Open Thread: What One Thing Saves You the Most Time?
Posted April 11, 2010 in Open Thread
Time is money, or so they say.
For us freelancers, there’s a bit of truth to that saying. The more time that we spend on billable projects, the more money that we can earn. (This is true whether you bill by the hour or by the project.) Wasted time often means money not earned.
That’s why we’re always on the lookout for resources, apps, or devices that save freelancers time. In fact, that’s the question today:
What one thing saves you the most time?
It could be an application, a hardware device, or just a method that you apply on a regular basis.
Share your answer in the comments. Tell us what saves you the most time and how you use it.
Image by laffy4k
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About the author: Laura Spencer is a freelance writer from North Central Texas with over 20 years of professional business writing experience. If you liked this post, then you may also enjoy Laura’s blog about her freelance writing experiences, WritingThoughts. Laura is also on Google+.
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80 Comments
Laura
April 11th, 2010 at 8:34 amPlanning the evening before. Of course I need to be ready to flex however the more planning I lay out the night before, the less time I lose the following day. As we know once we get off task, it takes 20 minutes to get back “on.’
Shatimi
April 11th, 2010 at 8:56 amSMS notifications of incoming e-mails. I do not have to check my inbox every n minutes.
mark
April 11th, 2010 at 9:44 amFor me, it is a small pad of paper on-which I keep track of what is left to do on a given day. Until everything on it is crossed off and I have torn the used pages from book, I do not stop working. The trick is knowing when to put a task on the next day’s page.
Colin Morgan
April 11th, 2010 at 9:55 amA text search tool. Type in the line of code your looking for, type of files you’d like to search, choose a directory and then poof! No more searching through 40+ files for one line of code :)
Eduárd
April 11th, 2010 at 10:02 amPHP, CSS and Javascript frameworks.
Martin Dörsch
April 11th, 2010 at 10:21 amMy wacom tablet for retouching.
My MacBookPro… just the speed and workflow. (oh, this was number two)
Best regards
Martin
Will
April 11th, 2010 at 10:33 amI am a list maniac. I always find that when I write out a list of what I need to do I can usually crush it easier and faster because I know what needs to be done and can do something else on the list when I may be waiting for a render or pizza rolls to come out the oven
Chris Mower
April 11th, 2010 at 10:51 am1. Dropbox (WebApplication & FileSharing)
2. Prioritizing work and not sweating the little stuff first
3. Google Voice (no wasted time dinking around on a cell phone or smart phone)
Rick
April 11th, 2010 at 11:20 amText-expander
Deb Ng
April 11th, 2010 at 11:32 amPlanning ahead saves time. I schedule everything from freelance work to housework. I list topics on an editorial calendar and have reminders set up to ping me throughout the day. Planning ahead keeps me from wasting time thinking of topics or worrying about what I should do next.
aShocka
April 11th, 2010 at 11:42 amI agree, planning. It’s always so helpful to break e.g. a project into small tasks and to know exactly when you’re going to do them. Also I find very useful if I ‘pre-think’ the whole process from beginning to finishing a project or a task before starting it and maybe write down a few points. This has really saved me a lot of time.
BebopDesigner
April 11th, 2010 at 12:32 pmI use FocusBooster to work in chunks of time witout interruption. I’ve found this helps me make my working time more productive. In fact, I’m using my 5 min break to write this comment.
The other thing is that I divide my activities into general categories and subcategories so that I can schedule them during the week.
Cheers
Ryan
April 11th, 2010 at 2:22 pmSetting an alarm at 5:30 AM has done wonders for me Laura. I found out that I wasn’t running out of time in the past; I was just too lazy to use all 24 hours effectively.
I also schedule all tasks by the hour. When the clock strikes I drop everything and move on to the next one. When life intervenes I adhere to my schedule as strictly as possible.
Adam Buckeridge
April 11th, 2010 at 3:11 pmWhat has saved me the most time:
1: Learning to type faster. This can make one of the biggest changes to your productivity.
2: Stopping multitasking
3: Checking email only three times a day.
4: Spending more time thinking and planning, instead of diving right in and making it up as you go along.
