How to Control Time | 5 Freelance Time-Tracking Solutions

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One of the hardest things about being a freelancer is figuring out how to control time.

Time is something you’ll have very little of as a self-employed creative. Although it’s all-consuming, and daunting, and can make us feel like we’re in the backseat sometimes, it’s important to know we can control it.

As a freelancer, you may find you’re working on several projects at once, trying to source new work leads, and doing your business admin all at the same time.

You can see why this could be a recipe for disaster unless you manage your working day properly and get on top of your task list!

Luckily there are several tools available to take the hassle out of time management. Here’s our rundown of the top 5:

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How to Control Time: 5 Easy Solutions

#1 Bonsai

Bonsai’s all-in-one product suite with smart automation lets you focus on your passion, not your paperwork. Integrate and automate every step of your business, so it runs seamlessly.

With proposals, contracts, projects, invoices, expenses, accounting, and much more, you have everything need to close your deals faster.

#2 Toggl

Toggl is a really simple tool that lets you track how long you spend working on a project.

It’s a virtual stopwatch that lets you organize your billable hours for different projects. You get an instant overview of which projects you’ve been spending time on – with the ability to use it as an individual or as a team.

Plus, we love their intro video of kids carrying out day-to-day office tasks (sometimes we feel like taking a hammer to our keyboards too!)

Oh, and did we mention basic plans are free?

#3 Harvest

Like Toggl, Harvest also lets you track your working time and has a simple, intuitive interface.

It has powerful reporting tools that help you keep your projects on time and on budget – great for planning ahead.

But, what’s really great about Harvest is that you can create invoices and bill the client straight from the app. It handles all your freelancer admin from one place, which is a lifesaver...

#4 StayFocused

This handy Chrome browser extension limits the amount of time you can spend procrastinating on time-wasting websites. If we know anything about how to control time, it’s that the procrastination monkey (that exists within all of us) is a real nightmare to control…

We’re looking at you: Facebook and Twitter.

You can block websites entirely, or, set a daily limit for the amount of time you’re allowed to spend browsing sites. Very useful for those of us who don’t have the willpower to ignore those Facebook notifications.

#5 Remember the milk

Remember the milk is a smart to-do app.

You write down all the things you need to do, and the app will remind you about them. Receive reminders through Skype, Gmail, Twitter, or standard push notifications.

You can also share lists too, which is great for creative teams!

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