This is the 21st century which is heavily driven by technological innovation. Technological advancements have contributed immensely to the development of businesses, and this contribution has not discriminated between small and big businesspersons. Therefore, whether you are a CEO to a multi-national company or a freelancer, you are just a user to technology.
There is no gainsaying that it is the rapid technological development which has helped in easing out the operations of freelancers across the globe. Today, a freelancer from one country can take up clients from another country, without having to move a limb. All he requires is a good Internet connection, and he is good to go.
Among many things which the 21st century has offered to freelancers, one such thing is productivity apps. Productivity is a broad term which encompasses a multitude of things which together ensure that you get the most out of your life. In this regard, a productive businessperson is someone who, inter alia¸ manages time effectively, gets work done properly and on time, pays attention to personal development among many other things.
The digital age has, however, made it greatly difficult to stay productive throughout. It is quite convenient to find yourself distracted without realizing, and by the time you realize, you have already wasted a lot of time. Because of the impossibility to totally isolate yourself from technology, productive apps help us to keep ourselves on track.
For freelancers, it is their productivity levels which ensure that work and money keep coming. If you are serious about getting the most out of your freelancing ambitions, it is highly advised that you pay attention to what we have in store for you here. We have listed 10 apps which will make you productive—and what adds to all of this is the fact that they are free!
1. Trello
Trello is among the top-performing productivity apps of recent times. It is essentially a project management application, which, as the name suggests, helps you handle projects easily.
The app has an interactive interface and allows users to segregate big projects into parts which are called ‘cards’. You have the luxury to arrange these ‘cards’ into various columns, with each column representing a phase of the project. If you want to know the inspiration behind the design, read about Kanban.
Trello is free to use and available for both iOS and Android platforms.
2. Toggl
If you are just like most people, you must have used several time-tracking apps only to delete them for being too overloaded with ridiculously complex features. We know the pain, and we have a suggestion to help you get over it.
Toggl is an intuitive piece of innovation which helps you keep a track of where your time is being spent. It lets you create a list of tasks, and when you are done with any or all of them, you get a detailed report. It will tell you how you spent your time in numerical terms, and this helps in analyzing your performance better.
The App is free to use, though it offers additional features for a fee.
3. Google Keep
When it comes to anything from Google, it has to be intelligent. Google Keep is no exception and has been a favorite for many freelancers ever since it debuted. It is a simple post-it styled app which lets you post notes on your cell phone.
The biggest advantage of using Google Keep is the swiftness with which you can stick posts, create reminders, classify your tasks, and generate voice notes. Its brilliance lies in how it is able to carry out its operations with the help of a toned-down, simple design—and of course, you get all of these free of cost.
4. Scanbot
Even when working as a freelancer, there is so much paperwork to go through and keep a track of. You often end up scanning documents and saving them in multiple storage devices, which is a hassle on its own. That is why we recommend that you use Scanbot.
Scanbot is an excellent app for those have to regularly go through documents. It lets you scan documents, recognize texts, and save them to Google Drive. You can get all of this free of cost. The App is functional on both iOS and Android—so they have got everyone covered!
5. ToDoist
We are talking about one of the most downloaded to-do lists of all time, ToDoist. It is an interactive application which provides you with everything you might need to sort out your work life. You get most of the features for free, but their premium features require a fee.
The App assesses your entries and categorizes them intelligently. For example, if you have an important meeting at 3PM today, the App will automatically schedule a reminder at that time.
In addition to making to-do lists, it allows users to undertake team projects, discuss details among team members, and oversee execution of projects within the framework of the App. It makes sharing information easier across all devices.
6. Slack
Slack is an amazing free app which lets its users connect desktop with your cell phone, enabling inter-device sharing of files. While many consider it as a messaging application, it is much more than that because it is much more organized than your conventional emails.
Slack conducts neat organization of communications by creating channels for distinct persons, clients or projects. Such categorization enables team members to engage in conversations without confusion. Moreover, members only get notifications for those conversations they are a part of.
Now, you may still think of it as just your usual but fancily named email-like app so let us tell you that it offers a plethora of other things such as video chat and inter-platform sharing of files which makes it different.
While you can avail its basic features for free, you might want to pay a few bucks to get benefits out of a handful of plans the platform runs.
7. Google Drive
There is a high chance that you must have already used or are using Google Drive. Well, it is worth all the fame it receives for its multifunctional interface which makes it among the most popular cloud services online.
Google Drive gathers all your documents and other files on one single platform which can be accessed from anywhere as long as you remember your Gmail ID and password. Moreover, it offers additional features such as the creation of spreadsheets, project management, and others.
Once you start using Google Drive, it will be hard to switch to another platform considering how this platform offers so much through a simple but highly intelligent interface. You can, however, secure access to its many other features upon payment of a certain fee which varies.
8. Wunderlist
If you are talking about productivity apps with high ratings, then you should consider Wunderlist. It is a free app which gives the luxury of smooth sharing of information among friends, family,and colleagues. You can create tasks, share them with anyone, and follow-up on them routinely.
Many in-built features of the app are available for free, but it is highly recommended that you purchase a premium feature which lets users categorize tasks under heads. Such an organization of tasks will guide you in making informed decisions and save a lot of time.
9. Mint: Money Manager
The levels of productivity are also reflected in how you manage your money. As a freelancer, you are expected to take financial management very seriously. Hence, we have an amazing app as our suggestion.
Mint: Money Manager is a brilliant money manager which helps users to plan out a detailed budget, keep a track on expenses, engage in automatic evaluations, and put up bill reminders. With this app, you will never forget when your payment is due or overdue to the client.
What makes this app all the more impressive is the fact that it has been successfully integrated with all mainstream US and Canadian banks and financial institutions making online transactions simpler and faster! And, yes, the App is free.
10. Invoice Ninja
Yes, how can we forget about Invoice generation? Many times we end up wasting a lot of time in generating invoices which could otherwise have been done with the help of a smart app like Invoice Ninja.
Invoice Ninja has been designed keeping in mind the needs and requirements of freelancers. If you are a free user, you can generate invoices for 100 clients, accept deposits, track time, and all. But, all invoices shall bear the app’s watermark.
As noted earlier, the app is free, but users have the option to upgrade upon payment of a designated fee.
For a freelancer, productivity should be an asset. Today, we have moved beyond the traditional ways of upgrading one’s productivity levels; we have found many digital alternatives which happen to work quite effectively provided we take them seriously. On this article, we tried offering you an insight into what those alternatives are and how they can help.
Our list is not an exhaustive one, but it certainly filters in the most popular productivity apps available for free. If you have any comment or suggestion to make, feel free to engage us. Also, we would love it if you hit the share button and help us grow bigger and better.
