you can work the same number of hours and reap increased benefits. Work smarter, not harder, and you’ll soon realize that productivity becomes omnipresent. Take advantage of the apps we’ve just presented and notice the results yourself!
Jacob Dillon is a professional writer and distinctive journalist from Sydney. Being passionate about what he does, Jacob likes to discuss stirring events as well as express his opinion about technological advancements and evolution of society. Find Jacob on Twitter and Facebook.