The Best Productivity Apps for Freelance Creatives

My Favorite Productivity Apps

The freelance hustle can be hard when running your own business, you're expected to do so much in so a day, there’s countless tasks, responsibilities, and goals you work on every day.

Thankfully, there are plenty of resources that can help. Here are 12 of my absolute favorite apps, as well as one bonus tool, that I find useful in my workflow. I’m not affiliated with any of these companies, and I don’t get any kind of kickbacks from them. These are all things I actually use and thoroughly enjoy and I hope you will too.

Noizio

In 2012, the University of Chicago published a peer-reviewed study suggesting that there’s a link between moderate ambient noise and creative cognition. Essentially, certain noisy environments, like a coffee shop or an oceanside beach, can help the brain think more creatively by forcing your brain to be slightly distracted. This slight distraction from ambient noises increases processing difficulty, which promotes abstract processing, which subsequently leads to higher creativity.

Noizio is an app that allows you to blend different ambient sounds into the perfect mix for your mood. I’ve used it for a few years, both as a productivity tool and as a relaxation tool. There’s an impressive library of sounds built into the app, with 40 sounds available. I often play a mixture of Paris Cafe, Birds in Park, and Campfire sounds when I need a productive mix for writing, reading, and editing photos. I also use Noizio when I fly out of state to shoot an engagement session or destination wedding, and prefer a relaxing mix of Sea Waves, and October Rain during the flight to clear my mind and relax.

Noizio is available on the Apple Store as a Mac and iPhone app: (https://noiz.io/)

Caffeine

Caffeine is a very simple menu bar app with one purpose, to keep your computer from falling asleep on you. Caffeine puts a coffee cup icon in your menu bar that when pressed keeps your computer and monitor from falling asleep. This app comes in handy if your computer is handling a task and you don’t want it to enter an energy-saving mode, or if you’re doing a presentation and you don’t want the display to shut off on you unexpectedly. I use Caffeine when presenting my portfolio, or when speaking at a workshop or conference.

Caffeine is Mac freeware and is available here: (http://lightheadsw.com/caffeine/)

Time Out

Time Out is a Mac program that seems simple, but has some incredible functionality. Time Out lets you set reminders for yourself to take a break. I have mine set so that every hour, my computer screen dims to black, and a message saying “TAKE A BREAK” appears on the screen for two minutes. This reminds me to stand up, take a short break, and relax my eyes to prevent digital eye strain at least once an hour during my workday. If I’m in the middle of something when it’s time for a break, I can easily postpone the break for 5, 10 or 60 minutes to avoid breaking out of flow.

The app also has an activity tracker built-in, which is great for tracking how long you’ve been working on your computer. Time Out looks at how long you’ve spent in different apps, and breaks it all down for you in a timeline. This makes Time Out useful for billing hourly projects. For example, if you charge by the hour for photo retouching, Time Out can show you how much time was spent working in Adobe Photoshop.

Time Out is free, some extra features are unlocked by making a donation to the developer. Available here: (https://www.dejal.com/timeout/)

Inly

When I started writing this, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to include this web app on the list. In some ways, Inly feels like a secret weapon for my wedding photography business. It’s what I use for all my digital contracts, invoices, and payments. It makes the booking process for my clients so much easier, and I love how the contracts and invoices pages are designed. It's clear that this app was thoughtfully designed and it shows, Inly creates some of the best looking invoices you and your clients may ever see. You can schedule out deposits, payments, and even ask your client for a tip to help make extra income. Inly will even send reminders on your behalf if your client forgets to pay an invoice, so you no longer have to worry about chasing down paychecks. The service also has a robust menu of settings you can customize, including generating accounting reports or connecting to Quickbooks. The only thing I feel is missing from the service is the ability to send estimates to clients, maybe someday down the line this feature will be introduced. Inly is run by a small team out of Minneapolis, Denver, and Nashville, and is super receptive to user feedback. Drop them a note with any suggestions or questions about Inly.

Inly in my opinion is the best option for freelancers looking to incorporate digital contracts and payments into their workflow.

Inly is free to sign-up, and $8 a month for their Pro subscription. You can join here: (https://www.inly.io/)

Pause

Pause is a mindfulness iOS app, billed as drawing on “ancient Tai Chi and mindfulness practice”, and is a collaboration between ustwo’s Malmo studio and Danish mental wellness company PauseAble. The app encourages you to take a break and recenter yourself with guided sounds and movements. You trace a small orb on your screen with your thumb while listening to ambient sounds in your headphones, slowly moving it until it grows in size. Eventually the orb takes over your screen, at which point Pause suggests you close your eyes and just breathe. A bell chimes once your experience is over, which by default is 5 minutes. If at any point you remove your finger from the screen, the Pause ends, which is the apps way of forcing you to focus your attention on one the experience.

I find Pause works well when I’m feeling anxious, or when I can't seem to concentrate on a task I need to complete. When combined with intentional breathing, this app can provide a sense of calm and focus.

