"Admin" ... what a dreaded word. It's like Beetlejuice: say it three times and the spirit of a BNI rep comes to haunt you. I'm only kidding, BNI.
Seriously, though, as a freelancer, you wear all the hats of a business - sales, marketing, networking, and more. You do it all. During my time freelancing as a web designer, I've explored various methods to streamline admin tasks and make them less time-consuming, as I want to focus on what I'm most passionate about. In that time, I've found five tools I simply can't live without.
Here's my list of those tools and how I use them in my work.
Asana
Project management, goal setting, CRM, resource tracking - there are many uses for Asana in your day-to-day work. Bonus: the free version offers a lot, especially if you're working solo. Things get more limiting when you start introducing workflows and extra team members.
How I use Asana:
- Sales pipeline: possibly my greatest use for Asana. Without it, I'd undoubtedly lose track of communications with clients and new leads. Set up a board view with columns such as New Lead, Follow Up, Send Invoice — you get the idea. Move clients between columns to track their journeys. This helps visualise where you might be struggling or succeeding in sales and marketing.
- Project management: at the start of each project, I set up a space so I can keep track of tasks and goals. On some projects, I even invite clients into the space if they're more involved. For example, if I need them to send copy or images, I can assign that task, and they can see the overall project progress.
Calendly
I didn't realise how much time I was spending in conversations that start with "When works best for you?" Have you ever had those back-and-forths that last a couple of days before you finally find a date and time?
Here's the obvious solution:
I have a 30-minute one-to-one meeting set up in Calendly that I send to people with a message like, "Here’s my Calendly link so you can pick a time that suits you." I once booked seven calls after a networking event with this simple setup. The messages only took about 20 minutes to send.
This also works great to find out where people are connecting with you from. Add a question to the booking page that asks how they found you: website, word of mouth, networking, socials, etc. See which outreach channels are working best.
Google Calendar
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-calendar-get-organized/id909319292
If it's not in the calendar, it ain't happening - usually because I forget otherwise. Schedule tasks, set reminders for meetings, colour-code projects for extra organisation and a sexy-looking calendar. Yes, I said sexy.
How to do it:
Think of every admin and marketing task you need to complete each week. Feeling overwhelmed? Break it down: estimate how long each task takes and schedule it into your calendar. For example, my admin tasks take at most one hour, so I schedule that on Tuesday mornings and set a 30-minute reminder for each task. The week before, I move tasks around depending on projects and events. Connect your Calendly - now things start to come together. Calendly can connect to your calendar so people can't book meetings during your scheduled task times. Just make sure to connect your different calendars in the Calendly settings.
Toggl Track
Earlier, I mentioned setting time aside for tasks. With Toggl Track, you can figure out exactly how long tasks take and see where improvements can be made. Other apps like Clockify work too; any app that tracks time will do.
How to set up:
- Create different projects: the app lets you create and assign projects each time you start timing. I have client projects plus Admin, Marketing, Research, etc. This way, I can view the time spent in each area and consider how to reduce it.
- Set billable hours: note, this requires a paid plan. It's useful when clients pay by the hour. Start the timer, work, stop the timer, and now you have accurate billable hours.
Zapier
Oh, my favourite part: automating to bring it all together. Forgive me - things are about to get nerdy.
Zapier connects apps and creates custom automations. Even on a free plan, the possibilities are worth the time investment to build workflows and speed up your process.
Examples of automations for the tools above:
- Asana & Calendly: connect Calendly to your sales pipeline in Asana so new meetings are added straight to your pipeline without manual input. You can filter by meeting types so only selected meetings are added. Bonus: Details from answered Calendly questions can be added to the pipeline.
- Asana project creation & client communication: This can also be done in paid Asana, but with Zapier, you can automate tasks like sending invoices, survey forms, or creating a project in Asana when a task is completed. For example, move a client to "Send Invoice" in your pipeline, complete the task, and Zapier can send the invoice automatically.
- Google Calendar & Asana: filter events you create so whenever you book networking events or outreach opportunities, they are added to Asana — either to your pipeline or another section like task reminders to follow up with connections.
- Toggl Track & Google Calendar: using Zapier, add detailed events to your calendar whenever you complete time entries. This lets you compare the time you set aside with the actual time a task takes.
This is just the start of what automations can do for your workflow, and there are plenty of other apps you can connect using Zapier.
Fancy learning more or need help setting up these workflows for your business? Get in touch with me for help.
If you put these tools together, you'll shave off hours each week and start becoming a more productive freelancer.