Freelancing is getting more and more popular with each passing year. It is estimated that about 55 million people (that's roughly 35% of the US workforce) were freelancing in 2016, and this number has most likely grown since then.

In other words, there's a good chance your recipient is freelancing as well, which gives you a whole lot of opportunities to pick a fabulous gift for them!

Don't worry if you don't know where to start: in this gift guide for freelancers, we'll be covering everything from A to Z.

Types of freelancers

This step is optional, but it might save you a lot of time, so take a couple minutes to think it through.

In the report linked at the beginning of the article, there's an interesting classification of freelancers by their involvement in their freelancing jobs:

• Independent contractors are full-time freelancers. They don't have "traditional" jobs and find their own gigs instead, working with one or multiple employers at the same time. The majority of independent contractors work from home so any gift that would seriously improve their productivity and comfort at home will be greatly appreciated. We'll call them "contractors" throughout this article, for the sake of simplicity.
• Diversified workers have a traditional job that usually doesn't take much time (think 20 hours a week or so), but neither brings the desired amount of money, so they do freelancing. This type of recipients may benefit a lot from learning courses to step up their freelance game and maybe even go full-time eventually. We'll refer to them as just "workers" throughout this guide.
• Moonlighters have a serious traditional job that takes a lot of time, leaving just the night for extra earning and that's where the term comes from. Staying awake for them is crucial and not always easy, so that's a great thing to focus on.
• Freelance business owners are basically freelancers with freelancers of their own. Like a writer with several assistants for research and formatting, or a photographer with someone who takes care of the photo editing. A Boss who is also a freelancer, something like that.
• Temporary workers are, well, temporary freelancers. They may have been invited to a short gig for extra money, but they don't plan on working like that for long. Most likely, as soon as the gig is over, they will return to their traditional jobs with no additional freelancing. We won't be particularly covering this type of freelancers in this article, since they are in a temporary position; most likely, you'd better focus on their hobbies and passions than on their freelance work.

That said, let's jump straight to action!

Productivity-boosting gifts for freelancers

Productivity depends on a whole lot of things: comfort, motivation, planning, discipline, the technical means to get stuff done... And that's just the tip of the iceberg. In this section, we'll focus on gifts that may seriously boost your recipient's performance regardless of whether he or she is a writer, a designer, or a web developer.

1. An Ergonomic Office Chair

The vast majority of freelancers work with digital stuff, from writing texts and code to drawing art and creating music. This translates to an insane amount of time sitting in front of a computer or laptop.  Staying productive when your back feels like hell is borderline impossible, and a quality chair is a real lifesaver.

Particularly great for: freelancers with Back Problems ,  freelancers (or even  Senior freelancers). But, all in all, a quality office chair would be great for a younger freelancer as well, especially to avoid health problems in the future.

2. A Laptop Bed Table

If you don't have a laptop bed table yourself, you really don't know how much you're missing out. Really. This is the kind of thing you rarely consider buying for yourself, but once you get it from someone... Oh, the bliss. It's like bringing all your productivity from the table to the bed. Also, it makes watching movies in bed much more enjoyable.

Particularly great for: pretty much everyone, but a  Writer or an Artist may be extra happy to get a laptop bed table. It's kind of tricky to type or draw effectively in bed, so a portable laptop desk instantly fixes this nuisance. Note that this gift may not be the best option for a moonlighter, since it will be pretty hard for them to stay awake and productive in bed.

 

 

 

3. An Air Conditioner or Fan / Space Heater or Warm Clothes

Have you ever tried working in a hot stifling room? That's a borderline impossible feat, and no productivity hack or habit can help with that. Seriously. If your recipient lives in a hot area or if it's currently  Summer , consider giving them something to survive the heat. The top-tier option, in this case, would be a quality air conditioner, but that's not the only way to go: a simple fan would already make a huge difference.

The other side of the coin is chilly environment: it's hard to be productive and creative when you're freezing cold. If your recipient doesn't get along well with cold weather, especially during Winter , consider giving them a warming gift! It can be an indoor space heater or, for example, a pair of cozy warm socks, fingerless gloves, or a fancy scarf.

Particularly great for: in the first case, that would be freelancers who  Sweats a lot and generally don't tolerate heat well. In the second case, we're talking about freelancers who often have  Cold hands / feet .

Time-saving gifts for freelancers

You know, time is money. The whole point of all the gifts in this section is to liberate the recipient from as many bothersome everyday tasks as possible so that he or she could focus more on the work that matters. Note that the items below are pretty much essential things for any working adult, but freelancers will benefit from them much, much, so much more. They work at home, so to them, home-related chores may feel like overtime hours at a regular office. Help them out!

