Note from Lillie: The recommendations in this post come from the guest poster, Danny Ashton. I am not familiar with these gadgets and have no opinion of their usefulness.
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Being a freelancer is a great way to earn a living. However, there are a number of little gadgets that can help make your freelancing career go a bit smoother. Below is a list of five computer gadgets that you can use right away.
1. LessTimeSpent.com
They say that time is money, and that is certainly true for the freelancer. It is important to accurately keep track of your time, because minor mistakes with your time tracking could end up costing you quite lot in unpaid money by the end of the year. LessTimeSpent.com is a great way to accurately keep track of your time and the tasks you have completed.
Price: Free
2. SimplyBill.com
As well as keeping track of your time, you need to be able to invoice your clients for the work you have done. You don’t want to waste time getting bogged down with software that is too complicated or time-consuming to use. SimplyBill.com enables you to easily send out attractive invoices to your clients with minimal fuss. Let SimplyBill.com take the time and hassle out of your invoicing.
Price: Free Version (3 invoices, 15 quotes and 10 client max) – full details
3. BackPackIt.com
If you are working on team projects, it is important to be able to easily share documents and information with your team members. BackPackIt.com enables you to keep all your project’s documents in one central location all the time. So, no matter where you are, you can access the relevant documents with just a few clicks. No more having to shuffle through pieces of paper from your briefcase.
Price: Basic = $24/month
4. RememberTheMilk.com
One of the most important things when you work freelance is being able to organize your day. But if you are juggling many different tasks throughout your day, it’s not good enough just to have loads of post-it notes or scraps of paper lying about. RememberTheMilk.com is a central online location where you can easily organize your tasks, and makes the whole process an enjoyable experience.
Price: Free
5. Scirocco Take a Break
If you work as a freelancer, you don’t have the structure of set hours and routines that you would have if you were working in a standard office. While most freelancers work on a computer, spending too long in front of a computer can be bad for your health. Take a Break is a little program which prompts you every hour to take a 10-minute break away from your computer. This prevents you from spending hours and hours hunched in the same position, which can lead to back and neck pain and also eye strain.
Take a Break
Price: Free
Conclusion
These five gadgets/websites won’t make freelancing a walk in the park, but they can help to make your day that little bit easier. I would suggest trying just one of these gadgets at a time and testing it to see if it improves your work day. Not every one of these gadget will work for everyone or every situation, but it’s worth giving them a go. I hope this list will open your eyes to the possibility of gadgets that can take away the strain of being a freelancer.
About the Author
This guest post was written by Danny Ashton who writes about Android Tablets on his blog: www.androidtabletfanatic.com (if you want to ask him any gadget questions, feel free to email: androidtabletfanatic@gmail.com)
Disclaimer: The author contacted me to write a guest post. The opinions expressed are his; none of the links are affiliate links.