Chris Olbekson
April 11th, 2010 at 3:33 pmI will list my top 3
1. Doing just a basic layout in Photoshop then doing most design work directly in the browser working on a live server via code editor with built in FTP.
2. Using a CSS and XHTML template I created that has the basic structure divs already started.
3. Communicating and collaborating with clients before starting the coding to eliminate time spent doing revisions.
Nicole Foster
April 11th, 2010 at 3:39 pmI always use a default Photoshop template so I can easily start a project. It is set up in the size I need and everything in folders.
I also use frameworks and a pre-coded HTML templates so it is easier to code.
Other than that, planning what to do ahead of time really works and tracking your time so you can learn from your mistakes.
Mark Spidle
April 11th, 2010 at 4:08 pmMy laptop. I have my office no matter where I’m at. Everything is there, business docs, email, designs, everything.
Jordan Walker
April 11th, 2010 at 5:45 pmMultiple monitors.
Oliver
April 11th, 2010 at 7:48 pmI write my Flash Code inside FlashDevelop which is ten times faster than inside the Flash IDE.
I alose plan ahead some applications and generate code from visuals with an UML editor like Star UML and senocular’s actionscript 3 plugin.
I also try to use the time when I’m the most efficient wisely ( usually between 5 and 8 PM )
I also do all my work on a single freelancer website: http://www.freelancer.com/affiliates/hiquality/.
Howard Theriot
April 11th, 2010 at 8:17 pmChecking email and processing everything in my inbox in a single sitting, 3-4 times per day — as opposed to leaving email active all day and taking action as messages come in.
Stephanie
April 11th, 2010 at 8:19 pmI would usually write on my planner what I should be doing for the entire week such as the articles for this client, the rewrites for this client, etc. I’d also make it to a point to finish all of the work before sundown so that I still have time writing for leisure or playing with my daughter before she goes to sleep.
If I could find a time tracking tool that’s free and I don’t have to sign up for anything for it, that would really help. I’m still on the look-out for one! :)
Susan
April 11th, 2010 at 9:44 pmNow that I have a Netbook, I have enough battery life to work on the subway or the bus so I don’t have to interupt my work day when I have a meeting or doctor’s appointment. I can even continue typing in the waiting room at my doctor’s office!
Chad Huntley
April 11th, 2010 at 10:43 pmUsing a project management system like Feng Office saves me the most time by far (www.fengoffice.com)
Being able to assign myself tasks by project, add notes, comments, etc, in an organized way is far better than anything else I’ve tried. Even though project management systems are usually designed for team usage I highly recommend them for any freelancer.
Dan King
April 11th, 2010 at 11:42 pmFor development Coda has saved me a lot of time. Having many client sites, it was becoming very cumbersome to keep track of all the FTP login information for the many different servers. Coda’s ‘sites’ feature does this for me, so I no longer have to look up the credentials or use a separate FTP program. Also, the built in PHP manual saves me time by not having to pull up the online manual.
Laura Spencer
April 12th, 2010 at 12:02 amWow!
What awesome tips. A few of these I knew (like using lists and breaking tasks down), but some of these other resources are new to me.
Thanks to the Freelance Folder community for sharing. :-)
arnold
April 12th, 2010 at 2:01 amJavascript frameworks.
Gavin
April 12th, 2010 at 2:07 amMy biggest time saver also has a flaw. I work live on the server, like another comment suggested.
The only downside to this is 99.9% of the time it’s fine and the one, when your nuts are in a vice, it decides to delete the file or upload the wrong copy and your screwed.
I use EditPlus to hand code everything, which has a built in browser (IE 6/7) for previewing. This has saved me hours of having to save, switch and check. Now I can press a shortcut key to switch between preview and code.
Matthias
April 12th, 2010 at 2:55 amHaving my own custom made project management database in filemaker. No more combining excel sheets, invoices, folders and files, contacts … it’s all right there and it’s all setup just the way I want it to.
Bill
April 12th, 2010 at 3:48 amTextmate is my text editor of choice and really is speedy for web development. jQuery a JavaScript library that also save’s me time.
nchmnz
April 12th, 2010 at 3:54 amCoda (no more jumping from text editor to ftp http://panic.com/coda/), jQuery & jQueryUI (simple, reusable chunks of code, less cross-browser compatibility issues http://jquery.com/), Basecamp (track todo lists, archive files and messages http://basecamphq.com/), and of course waking up earlier and actually working less (makes me more efficient).