4. A Robotic Vacuum Cleaner (Robovac)

I don't know about you, but I hate cleaning the floors. Doing the dishes? No prob. Laundry? Sure. Pretty much anything else around the house? Bring it on! Cleaning the floors? Oh, God, please... Without exaggeration, if someone had given me a robovac as a gift, I'd be eternally grateful to that person from the bottom of my heart. An automatic vacuum cleaner is a dream gift for almost any person, but homeworking freelancers would be especially delighted to have one. 

Particularly great for:  Cats and Dogs owners, for obvious reasons (read: hair everywhere).

5. A Dishwasher

Besides being a fabulous thing in itself, a dishwasher translates to MONTHS of extra time that your recipient wouldn't have to invest in doing the dishes. The alternative is eating from single-use plates with single-use cutlery but that's just sad (we don't judge, though). If your recipient usually eats at home, a dishwasher is an absolute must-have to save time and work more productively.

Particularly great for: married freelancers and freelancers with kids. More people = more dishes = more time needed.

6. A Subscription to Meal Delivery Services

Just like a dishwasher saves time by doing the dishes, a meal delivery service can make the cooking for your favorite freelancer. Basically, by chosing this option you'll be giving your recipient the gift of time saved through not cooking food and not washing dishes, since the meals are delivered in their own single-use containers. Double the benefits! On the other hand, such services can be quite expensive, so if you're not ready to waste a lot on your gift, better think of another option.

Particularly great for:  Foodie   freelancers, obviously. It's a shame having to choose between your favorite work AND your favorite meals!

7. Coffee, coffee, coffee stuff

For most of us, a good cup of coffee is essential for productive work. When it comes to freelancers, this is even more important since a great part of the job falls into the night hours. To stay awake and get things done, we just need this black gold, and that's a great opportunity for all sorts of fabulous gifts:

• A coffee subscription (delicious blends delivered monthly, bi-monthly, or even weekly)
• A coffee machine or a portable espresso maker
• Just a pack of good coffee is great as well

Depending on your budget and creativity, there are hundreds of coffee-related options to go with, so start with our Coffee tag for more inspiration.

Particularly great for: moonlighters, first and foremost. Same goes for people who have trouble staying awake for long and get sleepy easily.

Essential work-related gifts for freelancers

The abovementioned gifts can greatly influence one's work, but now we're gonna dig even deeper. Without the items that will discuss in this section, productive work is almost impossible even if you're a talented professional, so listen close to what your recipient tells you about his or her life. If you notice that they're missing something from the list below and you can afford to give it to them - BINGO, that's the perfect gift.

• A reliable laptop
• A pair of headphones (preferably wireless)
• A speaker system (bluetooth speakers are also a great option)
• A backpack or bag to carry their laptop
• A hard-drive for all that data backups and a USB flash drive for the minor stuff
• A graphics tablet (especially great for artists, but other freelance jobs can seriously benefit from this item as well)
• A quality notebook (preferably with dotted, squared, or blank pages; lined pages aren't very usable) AND a good yearly/monthly/weekly planner
• A desk organizer to keep the workplace work-friendly and inspiring

Hard mode: educational gifts for freelancers

Let's level up the difficulty a little bit here, because the impact of gifts from this category can really be astounding. After all, the right skill or piece of information can be worth thousands of dollars for a freelancer, while this information itself doesn't always cost a fortune.

These are the main options to consider:

• Online courses are the most solid option. Platforms like Udemy offer hundreds of courses for all sorts of professions, and there are usually a lot of user reviews that will help you pick the best product.
• Professional books are a bit trickier, but they come with that precious feeling of a physical product that online courses don't give. You can't wrap a digital product, after all. :)
• Tickets to live workshops, courses, and master classes are like a top-tier version of online courses. They offer that unique feeling of personal commitment and involvement, but also come along with many risks that may jeopardize the experience.

Recreational & fun gifts for freelancers

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, all play and no work makes Jack a mere toy. In other words, to stay productive and creative, it's extremely important to maintain a healthy balance between work and fun. This is especially important if your recipient is a  Workaholic that rarely engages in anything besides his job. Help them escape the working routine by focusing on heir most beloved Hobby (check out our collection of hobby tags)!

The options here are virtually endless: some freelancers would prefer a PC game, the more active folks would enjoy a piece of quality sports equipment, or a board game, or even just a bottle of gin. If the work-related and work-enhancing gifts above aren't quite what you want to give your recipient, then focusing on his or her Hobbies is absolutely the right way to go.

The Bottom Line

As you see, giving a fabulous present to your favorite freelancer isn't that hard: just focus on what could make their life easier, their work more effective, and their rest more enjoyable. All of these components are essential for true growth (both personal and professional), and that's really the best gift you can ever give.