Freelancing does not just mean mastering your craft – it means wearing 10 different hats every single day!
After ten years of freelancing and agency life (this was a horrible thing to realize when writing this article – my first drone photo shoot was over 10 years ago!), it’s become clear that leveraging software, tooling, systems, or whatnot is the difference between sinking or swimming.
To make the most of your work hours, it’s crucial to invest in tools that streamline your tasks and help you manage your business more efficiently.
In this article, we’ll explore five tools freelancers should consider if they are looking to maximize their productivity!
Trello: Streamline Project Management and Collaboration
Trello is a user-friendly, visual project management tool that helps freelancers stay organized and on track.
We’ve often used their public boards as a way to share the progress on projects with clients. Asana and other platforms offer similar features – but Trello doesn’t cut down on the experience too much for clients who never want to sign up for Trello.
In this way, Trello provides excellent communication without forcing another account on your clients. It’s always held a special place in our hearts.
With its intuitive, customizable boards, lists, and cards, Trello makes it easy to manage multiple projects, collaborate with clients, and prioritize tasks. This powerful tool offers a range of features, including:
- Real-time updates and notifications
- Integration with popular apps like Google Drive, Slack, and Dropbox
- Attachments, checklists, and due dates for seamless project management
- Automation features to reduce repetitive tasks
Bonsai: Simplify Contracts, Invoicing, and Time Tracking
Bonsai is an all-in-one platform designed specifically for freelancers, offering contract templates, invoicing, time tracking, and expense management.
In another article we wrote about how important it is for freelancers to get their clients onto automating billing. Bonsai is a perfect tool for this.
With Bonsai, you can:
- Create professional, customizable contracts to protect yourself and your clients
- Send invoices with automatic payment reminders and accept multiple payment options
- Track billable hours with built-in time tracking
- Monitor expenses and generate financial reports for easy tax filing
Slack: Enhance Communication and Collaboration with Clients
It’s not unheard of to create a slack for you and your clients to work in. It’s an awesome way to bring your communication out of emails and texts, and into a much more modern platform.
Key features of Slack include:
- Organized channels for various projects and topics
- Integration with other popular tools like Google Drive, Trello, and Asana
- File sharing and real-time messaging
- Video and voice calls to facilitate remote meetings
Grammarly: Polish Your Writing and Impress Your Clients
Writing is often your first impression on potential clients. Grammarly is an AI-powered writing assistant that helps you create polished, error-free content.
Key features include:
- Real-time grammar, spelling, and punctuation checks
- Suggestions for better sentence structure and word choice
- Plagiarism detection to ensure original content
- Browser extensions and integrations with popular platforms like Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and more
Calendly: Automate Meeting Scheduling and Save Time
Calendly is a user-friendly scheduling tool that eliminates the back-and-forth of booking meetings.
By syncing with your calendar, Calendly allows clients to see your availability and book appointments at their convenience. Key features include:
- Integration with popular calendars like Google, Outlook, and iCloud
- Customizable meeting types, durations, and time zones (Time zones is a big one – no more verifying their time zone!
- Automated reminders and follow-up emails
- Integration with video conferencing platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams
Conclusion:
Investing in the right tools can greatly impact your success as a freelancer.
Trello, Bonsai, Slack, Grammarly, and Calendly are all powerful tools that can help you streamline your workflows, improve communication, and increase productivity.
Make sure to give these must-have resources a try and watch your freelance business thrive!
