As a freelancer, I’m on my own to manage projects, invoice my customers, repair the equipment, etc. I couldn’t do the stuff I do without a small army of apps to help me out, so I’m going to start posting about the Employee of the Month around here.
This month it’s Tadalist.
Tadalist is a free product from 37signals, the makers of Basecamp, Backpack, Highrise, etc. I think I might just let it speak for itself here.
Screenshot of a sample list in tadalist
Many times I do web work that might not be noticeable to my clients at first glance. I might spend a day setting up Google Analytics, installing WordPress plug-ins, optimizing the graphics they gave me so they load faster on the web, fiddling with DNS, proofreading their past blog posts for typos or editing them to enhance their SEO. At the end of the day, my client might ask “What did you do on my site today?!” and all I have to tell them is blah blah HTML blah blah CSS plugin conflict blah blah blah.
Enter Tadalist.
I can make a checklist in English and share it with my client via email. They can get in to see it, edit it, and watch progress via RSS or by returning to the list. They can add to the list without setting up a user account & password! Now if my client wonders what is going on today, or how much is left until launch, all they have to do is check the tadalist. It also has a sweet looking iPhone interface, so its worth adding to your homescreen.
Be sure to email it to yourself before you share it as a backup, and good luck keeping a clear and open communication with your clients. They’ll thank you for it!
