I used to track my work with a notebook, but switching to a simple spreadsheet changed my game

Emma Morgan · 2026-04-05T13:05:06.112834+00:00

For my first two years freelancing, I wrote down every project, hour, and payment in a physical notebook. I thought it was fine until tax time came and I spent a full weekend digging through pages. A friend in my co-working space said to just use a Google Sheet. I set one up with columns for client name, project date, amount, and if I got paid. It took maybe 20 minutes. Now I know exactly how much I made from each client, I can see who pays slow, and doing my taxes took an hour instead of a weekend. The difference is having the info right there to sort and add up, not hidden in scribbles. Has anyone else found a simple tool that saved them a huge headache?

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I used to track my work with a notebook, but switching to a simple spreadsheet changed my game | Freelance Survival - nhfree.com