11 Productivity Tools I Use in My Business (HINT: 8 are free)

Being a solopreneur can be tough. You wear so many different hats in your business from content creation to community management to client work and more. It can be SUPER overwhelming but once you start planning and putting systems in place, it is seriously a game changer.

That is why I have round up the 11 productivity tools I use in my business. The best part? You can use 8 of them for free!

1. Asana

It should be no surprise that Asana is #1 on my list! I have tried numerous project management tools including Asana, Trello, Todoist, Wrike, ClickUp and more. But Asana is by far my favorite.

As your business grows, so does your to-do list. You start to create systems and processes that you repeat over and over again. Think quarterly plan, blog editorial calendar, maybe a podcast, client workflows, launch processes, and more.

I love Asana because I can organize my business AND life with it. It helps keep me stay on track even as a solopreneur. It is also fantastic if you have a team or clients you need to communicate with.

Tried Asana but not sure how to make it work for you? Then check out my course #GSD with Asana where I teach you how to make the most of Asana as well as share my workflows and templates that I personally use for life and business.

2. Tailwind

If you use Pinterest, then you need to use Tailwind. Tailwind is a Pinterest-approved partner and an incredible scheduling tool that ensures that I am consistently pinning while saving me HOURS.

How Tailwind works is that you create a pinning schedule, they even provide recommended times for you to choose from. Then you fill up your queue and Tailwind will auto post for you! This way you can be pinning throughout the day, every single day, without needing to be physically on Pinterest!

The other feature I love is Tailwind Tribes. A tribe is a group of people, usually in a related topic such as online business, getting together and sharing each other's pins. Whenever I need content to fill my Tailwind queue, I always check out my tribes first! If you are looking for a Tailwind Tribe to join, I recently created one – click here to join my Tailwind Tribe for female entrepreneurs who share blogging, online business, social media, etc. tips.

3. Planoly

One of things that I hate about Instagram is that you can't schedule content or even post from your desktop. Good news for me and you is that there are many tools out there now that solve that problem. Planoly is my current favorite.

I just use the free plan and it allows me to schedule 30 posts per month and gives me a month's worth of analytics data! You can upgrade for more, but the free plan serves me perfectly fine right now.

Thanks to Planoly, I am now able to plan my Instagram content a month in advance and schedule it out. It allows me to post every single day without fail. It also allows you to schedule Instagram Stories, though I haven't tried that yet. Maybe soon.

4. Dubsado

If you are a service provider, then you need a CRM system – a client relationship management system. My favorite – the one I've used for the past two years – is Dubsado.

With Dubsado, I save so much time because I can create and send invoices and contracts, get paid, create client portals, and even create workflows to automate the process.

If you want to learn more, check out my post 11 Reason Why Dubsado is the Best CRM System for Creatives. Also, you can try Dubsado for free. Their trial is for 3 clients rather than a time period, which really lets you experience the platform. Be sure to use my Dubsado affiliate link (or code blogmelovely) to receive 20% off when you decide to upgrade!

5. Calendly

Do you frequently book calls with clients, prospective clients, or just for coffee chats?

Then I recommend using Calendly! The free version allows you to have one meeting type. I am currently still on the free version and it is working just fine. It connects with my Google Calendar and it helps prevent me from overbooking and saves me time because I am no longer going back and forth with people to schedule a call.

Bonus Tip: If you meet over Zoom, you can put your Zoom link in the location so it is sent straight to them after they schedule a call! Super simple

6. Google Drive

Google Drive is where I store all of my documents in one place. I can upload and share client work, create outlines of blog posts in Google Docs, create my blog traffic tracking spreadsheet in Google Sheets, create presentations in Google Slides, and more.

I love that I can access these files from any computer and even from my phone or iPad. It saves me so much time because I am not searching for files.

7. ConvertKit

ConvertKit is my go-to email marketing provider. I recommend it to all of my clients and use it myself!

I included it in a list of productivity tools because of the automation features it has. You can schedule broadcasts, create automated email sequences, set up visual automations and more.

I knew how important email marketing was for my business, so I made sure that I started with a good platform right off the bad. Read more on why I started with ConvertKit as my email marketing provider.

8. LastPass

Are you always forgetting your passwords? Or do you do a lot of client work and want a safe place for them to share that important information with you?

Then you need LastPass. This tool saves me a lot of time because it autofills my passwords, clients can share their passwords (and update on their end if needed) and I can create strong, crazy passwords without having to remember them because they are stored in a safe place.

9. Boomerang

Did you know that you can schedule emails to go out at a certain in Gmail? Like total game-changer right!?!

With Boomerang, you can schedule emails for when you WANT them to go our rather than when you are working. So if you are working on client work at 1 am in the morning and you don't want them to know, you can schedule it to send during your working hours the next day.

This helps you never forget to send an email because of an inconvenient time!

10. Inbox Pause

Do you frequently get distracted by email? Okay, who am I kidding? This happens to all of us.

Inbox Pause comes to your rescue!

Inbox Zero is part of Boomerang, but it is also available on its own! It is available for Gmail, Outlook and even your iPhone!

11. Noisli

This is my latest discovery! Noisli is a tool that lets you customize the background music you listen to. You can mix sounds and create your perfect background noise.

This can help improve focus and boost your productivity. It is ideal for working AND relaxing!

Final Thoughts

My work and business changed once I started using tools that helped me work smarter rather than harder. I want you to experience the joys of productivity too, because once you start to see results, you will never look back.

So tell me, what are your favorite productivity tools?

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