"What software can help me to perform better?"

It's a question I often receive so here's a list of productivity apps that I use and that have proven to be very useful for independent professionals. I can certainly recommend them all! 

		Address Book (Part of MacOS X) The default contact application on the Mac currently serves all my needs, with the added benefit that it is totally integrated in the Mac operating system, and is thus used by many other applications.
		AddressBook2CSV (Free) This is a helper app for Address Book that makes it easy to export your contact data in Comma-Seperated-Values, which can be imported in many online applications (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail) and Excel.
		Address Book Sync (Free) This is a helper app for Address Book that easily syncs your contact data with the data from your friends on Facebook.
		AppFresh (Free Beta) This keeps all your Mac software up-to-date! When you run AppFresh on a regular basis, it will automatically find all the updates for your apps and with a single click, you can download and install all updates!
		AppZapper ($12.95) Uninstalling software on the Mac can be done easily by dragging the app to the Trash. But that doesn't install any of the files and preferences that the application put in your system. AppZapper takes care of that.
		Automator (Part of MacOS X) This is one of the hidden gems in MacOS that can make your life a lot easier! Do you perform regular tasks? Then Automator can help you!
		Chrome (Free)  This slik and speedy browser is a must have if you need to access the web fast and efficiently.
		Default Folder X ($ 34.95) This is an extension to your system and helps you to find your files more efficiently and more effectively.
		Dropbox (Free) This is an online file sharing service that seamlessly integrates with Mac and Windows desktops.
		Excel (Office: $ 149.95) Part of the Microsoft Office suite that is essential for working with data. I recommend using Microsoft Office for easy exchange with your clients and colleages (who will most probably use Microsoft Office on their Windows computers).
		Firefox (Free) Currently one of the most popular browser out there, because of its stability and extensibility.
		Flip4Mac (Free) This is a QuickTime plugin that will open and play Microsoft Windows Media Video files.
		Fusion ($ 79.99) This allows you to run Windows software on your Mac, seamlessly. Windows programs can run a bit slow in Fushion, though.
		Growl (Free) This is a system extension that centralizes all the messages and warnings that applications want to send you. Use it to filter and block unwanted notifications so you don't get distracted!
		iCal (Part of MacOS X) This is the calendar application that changed the way people used calenders. iCal allows you to share calendars with others and seamlessly integrates with Apple Mail and Address Book.
		Intellimerge ($ 99.00)  Do you need to send out lots of personalized e-mails? Then Intellimerge will help you to compose text or html e-mails and send them to your contacts. Integrates with Address Book.
		Keychain (Part of MacOS X) Another valuable utility that comes with the MacOS for free! The keychain holds all your passwords, electronic certificates in one system-wide database. Forgot a password for a particular site? Have a look in your keychain application!
		Mail (Part of MacOS X) The default Mail application that comes with your Mac is a powerful mail client. Set up multiple accounts. Automatically filter unwanted messages. Mail has a very powerful search and integrates seamlessly with iCal and Address Book. Mail manages your mail for you so you don't have to!
		Mindmap (€ 169) There are quite a few mindmapping applications for the Mac, but I found ConceptDraw Mindmap the easiest, most efficient for fast and effective mindmapping.
		OmniGraffle Pro ($ 199)  Probably one of the best apps for the Mac! With OmniGraffle Pro, you have a powerful and intuitive tool for all your drawing, mapping, graphing and charting needs! OmniGraffle creates beautiful graphs!
		PathFinder ($39.95) This replaces the Mac's finder with a versatile, multipane file management tool. I now always use PathFinder to organize my files.
		Picturesque ($29.95) This is the app that turns you into a top graphic designer without the need for designing skills. Easily add drop shadows, reflections, borders to your images before you post them on the web!
		Plaxo (Free) This is an online services that keeps your contact data up-to-date. Plaxo integrates with iCal and Address Book to share back-up your data online!
		Powerpoint (Office: $ 149.95) This is probably the best version of Powerpoint that Microsoft has produced so far! I recommend using Microsoft Office for easy exchange with your clients and colleages (who will most probably use Microsoft Office on their Windows computers).
		Preview (Part of MacOS X) Another app that comes free with MacOS X. Preview is actually a very powerful swiss-army-knife app to open, preview and the convert most popular image file formats (PDF, JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, PSD, …).
		Skype (Free) With Skype, you can chat and talk with anyone in the world for free. The Mac version of Skype allows you to share your desktop.
		SpamSieve ($30.00) Do you get a lot of unwanted mail? Then SpamSieve is your way out of the junk! SpamSieve learns which messages are good and which are spam. After a few thousand messages, Spam is something from the past! Integrates with all popular mail clients.
		Tags ($29.00) Online tagging has become a very popular, pragmatic method to add meta-information on the web. So why don't we tag our data instead of trying to decide in which folder to put it? I still have to test this out, but it looks promising!
		TextWrangler (Free) This is a powerful and free app for working with all kinds of text documents.
		Things ($49.95) This little app puts the Getting Things Done methodology at your fingertips. Intuitive and non-intrusive. Integrates with Mail and iCal. Uses tagging. Helps you to put your mind at ease.
		Time Machine (Part of MacOS X) Before Time Machine, backing-up was expensive and often forgotten. Time Machine comes free with your Mac! Lost data is something from the past! I use Time Machine with Apple's Time Capsule for automatic wireless backup.
		VLC (Free) Not really a productivity app. Unless you're spending hours to figure out which movie player you need for that movie you've received from your colleague. VLC is a video swiss-army-knife. Having VLC and Flip4Mac, you can open and play every video file on your Mac!
		Word (Office: $ 149.95) Without question the most widely used word processor. I recommend using Microsoft Office for easy exchange with your clients and colleages (who will most probably use Microsoft Office on their Windows computers).
		Xtorrent Pro ($ 20.00) There are many filesharing clients available. I found Xtorrent to be one the most intuitive, stable and useable torrent apps currently available. Xtorrent allows me to find the content I'm looking for easily. It has an excellent download manager.

With a small investment you can be up and running! Many apps are free and you can try most software before you buy them! So go right ahead and achieve more faster and with less effort!