The Tools I Actually Use Every Day as a Freelance Designer

The productivity tools, design apps, and workflow helpers that keep me focused and efficient as a freelancer.

Published on August 11, 2025

Intro

There are a million productivity tools out there. I've tried a lot of them. Most didn't stick.

Here's what did—the stuff I actually use every single day to design, build, think, and stay on top of freelance life.

Figma: My home base. It's open all day, every day. Wireframes, mocks, prototypes, UI kits—everything lives here.
LottieLab + Rive: For lightweight animation. Great for making designs feel more alive without needing After Effects.

Slack: Every client uses it. I mute most channels and check it on my terms.
Apple Notes: Where I jot down meeting notes, draft copy, or drop in links to revisit later. Simple, fast, and searchable.
Apple Calendar: I don't just track meetings—I block off deep work, admin time, and even lunch/gym. Too much? Maybe, but it's my guardrail against overbooking.

Raycast: My spotlight replacement. App launcher, clipboard manager, snippet tool, translator, icon search, calculator… it does everything.
Timing: Automatically tracks how I spend time across tools, files, and sites. Super helpful for understanding where my hours actually go.

Cursor: My dev environment with ChatGPT built in. I use it to build tools, experiment with ideas, and even work on my portfolio site.
v0.app: For spinning up UI layouts and landing pages with AI. Fast, not always perfect, but super useful as a starting point.

ChatGPT: I use it daily—naming things, writing briefs, summarizing meetings, and brainstorming layouts.
Granola: Records and summarizes meetings so I can stay focused and revisit key takeaways later.

Found: Banking, bookkeeping, and taxes all in one. Designed for freelancers and takes a lot off my plate.

Spotify: I've got playlists for deep focus, light admin work, and everything in between.
YouTube Premium: No ads, just tutorials, design talks, DJ mixes, documentaries, and the occasional rabbit hole.
CleanShot X: Screenshots, GIFs, screen recordings, and annotations—all in one clean, fast tool.
Screen Studio: Beautiful, smooth screen recordings with automatic zooms and motion. Great for walkthroughs, tutorials, and showing off product interactions.
Midjourney: I use it to create quick placeholder assets, illustrations, blog visuals, or even mockup ideas. It's great for adding polish without getting stuck.

I've tried some of these, but haven't had a ton of time to dive in deep:

Claude Code: An AI coding assistant that works across projects and languages.
Excalidraw: A freehand-style whiteboard for quick sketches and diagrams.
Play: An iOS-native design tool for prototyping and designing directly on-device.
Zen Browser: A customizable browser aimed at speed and distraction-free browsing.
Spline Hana: A new take on 3D and motion design in the browser.
Subframe: AI-assisted wireframing and design ideation.

If you've used any of these, or have a favorite I should check out, send it my way.

I like tools that:

No bloated dashboards. No 12-click workflows. Just lightweight tools that make freelancing smoother.

This setup keeps me focused, flexible, and (mostly) sane.