The Freelancer’s Toolkit
August 28, 2007 by Lillie
I’m always on the lookout for useful tools to make me more efficient. I’ve had a great list of tools bookmarked for months … but haven’t got around to trying any of them! So you can see I need to improve my efficiency.
Although I have used a few of these web apps, most of them are new to me. What drew me to review the list again today is a major project for a client. She’s collaborating with other independent consultants on a series of workshops. They are creating leaders’ guides, participant workbooks, slides, and assorted handouts. I just got through e-mailing 20 files (some quite large), and I had to send several e-mails with several attachments each. Then the various team members will make their recommendations; I’ll do another revision and send it out again … and probably again and again and again. My client is the ultimate decision-maker, but she appreciates and uses input from everyone involved.
I’ve recommended we use a Web storage/sharing app that the entire team could access rather than sending dozens of e-mails.
Has anyone had any experience with any of these tools listed in Codswallop’s 100 Web Apps for Everything You Will Possibly Need?
I’d appreciate your feedback: if you’ve used any of these for file-sharing/collaboration, how did it work for you? Or do you have any other recommendations to accomplish what we need?
Thanks for sharing your ideas in comments.
[tags]productivity tools[/tags]
Hi Lillie
I can’t help, but look forward to seeing feedback on this.
We’re working more and more in a global marketplace, or even in different geographic locations within a local area. In these settings, I think collaborative applications will become more commonplace, and more necessary.
Even people working in the same building are using these type of tools.
You’re right, Yvonne, on the importance of these tools. I’ll keep everybody posted on what I find out.
As a freelancer myself, I 100% rely on the fantastic BlinkSale (www.blinksale.com) for all my invoicing – it is so easy to use and painless, and has a very ’37Signals’ style feel. I cannot bel ieve it’s not in the ‘Your Money’ section of that website!
I’ve also been using BackPack by 37Signals for some time now, and it’s become part of my GTD regime – especially when you couple it with something like http://www.chipt.com to deliver lists directly to you Apple OS X Dashboard! Fantastic!
A quite nice alternative to something like BaseCamp is ActiveCollab: http://www.activecollab.com – well worth a look for large scale project management and totally free.
Thanks for the input, Sunset Pearl. The only application I’m looking for at the moment is a project management/collaboration tool. I looked at Active Collab, but it’s apparently not launched yet, and from what I saw on the homepage, it isn’t free. That doesn’t mean my client and I wont’ use it, but I just don’t want to spread any misleading information. The homepage says this: “Pay as You Use…
…as a friend. Forget monthly bills as well as expiring licences. Buy a licence and use it for as long as you want.” Not clear to me exactly how it works, and I couldn’t find any more info. But it’s worth watching for the launch and see what it has to offer.