Being a freelance translator can sometimes feel like a solo venture into the unknown, an exciting but nevertheless daunting prospect! We all have our particular strengths and individual weaknesses, but few of us would decline a little help with some of the more practical aspects of being a freelance translator.

While not every tool on this list will be helpful for every freelance translator, its overall aim is to provide you with resources that could help you significantly increase your productivity (do more…), get organized, work more efficiently, plan your to do items better, and maybe even save some money!

Useful tools

EVERNOTE: It is in the very first spot on this list because it’s awesome and it’s free!

GOOGLE CALENDAR: It could enhance the way you work! It’s a great tool that allows you to share your schedule, access your calendar on the go, and get customizable reminders to help you stay on schedule. You can even choose to be notified by email or get a text message sent right to your mobile phone, for free!

SLIMTIMER: It is a useful free tool for tracking how much time you’ve spent working on a task and even includes the ability to export the reports to coworkers and clients.

DROPBOX: it is an effortlessly brilliant piece of software that syncs your files online, as well as across your computers and handheld devices. You simply put your files into your Dropbox folder on one computer, and they’ll automatically appear on any of your other computers or devices that also have Dropbox installed! Its basic version is free!

MOO: it is a great place to start when thinking about getting yourself some business cards! It has lots of ideas and inspiration for designs as well as some beautiful templates. It’s well worth a look even if you decide to go elsewhere for printing. MOO also boasts a new approach to business card printing called ‘Printfinity’, a unique printing technology that allows you to print a different image on every card in a pack!

XE: For working with an overseas client you may need to handle foreign currencies. XE’s currency converter is a useful tool for accurate currency calculations that features up-to-the-minute currency rates.

BASECAMP: it boldly declares that it’s the top choice for entrepreneurs, freelancers, small businesses, and groups inside big organizations when it comes to project management. It’s focus on simplicity, clarity, and ease of use is excellent, while the depth of functionality is invaluable if you need to collaborate with others on projects!

FAXZERO: For those rare occasions when a client requests a holdable copy of something there’s faxZERO – a simple but useful tool that allows you to send a fax free to anywhere in the U.S. or Canada!

This is in no way an exhaustive list (see full list here), but rather a taster of what’s out there! It would be great if you would share any tools that you’ve found particularly useful as a freelance translator.

See: FreelanceSwitch