SHG
April 12th, 2010 at 3:56 amGoogle Apps. Having all my work email in the gmail interface is a lifesaver.
James Larkin
April 12th, 2010 at 3:58 amA good nights sleep would be the one thing that saves me most time.
Starting your day fresh and in good form very important for the day ahead
Feed
April 12th, 2010 at 4:00 amMy camera and the stock photos I take with it, It saves me a lot of time not only for visual reference when making an illustration, but if I need a texture for a 3d material or something of the sort, I just take a picture, in that line of thought, a good file management system is also necessary, some elements used for a particular project can be recycled in another one without them looking ridiculous or out of context, in example, a good stock of a cloudy sky can be used to create a set of very useful and unique brushes.
Lloyd
April 12th, 2010 at 4:04 amI agree with you all: planning is essential. But avoiding interruptions is, I believe, the greatest of all: it is absolutely impossible to achieve and therefore you can only dream about it. Now, seriously, separating your workspace is very important if you look for efficiency.
Lloyd
officedeskreviews
Maria
April 12th, 2010 at 4:13 amusing The Gimp instead of Photoshop
Floris
April 12th, 2010 at 4:21 am1- TextMate
2- Apple OSX
3- TextExpander
4- DropBox
5- Whiteboard
Siteway.de
April 12th, 2010 at 4:26 amYeah i know ONE thing but:
Office Software: Revolver Office (E-Mail, CRM, Projects, Adresses, Products, Time-Tracker)
Outlook Plugin: XOBNI
CSS-Editor: Skybound Stylizer
A (ink on real-paper) to-do lList for each day.
A digital long term to-do list (netvibes)
A certain planned time to do things weekly/monthly
jonasbn
April 12th, 2010 at 4:33 amGoogle
Vinh Khoa Nguyen
April 12th, 2010 at 4:38 amWeb application framworks. They are:
- jQuery (FTW): for JS work
- cfTrigger (http://cftrigger.com): for Coldfusion project
- CodeIgniter: for PHP project
And of course DW, saves me lots of time compared to other IDE.
I also reuse my templates in previous projects to save me time when working on new ones.
Ron Stauffer, Jr
April 12th, 2010 at 4:41 amMy iPhone!
Integrated with my MacBook Pro, it’s a huge lifesaver. I can combine the following:
1) iCal
2) Email
3) Twitter
4) Facebook
5) Web surfing
6) Online Banking
6) Remote Access to my home computer
7) Skype
8) Voice Memos
9) my Blog
10) a Camera
12) Pandora
13) Text messages
14) GPS/driving directions
15) maps
16) a Phone!
My iPhone increases my efficiency around 10 hours a month, where I used to spend time completing tasks in a disconnected way. It’s the ultimate all-in-one business tool.
lorth
April 12th, 2010 at 4:54 amcoffee
Graham
April 12th, 2010 at 4:54 amI must say that the thing that saves me the most time is FreshBooks.
What took hours of invoicing in the past is done in a few minutes.
I have used the system for more than a year and don’t know how a worked without it.
Aji Kurniadhi
April 12th, 2010 at 5:31 amdoes 3 things ok?
Google Desktop ~ i’m a forgetful chump, and google desktop saves me lots of time finding a document or more in my hard drive. just type the chunk of file name that i remember, google desktop will gave me the results.. love it
Total Commander ~ fast file browsing rather than build in Windows file browser
KeepPass Password ~ again i’m a forgetful, so this one saves me lots of time too. this application store all my password. i don’t have to look around searching my passwords
albert fradera
April 12th, 2010 at 5:32 amQuit watching TV
outis
April 12th, 2010 at 5:40 amReading and implementing GTD (Getting Things Done from David Allen) saved me a lot of time
automobi.li
April 12th, 2010 at 5:55 amEclipse ESftp plugin.
