What tools are in your toolbox?
There are a myriad of different tools and applications to use out there when you are working on your own and what to choose can sometimes be overwhelming, so I thought I would share the tools that I have found the most useful with you.
There are of course other options but these are simply my personal preference and will hopefully give you a brief overview of each.
I do have a personal favourite but you will need to read this to find out what it is!
- LastPass
This is a marvellous tool. It stores all your links, usernames and passwords in one place and most importantly in a secure environment. This is particularly useful if you work with clients that require you to have access to their various platforms. Passwords should not be written down and LastPass allows them to be accessed from wherever you are, with your PC or your mobile device. So, whether you use this for work or for personal use it is an excellent addition to your apps.
- Toggl
Time management is important in my business and I need to record the time that I spend on certain projects for clients. Toggl is brilliant for this. It is simple and easy to set up and gives you an accurate record, to the second, of the time spent on any task. I simply could not do without Toggl.
- Feedly
As with anyone who works from home, posting on social media is a necessity if you want to up your profile and market yourself. Finding interesting and relevant content can be time consuming and frankly frustrating. This is where Feedly comes in. It can help you organise all your favourite blogs and websites into one forum where you can read them at your leisure saving you time.
- Buffer/Hootsuite
No-one wants to be on social media all the time so using a scheduling tool is essential. I use both Buffer and Hootsuite and to be honest I cannot decide which I prefer at present. They both do the same thing and allow you to schedule content in advance. I use the free version of both and this allows you to attach three social media profiles. So, if you are starting out this is probably enough but you may need to pay and upgrade to their Pro versions should you wish to do more moving forward.
- Dropbox
What would I do without it! I share folders and content with clients every day and Dropbox is perfect for this purpose. I pay £7.99 per month for 1TB of storage and in my view, it is worth every penny. I can access it on my PC and mobile device and all my documents are there at the press of a button.
- Mozy Online Backup
Whatever you do, back up your computer and devices, there are many different storage back up options out there. I use Mozy for £4.99 a month, it backs up automatically daily and I don’t have to worry about any of the information on my PC being lost as it is all there in the Mozy cloud!
- Trello
I love it! Trello is brilliant if you don’t want a full-on CRM system. You can organise your to do list or set up cards for each project you are running to keep tabs on things. You can also share these boards with others so if you are working with a team, everyone can see what is going on. Trello has many additional features as well but that is for another blog. If you are looking for something simple to organise your tasks, you won’t find anything much better than Trello.
- My personal favourite
A notebook and pen! I work in a virtual world and am attached to my PC, tablet and mobile in a way that is probably not healthy (I need to work on it!) but my favourite tool to use is still a notebook and pen. I have loads of them because sometimes you just want to write something down and there is nothing wrong with that.
Hopefully, you found this article useful, if you did please share.