Reviewed & Fact-checkedAs a freelancer, you’ve got a lot to do: you have to reach out to potential clients, pitch them, keep your skills and portfolio up-to-date, develop new offerings, track your time, bill clients, and of course do the work that will get you paid.
While the day-to-day challenges of a freelancer can be tremendous, they can also be alleviated with something as simple as using a freelance planner.
It can be either a digital or printed planner, and the formats and designs that are available are as diverse as the needs of your business.
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Most planners are affordable, easy to use, and extremely helpful. If you’re on the lookout for a quality freelance planner, we have compiled a list of our top 8 recommendations for the best planners for freelancers. Some people prefer paper and some others prefer digital planners so we have included options for both preferences. Enjoy!
Best Printed Planners for Freelancers
Freelancer’s Daily Log for Projects and Time
Would you like to simplify your time tracking and invoicing processes? If the answer is yes, then the Freelancer’s Daily Log should be your freelance planner of choice.
It’s characterized by a clean design for entries, the convenient size, and the fact that it allows you to track up to four projects at the same time. It’s a perfect fit for on-the-go projects, since job tracking on paper is often easier than digital workflow tracking. Learn more here.
Vanguard Pocket Dateless Planner Set
The beautiful and functional Vanguard Pocket Dateless Planner Set from Baron Fig (link to coupon code). I wanted to include a second option that provides freedom and control. These pretty pocket notebooks have just the basic layout for month and week, and the rest is in your hands. You can use them as datebooks, task managers, or daily journals.
They are just $14 and you can get them here. (Remember to get your coupon code here first.)
Freelancer 2021-2024 Planner
This 4-Year Planner is a versatile product that will adapt to many different uses: from calendar and to-do lists, to a client feedback log. It will actually support as many uses as your creativity permits, and will have you covered from January 2021 to December 2024.
It’s elegant design and high-quality materials make of it one of those products you really want to use daily. Another perk is that it has 50 extra un-calendared pages for you to use as needed. Learn more here.
2022: Weekly Planner
You will love this classic freelance planner because it has plenty of space, allowing you to put one planned week on two pages. It also includes yearly and monthly reference calendars.
The weekly approach makes it perfect for managing reminders, appointments, and tasks that are tied to specific dates. The beautiful matte finish on the cover is a plus. 😉
2022 Passion Planner
The beautiful cover is just the beginning of the wonders the Passion Planner can provide.
The monthly and weekly layouts are mind-blowing. They have unique sections like “Good things that happened”, “Daily Focus”, and your monthly reflection section. I loved it!
You can also expect:
- Faux Leather Hardcover
- Printed On Sustainably Sourced Paper
- 40 additional pages (20 blank and 20 dotted pages)
For every planner sold they donate $1 to benefit ARTS (A Reason to Survive), their non-profit partner whose mission is providing empowering arts programming to South Bay San Diego youth.
The Passion Planner also comes in lots of different styles. You can see them all here.
Best Digital Planners for Freelancers
Of course, not everyone wants to tote around a physical notebook or freelance planner in order to track their appointments, to-do lists, or other important tasks. So we’ve also included a few of our favorite to-do apps and planner apps below. For even more ideas, try reading our article on productivity apps for freelancers.
Todoist.com
More than just a digital to-do list, Todoist is very complete for you to manage your projects and freelance business. It can help you divide your items in projects, add tags, set recurring tasks and reminders, collaborate with team members or clients, and more. Something that I really like about it is the fact that it allows you to sync your projects everywhere from PC to Mac, from Android phone to iPhone, to Apple Watch and many more. It’s important to note that the free version is very useful by itself and that the premium version is very affordable.
If it sounds like something that would fit you, get started for free.
TeuxDeux
Something unique about this digital planner is that it helps you focus on the present – which in my opinion helps you become more productive – by providing a view that makes you address the items that you need to complete today and schedule the rest for a future date.
There is no doubt as to why their motto is, “Stash plans for later, so you stay focused now.”
I recommend this tool for people that prefer to follow a minimalist approach or that prefer to keep their view as clean as possible.
Claim your FREE month of TeuxDeux.
Any.do
Any.do works in a very similar way to Todoist and TeuxDeux. Something that makes it outstanding is the number of integrations it provides. As I mentioned at the beginning, some people prefer paper and pen and some others prefer to use their iPad or phone. In my opinion Any.do takes it to the next level by providing WhatsApp reminders, geolocation reminders, and synchronizing with Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and all of this:
On a yearly plan every month is less than $3 – I heard they are currently offering a great deal so I would suggest you head to www.any.do if you are interested.
That wraps up our list of freelance planners
Okay freelancers, we have come to the end of our list of planners for freelancers.
Remember that your freelance career will be funner and more rewarding as you implement the principles we laid out today. So get your favorite planner and let’s get to work!
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