Freelancers are individuals who are self-employed and are working independently with multi-employers.
Freelancing is self-employment where the work hours, workplace, and workstation are self-created with the use of productivity tools.
According to MOM’s comprehensive labor force survey, there has been a considerable increase in the percentage of freelancers in Singapore from 13.5% to 14.7% in 2020 and made up 13.6% with the adoption of the work from home model.
This increase and the success is attributed to the intervention of productivity tools that help manage work seamlessly from home efficiently.
Top 7 must-have tools for freelancers in 2022 that help enhance collaboration
- Google Drive
- OneNote
- Google Slides
- Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Word
- Google Calendar
- Google Contacts
Google Drive
Freelancers use google drive storage that’s part of Google Workspace as a productivity tool to upload their documents, presentations, graphics or audios for work purposes.
It comes with 15GB of free storage, which is a lot for a budding freelancer, however, a professional freelancer can get 30GB+ storage with a Google Workspace plan.
OneNote
OneNote is a Microsoft 365 is a perfect tool for freelancers as it makes the planning process easier.
This tool helps one easily perform and manage personal resources, business resources, written tasks, and real-time notetaking while they work from home.
Google Slides
Freelancers feel the need for Google Slide for long distance learning, sharing presentations with the associates to minimize challenges in work-from-home situations.
Google Slide is a web-based application that can create templates, link images, add speaker notes and enables the learning of productivity tools.
Microsoft Teams
Freelancers must have Microsoft Team that’s a part of Microsoft 365 as it helps in staying connected anytime, anywhere with the customers or clients.
One can instantly respond through productivity tools like Microsoft teams to make freelance jobs easy to deliver with smooth collaboration and communication using chat, video calls, document sharing, document creation and task allotment in one place.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft 365 apps are available and used everywhere as essential productivity tools to save documents.
Freelance jobs that involve a lot of writing are best done on Microsoft Word.
It’s integration with Office 365 or O365 cloud makes it even better as file sharing becomes easy and simple across the entire Microsoft 365 cloud suite.
Google Calendar
It is recommended to use Google Calendar that’s part of Google Workspace when sending a calendar link feels too impersonal.
It helps when booking meetings with collaborators or sync with long-time clients who have given you a company Gmail.
One can use “Find a Time” feature to work around a team member’s schedule without wasting their time or yours.
Google Contacts
Google Contacts of Google Workspace helps you save any contact by saving new email addresses to the contacts with a right click on the person’s thumbnail image and hitting “More Info.”
This helps us have a directory of contacts for any future needs.
Top Reasons Why Productivity Tools Help With Work From Home
1. Keep up with the notes
There are tools of Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 that act as efficient productivity tool that freelancers can use while they work from home.
A freelancer can create, edit, share and collaborate using productivity tool like Google Keep or OneNote.
It also simplifies logical arrangement of data with features like labels, colors and backgrounds.
Adding set an agenda, record a memo or making a list or inserting photos in the freelance jobs done also becomes easy.
2. Boost Efficiency for a Freelancer
Freelance jobs get an efficiency boost when done with productivity tools from Google workspace or Microsoft 365.
These tool sets help with unlimited creation and storage of documents.
These online collaboration tools are convenient for individuals that work from home.
The GWS suite tools enable editing, collaboration, and basic word processing, which is a requirement for most freelance jobs and freelancers in Singapore as also globally.
3. Adequate storage space
The productivity tools like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 offers 5GB free storage limit for its users, but a freelancer can always sign up for Microsoft 365 to get 1TB+ storage with productivity tools.
4. Organize the schedule
MS Outlook is the best tool in Microsoft 365 which is a feature-rich email client that can help manage tasks, calendars, contacts and webmail services to easily accomplish freelance jobs.
These productivity tools come with no ads and advanced security features. Contact Exabytes to learn more about Microsoft 365.
5. Excel at Calculations
Freelancers can manage their stats, data, and even their personal requirements like their taxes, finances and savings, all at once while working full-time with clients in freelance jobs.
With these productivity tools, freelancers can keep up with the finances.
These tools can also be used to prepare financial strategies and analyze data to help a freelancer with financial targets.
6. Virtual Meetings
With team meeting tools like Google Meet of Google Workspace or Microsoft Teams from Microsoft 365.
It is possible for freelancers to have face to face interactions with the clients, share the documents or files real time and gather inputs/ feedbacks and meet the requirements of clients.
A freelancer relates with their customers through consultation calls and conducts team meetings Google Workspace premium plans can create a meeting for 500+ participants.
Scaling one’s freelance jobs is tough if there no productivity tools are used while they work from home.
If a freelancer wants to succeed and improve his efficiency and productivity, these apps should be used for their daily agendas.
Round Up
Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 consist of numerous applications and tools that make delivery of freelance jobs a success.
Exabytes Singapore recommends freelancers to get Microsoft 365 plans or Google Workspace plans to enhance their productivity.
A combination of both the productivity tool plans can help to scale a freelance business to new heights. Connect with the Exabytes Team to know more.
Basic FAQs About Productivity Tools
1. What are productivity tools?
Productivity tools are applications that enable viewing, creating and modifying of office documents (e.g. spreadsheets, memos, presentations, letters, personal database, form generation, image editing, etc.).
These tools help manage employee tasks, and also collaborate with others, schedule meetings etc. with relevant tools.
2. Benefits of using productivity tools
- Minimizing your stress
- Improving time management and work productivity
- Providing better collaboration and scheduling tasks with help of tools.
- Working real time with clients when needed with help of various tools that come as a part of these tools.
