Nowadays, people are becoming more and more aware that they can indeed work on their own time, without any constraints of the office environment, through freelancing.
However, most freelancers, especially the beginners, find it hard to adapt to a self-employed environment. Productivity aside, most newbies have a problem with time management. Some of them just think that because the shackles of the corporate office had been removed, they can work at their own pace, their own time.
Of course, the essence of doing freelance work is to work at your own time. However, you also need to do it smart; you need to maximize every minute in order to make the most out of it. That is why most veterans use a variety of time management apps that increase productivity and at the same time, optimizes their freelance hours.
- Google Calendar. This app works both on the web and mobile. Available on all platforms, taking notes and managing tasks on this app is perfect if you have multiple clients and projects. You can create a different calendar per project or per client, and assign color schemes to each to quickly track your progress.
- Paypal. Did you also know that you can use Paypal to issue invoices? If you receive payments through this app, then maximize your business by providing clients with a Paypal invoice. You can import your logo and create a template for each client so you won’t get lost. Paypal also has a user-friendly interface to let you track your business finances quickly and efficiently.
- Chrometa. This time tracking app help you control your working hours. You can install this app on your computer and this app will track how much time you spent on each software you used – how many hours you spent web browsing, on Skype, or Photoshop. Chrometa lets you see for yourself how the minutes on your working day were spent, so you can make adjustments if you need to.
- Boomerang. This is a free Gmail plug-in that is helpful those who are always pitching or communicating through emails. Boomerang keeps your inbox free of clutter while retaining the priority messages, and also send out reminders if you need to follow up or if you haven’t heard back about an important client in a specified time frame.
- Pocket. If you find yourself always straying from your work to read the latest blog posts from those you follow, then Pocket can help you manage your time. You don’t need to bookmark each and every blog site, as this app will help you organize your favorite blogs and stores them for you to read at your leisure. What’s more, you can view content on this app even without Internet connection, so you can find something to do even when you are in transit.
- Timely. Designed for those who work in billable and non-billable hours, this app is for desktop and Apple devices. Timely allows you to log your projects and activities, and adjust hourly rates if need be. The drag and drop functions makes using the app as easy as possible.
