If you’re looking to make your work life easier as a freelancer or small business owner, here are some of the best free apps to help you out. Whether you need a mini-scanner at your fingertips or offload a mini “brain dump” of work details that you can quickly access when needed, there are many free apps available to keep your work day flowing smoothly. Here are some best apps I use to work more effectively:
1. Genius Scan
If you’re looking for a simple way to scan documents, the Genius Scan app is a useful tool. Store business cards digitally or business related expenses with the click of a button. You just take a picture of the document and it’s saved as a scan. The scan can be stored in color, black and white or as a photo. If the photo isn’t perfect, you can crop it a bit to fix it. Then give your scans a title and tag to find them when you need them.
2. Asana
Give your memory a break and offload the heavy lifting when it comes to remembering detailed information. Asana allows you to make and store a task list so you know what to do every day. If you set due dates, email alerts will remind you of time sensitive tasks that need to be completed. If you don’t want a reminder, you can merely check the list at the start of your day. I like to create sections within to let me know what to do now versus what can wait to be finished towards the end of the week. You can easily drag and drop the tasks and place them in other sections if they need rearranging. It’s perfect for freelancers who might be juggling multiple clients and deadlines and need to store everything in one place to work most effectively.
3. Voxer
I like Voxer to give people a quick message verbally. You can avoid potentially missing an important update by using email. It’s a way to communicate quickly without having to clear out an inbox. You’re not giving out your phone number and you can communicate without having to pay any sort of fee. I recommend this for working with colleagues or for anyone else you need to update quickly. I consider it a productivity hack as well, for those who can speak faster than they can type. It’s a little more forgiving since you just have to speak instead of write. You’re not worrying about capital letters, spelling or punctuation when relaying messages this way. Just don’t give it to anyone who might try to talk your ear off in short snippets.
4. Google Play Music
Whether you’re sitting in your home office, co-working space or another setting while working, consider listening to soft music that can help you stay productive. If silence makes you uneasy and you don’t want to completely shut out background sounds with noise canceling headphones, use headphones that allow you to hear music as well as what’s going on around you. The Journal of Consumer Research states a moderate level of ambient noise can enhance creativity. Consider getting the Google Play Music App to play music softly while still taking in random sounds from the setting you’re in. This can be your secret weapon against writer’s block or whenever you’re having a dry spell for ideas in general in your line of work.
5. Podcasts
If you need to recharge your batteries or get new ideas for your business, podcasts are the way to go. You can listen while you’re in transit, doing simple chores or even when you’re working out. Get up to date information from people in your field, gain insight from online marketing mavens to better promote your products and services or even take a listen to personal finance podcasts to gain control of your finances. Think of them as free mini-coaching sessions from experts.
The Bottom Line
Depending on where you work, one of these apps could most likely help you work more effectively as a freelancer — and possibly help you make more money doing so.
