For freelancers, self-employed people and individuals working in creative fields, your mobile device is one of the most important tools in your business kit. It is where you store ideas, send emails, accept payments, market yourself; it literally is a tiny business centre in the palm of your hands. But one thing many people overlook is that your phone can be a source of creativity, inspiration and actual creation.

In continuation with my series of posts in partnership with Freedom Mobile, I’m sharing how I get creative with my iPhone X and some of the apps I use regularly to create my content. Since I’ve been with Freedom Mobile and using the iPhone X, I’ve seen my on-the-go creativity increase exponentially. No longer having to worry about overage charges thanks to the great phone plans and data packages available at Freedom (like the one I’m using – 10 GB for $50/month), I’m free to create at will and am constantly creating and posting on the go.

I recently came across a quote from writer Morgan Harper Nichols that really summed up where all of our (our, being content creators) personal pursuits of creativity should be going in 2019:

This is the season she will make beautiful things. Not perfect things but honest things that speak to who she is and who she is called to be. - Morgan Harper Nichols

This quote spoke to me because one of the challenges I find with creativity is that my ideas get clouded by the idea of perfectionism. I strongly believe that perfectionism is just another form of procrastination because my ideas won’t ever reach fruition as a strive for perfection on first shot. So, how does this relate to my topic of on-the-go creativity? Well, first of all I’ve been pushing myself to actually create more content while on-the-go. When you don’t have the luxury of sitting in front of your computer screen, with Photoshop at your fingertips, you are forced to let go of the overthinking that can occur with creating content. You just have to use the tools at hand, your own talents and just let it go. So, in by pushing myself to create more photos/videos/content while in-the-moment, I’m also learning to let go of my perfectionism and see that it is possible create beautiful things in fleeting moments.

I find that the apps I use the most for creating content are pretty straightforward and intuitive to use - and are also a lot of fun. Like any app, you should spend some time watching any tutorials they offer up on their websites or clicking around the different features.

I have been using Color Story for years now for editing and filtering my photos. I find that they are my go-to app for retouching photos with the least amount of editing steps. You can add filters, edit the colours, add bokeh and light leaks. I mostly use the Flashes of Light filter pack, specifically the Carrie filter; I love the bright, clean exposure on it - it just gives my photos a little something extra.

I love using Adobe Lightroom on my phone as well as on my desktop computer. I’ve used Photoshop for years since taking photography in art school but it is so nice to be able to use Lightroom which saves me a lot of time on editing - especially when I am working on something fairly straightforward. The app is fantastic for doing edits on your photography; you can control absolutely every single element of exposure, colour, cropping and more.

InShot makes it really easy to make cool Instagram story templates on your phone without having to edit within the Instagram app. It has everything from custom collage layouts to cool backgrounds and video filters and text options, you can create to your heart’s content in this app.

If you’ve never used KiraKira+ but love a little bit of extra sparkle in your life, I recommend you check out the app. Picking up on reflective light in your photos and videos, KiraKira+ is a fun little extra editing step to add some life to your content. Pro-tip: Works a miracle on a disco ball!

Planoly is an Instagram post scheduling app but I mostly just use it to plan out how my Instagram grid will look. There is a free version or a paid version where you can play around with configurations as much as you want. It also can schedule and post your next Instagram post for you - however I did read something recently about how publishing from a third party scheduling app can actually affect how your photo shows up in the algorithm. I always just post directly to Instagram after planning my content.

I have another blog post coming out talking about how I use Freedom Mobile and the iPhone X to connect with family, keep track of health and wellness as well as enjoy entertainment apps like Spotify, Netflix and YouTube. What is your favourite app for your downtime?

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This post is in partnership with Freedom Mobile. All words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep this blog full of fresh content.

Photos by Lori Andrews of 10 Cent Studio.