Pause is available on the Apple App Store as a iPhone, iPad, & Apple Watch app: (https://www.ustwo.com/work/pause)

Filtru

It wouldn’t be a productivity article if it didn’t include mention of coffee. Filtru is an app that I use every single morning when I’m at home. Made for the coffee perfectionist, Filtru is a timer app made specifically for brewing the absolute best coffee. It gives detailed instructions on how to get the most out of your favorite coffee beans and brew methods. Just pick the coffee making device you are using, and the app gives recommended coffee bean grind size, weight, and the amount of water you should use, as well as detailed brewing instructions. My preferred brewing method is the Tetsu 4:6 Method using a Hario V60, and the Filtru coffee timer helps me make it perfect every time.

Filtru is available on the Apple App Store: (https://getfiltru.com/)

Hashtag Generators

In the past, I’ve used two different Hashtag Generators, Focalmark & Display Purposes. In short the less time I spend trying to think of hashtags, the more time I can focus on other tasks that need to get done. Using hashtags is still one of the most important things you can do to get your work seen on Instagram. Instagram's algorithm and search tools both use hashtags to organize and showcase content.

Instructions on how to install both apps can be found here: (https://jolsonweddings.com/education/instagram-hashtag-guide)

Youtube Music

There are plenty of music streaming platforms out there, so why did I choose Youtube Music? Chillhop Music, thats why. Instrumental music is one of the few kinds of music I can listen to while working for long periods of time. Chillhop in particular is a flavor that I've come to enjoy. There's a certain modern zen to it, and I prefer the endless curated tracks over the chaos of a Spotify playlist.

Youtube Music has the ability to download full videos to your phone and play them as music tracks, something I like to do is save hour long Chillhop Music videos to my phone for when I’m working at a cafe or on a flight. Having a Youtube Premium subscription not only gives me access to Youtube Music, but I also get the Google Music app included for when I want to listen to albums or certain artists instead of Youtube. To top it all off, I get an ad-free experience when browsing and watching Youtube. It might not be the most productive use of my time, but I love watching youtube at the end of a long day. There's a certain zen to that too.

The Youtube Music & Google Music app are available for iOS and Android: (https://music.youtube.com/)

MileIQ

If you’re a freelancer, you own a car, and you commute to a studio or gigs, you need MileIQ. This app is an automatic mileage tracker, and it makes tracking your miles for taxes so much easier. MileIQ works in the background of your phone, it detects when you drive and records when and where you drove into its log. After that, you log into the app, and classify the drive by swiping, right for business drives and left for personal drives. You can also add details to mark what the drive was for, I have a category for photo shoots, and a category for commuting between studios. When it comes time for taxes, I export a report from MileIQ and hand it off to my accountant, which helps me save money each year.

MileIQ is free to start, but I highly recommend upgrading to their Unlimited Plan, the app will more then pay for itself in the amount of tax savings you’ll net.

Sign up for MileIQ here: (https://www.mileiq.com/)

Hemingway Editor

I edited this post using the Hemingway Editor. In fact, I use the Hemingway editor to edit all the copy on my website. The app takes it’s name from the famous author, and aims to make your writing as clear, concise, and bold as his own writing. The app will highlight overly complicated sentences and grammar, and offers suggestions on how to tighten up your prose.

The Hemingway Editor is available as a free web app, and as a paid desktop version for Mac and PC. You can find it here: (http://www.hemingwayapp.com/)

Sip

Sip is a simple menu bar app used to sample colors on your screen. Extremely useful for generating color palettes for projects, it also has use in web development. Wondering what a certain colors CSS Code is? One click and Sip will tell you. I often use Sip when updating the design of my site.

Sip is available here. It’s free to try, and $10 to purchase: (https://sipapp.io/)

Bartender

Many of the apps I’ve mentioned add functionality to your Mac by adding an icon to your menu bar. This is a convenient place to access apps like Noizio, Sip, and Time Out quickly, but it also can visually clog up the top of your screen. That’s where Bartender comes in. Bartender gives you the ability to organize your menu bar icons, by hiding them, rearranging them, or putting them into a bartender folder. It's a great way to reduce visual clutter, and keep your apps accessible.

Bartender is available for Mac here: (https://www.macbartender.com/)

Sticky Notes

Now this last one isn’t an app, but I do keep them all over my computer desk. I’ve never found a to-do list program that I’ve enjoyed, so instead, I use Sticky Notes. Not just any Sticky Notes, the Post-it Notes Cube Notes, 3" x 3", Marble, Pad Of 620 Sheets.

As someone who greatly cares about aesthetics, I feel no shame in saying that I can’t stand brightly colored sticky notes. So I was so happy to find these tastefully minimalist sticky notes with a marble pattern printed on the side. They fit in perfectly on my desk, and are always within reach while I work on editing, programming, or emails.

Another kind of sticky note I love is the Sticky Daily by Delfonics. I keep this note pad on my bedside table, and will write out a loose schedule for the coming day before I go to bed. Even the simple act of writing out a tentative schedule can be highly productive, it sets intentions for the coming day, and helps you have clear defined goals to help start your day with purpose. The best part is the size, these sticky notes are tiny, about 2x5 inches. The small size forces you to be brief, quick, and keeps you from overthinking or overcomplicating your schedule.

What are some of your favorite tools?

These are some of the apps that I use all the time for my wedding photography business, but it’s hardly all of them. New programs and tools are being released every day, and I’m constantly on the lookout for things that can help my workflow or streamline my business further. What are some of your favorite productivity apps? What helps you take care of business? What helps you be creative? Let me know in the comments below, and as always, thanks for reading.