productivity Top 9 Apps and Websites I Can’t Live Without as a Freelancer

[smashradio]

Being a freelancer these days has been made more manageable (and sometimes more complicated) by the apps and tools we surround ourselves with. They help us get things done, organize our day, take notes, keep track of clients and feed us new knowledge and skills to improve and move ahead of the competition. 

Here are my top 9 apps and websites I can't live without as a freelancer, in no particular order of importance. Share your list below! 

#1 Fiverr (duh!)

As a freelancing platform, Fiverr has helped me grow, develop and improve. It also allows me to help my clients do the same – my primary motivation for being a freelancer (except the money, of course). 

#2 Google Workspace (Google Docs, Google Drive, E-mail, Calendar)

Words can't express my hatred for Microsoft Office. I hate everything from the layout to how the marker moves across my screen when I type. Also, they have the audacity to charge money for that pile of crap. When I had to sell my soul, all my personal data, my heart, and very being to a tech giant, I went with Google. I mean... They say they aren't evil, so we must believe them, right? Right? ... 😬

Anyway. Google Workspace is my everything when it comes to working. I use Docs for writing, Google Drive gives me unlimited storage space, I have my business e-mail there, and the calendar is my best friend since I have memory on par with a goldfish. 

#3 Fiverr Workspace 

In the entertainment industry, "Plus" is all the rave these days. In the world of productivity, a service isn't worth its salt until they put "Workspace" in its name. And so is the case with Fiverr Workspace, formerly known as And.co. I use it for invoicing, accounting, and keeping track of my clients outside Fiverr. It also pulls data directly from Fiverr, which is great. 

#4 Grammarly

I might be fluent, but I'm only human. Grammarly to the rescue! It irons out my typos and will sometimes help me write more varied content—a true brainfart rescuer. Just know this: if you're not already a proficient English speaker, Grammarly most likely won't help. You need to know when Grammarly is wrong, and that happens frequently. 

#5 NordPass

My go-to password manager. Easier to use than most, and it just works. 

#6 Evernote

No app beats Evernote when it comes to taking notes. Whenever I work on large projects, having everything organized in a nice list, using tick boxes, is precious to me. And the clip-from-web feature is just yummy!

#7 Brave

The browser to kill all browsers. It removes ads, sneaking cookies, trackers and keeps the evils at bay online. It's fast, built on Chromium, supports Chrome extensions, and has loads of privacy features.

#8 Adobe Audition

Most of my work is in voice-over and audio production. My Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is Adobe Audition. It lets me do all the fun stuff, yet it's easy to work with and intuitive beyond what most DAWs are today. It's a shame that they require a subscription. 

#9 A bunch of eLearning platforms

From Fiverr Learn to Skillshare – eLearning apps are a dime a dusin. Which one you choose is up to you. Personally, I love Skillshare but I also use Udemy frequently. All of these helps me sharpen my skills or learn new ones that can increase my bottom line. 

What are your favorite apps and websites for productivity that you can't live without? 

 

Edited July 21, 2022 by smashradio

[favourik]

I use five of these so I guess I'm on the right track? 😅 I never really got the hang of Fiverr Workspace. Way too much technicalities.😭

[smashradio]

1 hour ago, favourik said:

I use five of these so I guess I'm on the right track? 😅 I never really got the hang of Fiverr Workspace. Way too much technicalities.😭

If you think there's too many technicalities, perhaps you don't need Fiverr Workspace. Unless you know of a simpler invoicing system? I think Workspace is pretty easy to use, but it took some time getting used to. But you only need it if you're invoicing people. 

[vickieito]

Thanks for the recommended apps & websites, @smashradio!

I use #1 Fiverr.com and #2 Google Workspace (included Google Keep for notes) the most ....I'll have to look at the others you have listed!

To add to your list (in no particular order):

#10 - Audible.com (to listen to audio books on business and personal development)

#11 - Amazon Kindle (to read ebooks on business and personal development)

#12 - CreativeLive (currently taking free courses on graphic design and Adobe apps)

#13 - Canva Pro (to make ebooks, presentations, slideshow videos, and other e-Learning content)

#14 - MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) (for my projects and orders)

#15 - Snipping Tool (to screenshot everything I do for recordkeeping and better communication with clients)

#16 - https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ (to keep track of all my time zones on the computer...I use my clock app if I'm on the phone)

#17 - YouTube (for fun diversions during the work day and for education... I like the TedTalks)

[katakatica]

https://pomofocus.io/ is one of my favourite ways to get stuff done when I really need to focus. Helps with taking breaks when I need to, too. 

[melanielm]

Fiverr, of course! I'm an Office/Word 365 fan. I really don't like Google Docs for some reason, but it's impossible to avoid completely.

For organization, I like ToDoIst and Trello (mostly for non-Fiverr collaborative projects).

[smashradio]

8 hours ago, vickieito said:

#10 - Audible.com (to listen to audio books on business and personal development)

I use Audible as well, but at the moment, I have a backlog of audiobooks. There are other apps I like better, like Storytel. It ends up being cheaper in the long run, since you're streaming books instead of purchasing them. 

8 hours ago, vickieito said:

#13 - Canva Pro (to make ebooks, presentations, slideshow videos, and other e-Learning content)

Canva is very useful! I use it often, but I think I could live without it, given that there are many similar webapps. 

8 hours ago, vickieito said:

#14 - MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) (for my projects and orders)

Aha! You're one of them! 😈

8 hours ago, vickieito said:

#15 - Snipping Tool (to screenshot everything I do for recordkeeping and better communication with clients)

I love Snipping Tool, but I'm still using the old version. I don't like the new one. 

5 hours ago, katakatica said:

https://pomofocus.io/ is one of my favourite ways to get stuff done when I really need to focus. Helps with taking breaks when I need to, too. 