Sam Wilson
April 12th, 2010 at 7:35 am1. Saying “no”
2. Not working locally
3. Not working with *ssh#les
ControlCalorie
April 12th, 2010 at 7:51 amWell. First I pick the projects that I am knowledgeable of. Second is to plan how to finish it sooner. Third, work on it with no hindrances and distractions. That way, i get the job done sooner than what is expected. I have no apps that helps me, however, it would be better if i have.
Tess
April 12th, 2010 at 9:39 amOutsourcing as much non-billable work as possible. As a mom, I outsource the house cleaning, yard work and accounting and I use “Rescue Time” to track what I spend my time on and block out certain social media during my most productive hours.
Wayne Smallman
April 12th, 2010 at 11:09 amPeople doing what I asked them do first time is for me a golden moment.
People not doing what I asked them to do and then just not talking to me is by far and away the most time absorbent failure of them all.
Randy Sizemore
April 12th, 2010 at 11:10 amgetting a good nights sleep
Tony Naccarato
April 12th, 2010 at 11:14 amI would have to say my iPhone. For all the reasons listed by others (Ron Stauffer, Jr) but I can get most of my emails out of the way while commuting.
Jen
April 12th, 2010 at 11:15 amI work on multiple computers.I have a usb key that contains all my reusable design elements, code, templates, and portable apps (such as filezilla).
My iphone has become a valuable tool, combined with the Awesome note apps. I keep all important data/account info, so no matter where I am – it’s all at my finger tips. Plus Awesome Notes syncs with google docs.
Julie - Fine Tooth Comb
April 12th, 2010 at 11:28 amGoogle Reader: Love. It.
Trevor
April 12th, 2010 at 11:51 amMy biggest time saver is working locally on my machine and pushing updates up to remote servers through a shell script. HUGE time saver, I never use FTP anymore.
Joe Nyaggah
April 12th, 2010 at 3:44 pmQuicksilver for mac from blacktree
Opening files, apps and browser bookmarks is a 1 second affair now. Love it!
Daniel Groves
April 12th, 2010 at 4:27 pm@Jow Nyaggah Whats wrong with Spotlight?
Mine is Espresso. Saves all the time in the world just because you can have so much going on at once. Text editor with fully integrated FTP/Live editing/CSS/PHP/XHTML/jQuery/JavaScript/ActionScript support and loads more. Ohh, and best of all projects, Well worth checking out.
Joe Nyaggah
April 12th, 2010 at 4:37 pm@Daniel – Nothing wrong with Spotlight. Quicksilver just has a lot more going on, I think, than spotlight. Check this out:
http://docs.blacktree.com/quicksilver/what_is_quicksilver
Jae Xavier
April 12th, 2010 at 5:22 pmWhat works for me?
K I S S
KEEP
IT
SIMPLE
STUPID
When I say stupid, I’m telling myself not to do a full dissertation on finding out the best way to do XYZ.
Peepshow
April 12th, 2010 at 5:26 pmFirebug is my friend
Allena
April 12th, 2010 at 10:06 pmoutsourcing: transcription, accounting, website upkeep.
Gregor Colnik
April 13th, 2010 at 8:20 amWhatever the tools i’m using, i try to use them one at a time. i mean i use many tools at same time but i try to work on one project at a time.
Whenever i have to manage/fix/work many projects/sites in one day, i feel like i lost a lot of time just by switching between all those projects.
That’s why thing that saves mi most time is organizing time to do one thing at a time, and when it’s done move on to the next :P
Although i still fail to do that at least one day a week…
Jeff Dickey
April 13th, 2010 at 12:10 pmMy list:
1. Getting a good night’s sleep.
2. NEVER editing live on the server; edit on the dev system, firefight on staging. If you can’t replicate your crisis on your staging server you’re FUBAR anyway because you don’t understand the problem well enough to be sure you’ve solved it completely.
3. My main system stack: OS X, VMware Fusion, various frameworks, Subversion, automated unit tests and an appropriate CI system (CruiseControl by default).
4. “If you don’t write it down, in a way that you can find it again at need, then it NEVER HAPPENED. Most certainly, not the way you (think you) remember it.” Wisdom from a lady who ran a pediatrics CCU for 20+ years.
