According to the latest stats, it predicts that by the end of 2025, there will be approximately. 70 million freelancers (including independent contractors), who combinedly contribute approx. $1.2 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2025. It is true that running your own business or being a freelancer gives you work flexibility, but it can be highly demanding sometimes. If you’re sailing on the same boat and feeling the pressure, some tools and apps can maximise your productivity as an independent professional.
15 Essential Smart-Working Apps for Contractors and Freelancers
Gig Search Platform
Upwork, Fiverr and Instawork are some of the popular job search apps that allow gig workers, independent contractors, freelancers and self-employed to search and connect with millions of short-term and long-term jobs and assignments from companies and agencies. You can also use Uber, Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash apps to find direct jobs.
Evernote
Evernote is a must-have app for independent contractors to track their ongoing projects, make and share files, write notes, record audio, scan documents, and even run team meetings on the go. With its built-in features like handwriting capture and tracking client interactions, you can remember when you last spoke, and it’s the ultimate organisational hub.
Airbnb
Airbnb is a perfect app if you’re always on the go, travelling to clients’ urban or remote sites and having to stay away from home, especially for an extended period. With the Airbnb app, you can easily browse a wide range of homestays, properties, rooms, and even check their availability and book online anytime.
Trello
Like Evernote, Trello is simply an online whiteboard that you can later share with anyone, anywhere. It includes many useful tools that allow contractors to organise their projects into simple visual boards so you can manage and see what’s being stopped or work on, and where something is in the process.
Slack
Slack is the best app for independent contractors and the self-employed, especially those working on large teams and projects remotely. Slack is a private and secure messaging app that lets you send messages, share notes, images, links, and other urgent documents.
Typically, Pinterest is known as an image search engine, but it can also be a fantastic tool for contractors for personal and professional growth. You can use Pinterest to find creative ideas, organisational tips, and to keep yourself updated on modern art and innovations in your field. It could also be used as an excellent free marketing platform for your business and services.
AccuWeather
The weather can ruin your working plans, particularly if you are a contrition independent contractor or you have to travel for work a lot. It sorts this problem. The AccuWeather app helps you plan with detailed, accurate weather forecasts.
Google Drive/Dropbox
Cloud-based file storage and sharing services make it easy for contractors and freelancers to save any file securely to the cloud and sync it anytime with all their devices at once. Dropbox and Google Drive are both good apps for ensuring the important files and documents are always secure and backed up easily, and you can even share them with your clients privately.
Strava
Health is wealth, right? Staying healthy means you don’t lose your work productivity and beat illness. Strava is a great and demanding health and fitness app that lets you track your overall activities, like walking, running, and even cycling. You can easily set your fitness goals and then monitor your progress accurately.
Google Calander
Google Calendar is an easy-to-use and simple reminder app that lets you quickly create and view your appointments. You can search and add upcoming events and sync with services such as Google Drive and iCloud, so you’re always staying updated on your work.
LinkedIn is a dedicated app to grow a professional network of your choice. It helps you to keep in touch with your niche connections and monitor profile updates whenever and wherever you like. LinkedIn is an excellent app for independent contractors, freelancers, and self-employed individuals to connect, stay updated, and find new clients or contracts.
VSCO Cam
VSCO Cam is a superb photo-editing app that helps you to easily edit photos, make them clearer, add filters, and adjust contrast. This app is a good option for independent contractors who need to capture their work-in-progress or finished jobs.
Twilight / F.lux
Are you working late at night? Need to stare at your phone before going to bed? It can cause you eye strain. Thankfully, you can download F.lux for your desktop and the Twilight app for your smartphone. These two apps are designed to adjust your display colours according to your location and time. It helps you reduce your eye strain and improve your sleeping patterns.
Bored Panda
As a busy independent contractor or self-employed individual, you won’t have time to read news or scroll social media, but if you ever have a moment of spare time, try Bored Panda online magazine, which publishes all sorts of viral stories over social media to keep you entertained.
Clockify
For those independent contractors who charge their clients hourly for their job, Clockify can be a very useful tool. This app allows users to track their different projects, clients, and devices accurately. You can use Clockify to set important reminders for tasks, use the clock offline, sync tasks with the calendar, and even bill clients.
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