Ah yes, I've heard about this type of app becoming more popular. I've never had an issue with it, myself, since I take breaks when I'm tired and focus when my headset is on. After an hour or so the loud black industrial metal I listen to starts to hurt my ears. That means I need a break. 🤣

2 hours ago, melanielm said:

Fiverr, of course! I'm an Office/Word 365 fan. I really don't like Google Docs for some reason

You need jesus. 😂

[mateusbl]

No one use trello? lol

Is the one that I most use, to control next, delivered and in revision projects.

[smashradio]

52 minutes ago, mateusbl said:

No one use trello? lol

Is the one that I most use, to control next, delivered and in revision projects.

Nope, never used it. I use the Fiverr Dashboard to control next, delivered and in revision projects. 😄

[asifhassanantue]

Thanks for sharing. It was really helpful. 

[smashradio]

5 hours ago, asifhassanantue said:

Thanks for sharing. It was really helpful. 

What exactly did you find helpful? 

[francesca_csm]

On 7/21/2022 at 5:34 PM, favourik said:

I never really got the hang of Fiverr Workspace. Way too much technicalities.😭

Hey there!

Like @smashradio said, you might not need Fiverr Workspace if it seems too difficult to use but that's okay! Fiverr Workspace can be your digital dashboard for any offline clients you found IRL. You can send them invoices, track expenses etc. If you need help there's an in-app support chat at the bottom right of your Fiverr Workspace account!

[smashradio]

3 hours ago, francesca_workspace said:

Hey there!

Like @smashradio said, you might not need Fiverr Workspace if it seems too difficult to use but that's okay! Fiverr Workspace can be your digital dashboard for any offline clients you found IRL. You can send them invoices, track expenses etc. If you need help there's an in-app support chat at the bottom right of your Fiverr Workspace account!

I think a lot of Fiverr sellers view Workspace as a part of the general Fiverr platform because of the name, while it's in fact a separate invoicing platform. The name does confuse a lot of people, but I totally get why it was taken under the Fiverr umbrella after and.co was bought by Fiverr. 

By the way - is there a way to make multiple invoicing templates running in the same sequence of invoice numbers? Here's my dillemma: 

I invoice clients from the Canary Islands. We're a special tax zone in Europe, meaning we don't pay or charge VAT from our clients when they're not based in Spain, and a "custom" version of VAT called IGIC from Spanish clients. 

This is a pickle, because we are legally obligated to have separate tax calculations on invoices for national and international clients, but in the same sequence. It's just a nightmare, but it's keeping me from using Workspace for my Spanish clients at the moment. 

Edited September 19, 2022 by smashradio

[francesca_csm]

19 hours ago, smashradio said:

By the way - is there a way to make multiple invoicing templates running in the same sequence of invoice numbers? Here's my dillemma: 

I invoice clients from the Canary Islands. We're a special tax zone in Europe, meaning we don't pay or charge VAT from our clients when they're not based in Spain, and a "custom" version of VAT called IGIC from Spanish clients. 

This is a pickle, because we are legally obligated to have separate tax calculations on invoices for national and international clients, but in the same sequence. It's just a nightmare, but it's keeping me from using Workspace for my Spanish clients at the moment. 

This is a great question and nice to e-meet you @smashradio! I'm Francesca from Fiverr Workspace Support 😄

At the moment, invoice number sequencing is somewhat limited. You can only enter in a number with no letters or special characters and the sequence would follow in numerical order. Unfortunately, it would not meet the needs of your example here.

This is an important note of what some of our customers experience though and I will submit it to our team.

We are new to the community forum so still cleaning up a bit, but feel free to submit this or any feedback in our Workspace Forum under Feature Request. We will be inviting more Workspace Members to upvote and share here starting in October and get these conversations going!

[blossom_is_in]

On 7/22/2022 at 6:38 PM, mateusbl said:

No one use trello? lol

Is the one that I most use, to control next, delivered and in revision projects.

As a virtual assistant, Trello is like a fairy godmother to me.

[chrismv1]

On 9/19/2022 at 9:21 PM, smashradio said:

I think a lot of Fiverr sellers view Workspace as a part of the general Fiverr platform because of the name, while it's in fact a separate invoicing platform. The name does confuse a lot of people, but I totally get why it was taken under the Fiverr umbrella after and.co was bought by Fiverr. 

By the way - is there a way to make multiple invoicing templates running in the same sequence of invoice numbers? Here's my dillemma: 

I invoice clients from the Canary Islands. We're a special tax zone in Europe, meaning we don't pay or charge VAT from our clients when they're not based in Spain, and a "custom" version of VAT called IGIC from Spanish clients. 

This is a pickle, because we are legally obligated to have separate tax calculations on invoices for national and international clients, but in the same sequence. It's just a nightmare, but it's keeping me from using Workspace for my Spanish clients at the moment. 

How do you invoice your clients tho? Fiverr doesn't give us the required information to send an invoice, no?
 

[kendal1747]

On 7/22/2022 at 8:14 AM, melanielm said:

I'm an Office/Word 365 fan

I think some of us have gotten so comfortable with Office/Word that we just don't want to go through the trouble of learning something else. At least that is what a lot of my friends have told me. 

[melanielm]

14 hours ago, kendal1747 said:

I think some of us have gotten so comfortable with Office/Word that we just don't want to go through the trouble of learning something else. At least that is what a lot of my friends have told me. 

That could be part of it. Also, Word does everything I need it to, so there's really no reason to use anything else. 

[taieefbakshi]

I think some of us have gotten so comfortable with Office/Word that we just don't want to go through the trouble of learning something else.but I totally get why it was taken under the Fiverr umbrella after and.co was bought by Fiverr. 

[sujanaprodesign]

My first priority is Fiverr