You’re not going to win all your battles. But you can do a much better job of picking which ones you SHOULD win, and thus, win whatever war you’re in the middle of right now.
Bill4Time
April 13th, 2010 at 1:13 pmGreat tips, everybody! We track time, organize it for you so you can generate quick invoices. We have a lot of freelancers and consultants. No more billable time missed! http://www.Bill4Time.com
Ed Nichols
April 14th, 2010 at 5:17 amModulating components for website. I work often with the Joomla cms and there are certain modules I use for galleries, contact pages, and many other common elements used in sites. I was able to save many hours for each project with this.
Kennyh
April 14th, 2010 at 5:50 am1. Smartphone
Notifies me of e-mails, calender etc. So I don’t have to check every 15 minutes while I’m working.
2. Whiteboard
Great to write down toughts, ideas, to-do list etc.
3. Planning
At the end of every day I think about the work I am going to do the next day and categorize from high to low priority.
4. Pre-coded content management system
I never use a basic pre-coded layout for my designs because I want every site to be as unique as possible and not only through design but also through layout. I do have a completely pre-coded content management system build out of a lot of different modules. This is easy to integrate and I can just activate the modules the client pays for.
Loveleen Kaur
April 14th, 2010 at 7:45 amTada.. the to do list .. definitely a time saver
keeps me focussed..
Carlos Perez
April 14th, 2010 at 12:43 pmOne of the things that was suggested to me, and was an easy sell, when I started on my own, was this: get an accountant. If you treat your accounting like a project you don’t get paid for, and more often than not, don’t understand completely, you can see the draw in having a professional help you out. It just literally doesn’t pay to have to sort those things out yourself and prepare taxes, etc. etc. If you know it inside and out and it’s just second nature for you, go nuts. Otherwise… seek help! :)
Otherwise… to-do lists help save time. I like to keep it simple and not make managing my to-do list one of the to-do’s! I just created a nifty one for myself.. check it out if you wish: http://www.keysthatclick.com/design/my-very-own-panic-inspired-status-board/
Maor
April 14th, 2010 at 4:10 pmClosing the Email, Any irrelevant tabs in the browser such as facebook and twitter. And ultimately, closing the door!
Billing Boss
April 17th, 2010 at 8:52 pmI know I’ve saved time by using these tools:
1) Billing Boss (http://www.billingboss.com) for online invoicing. Simple interface that allows me to get in, create my estimate/invoice, and get out – for free. With their advanced option, I can collect payments immediately from my customers directly when i email them an invoice or collect payment when i see them in person (http://www.paymentboss.com). The two are integrated, so I can easily manage all payments. I don’t have to chase clients, and I create a CRM while using the apps.
2) Basecamp (http://www.basecamphq.com) to manage supplier/manufacturer work flow. Keeps track of our to-do list, generate an idea box, collective location for next season’s jewelry designs, client discussions. No more back and worth
3) Dim Dim (http://www.dimdim.com) for web conferences. Rather than flying out to meet customers or vendors, I can just do it from home. Saves me money and time. What I love the best is its white drawing board optioan. I was conferencing to Chicago, and one of the speakers was drawing on a white board. I obviously couldn’t follow well without seeing the board. Luckily, one of the attendees drew it out for me on Dim Dim and I could understand the meeting.
Please note: This author has been compensated by Sage.
Liz Rice
April 19th, 2010 at 11:59 amUsing an automatic time tracker to find where you’re spending your time is really beneficial.
Full disclosure – I’m doing some work with http://www.qlockwork.com, so I’m bound to be biased in their favour, but I do recommend that if you’re using Outlook, then Qlockwork is a really easy way to track your time.
Ali Erdoğan
April 19th, 2010 at 1:32 pmhttp://www.todoist.com // The best todo application
http://busylissy.com // The best and most simple project management
Time Tracker
April 27th, 2010 at 5:16 pmMy iphone, google calendar and my time tracking/invoicing software TSheets, http://www.tsheets.com. You can’t improve your time management skills or bill clients properly if you don’t know where your time is going.
Karri Flatla
April 27th, 2010 at 6:10 pmGoogle suite of tools (gmail, calendar, reader, etc) and old fashioned pen and paper (notebooks abound in my office).
hyip
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