7 Underestimated Productivity Apps
Everyone shares the same 24 hours in a day. Yet it seems that some people accomplish a lot more than others in the same time. Ever wondered why? It’s probably because they’re using apps that help them be more productive.
Here are 7 productivity apps you need to be using right now.
Trello
In a world of messy scraps of paper the post-it note is king. Trello takes the tried-and-tested method of sticking post-it notes to a board to plan a schedule or event and places it on your computer screen. No glue or pins required!
Trello can be shared with other users and edited by groups together in real-time. It’s a fantastic, vibrant and easy to use app that makes life so much less complicated!
Paper Rater
A really simple online grammar, spelling and plagiarism checker – basically an online proofreader. It’s great for a quick scan through before sending long or important emails, and it can give detailed feedback if you’re writing something more substantial.
Google Calendar
Available on the cloud and syncs with all major apps and devices. I share some calendars with team members, some with my line-manager and some with my wife. This helps me to see my whole world in context and to communicate with those I need to.
By using the calendar widget on my phone I can create or edit an appointment in seconds. This means I can do it during conversations and meetings and not have to remember it again. Finally, as it emails me my daily schedule each morning, I can always plan accordingly.
Mailchimp
Mailchimp is a cheeky little monkey that goes around delivering your emails for you! More specifically, it is an automated mail out program that connects up with your database, RSS feed or blog. You can automate Mail chimp to send updates to all your clients at your convenience.
A little bit of setup work is all that you need, and if you sync it up with subscription widgets then you won’t even have to add names to the mailing list manually. Brilliant!
Dropbox
Dropbox (or Google Drive, for a good alternative) is online flash storage. I keep everything on this so I can access anything I need from wherever I am – even if I’ve only got my smartphone.
By utilizing sharing you can allow access to specific documents for other users to edit together in real time without making crazy amounts of duplicates. You can also share files by creating Dropbox links and emailing them to people, saving both the time and inbox space that come with usual attachments.
Dropbox comes with 2GB, but you can expand this quite a long way for free (I have 25GB free). Paying for a premium account with extra storage can be a great investment also!
Evernote
Evernote is a simple, cloud based notes tool that I use for just about everything. I can type, photograph, video or record anything and save it as a note.
With its use of tags and folders it’s easy to search and maneuver files. You can access it online, sync it with other note software and operate it easily from your smartphone.
Evernote also comes with a dedicated email address so you can email notes directly into its notebooks without having to open the program. Syncing it with Google Calendar means you can have a note opened, labeled, tagged, organized and saved with an accompanying date within 5 seconds of picking up your phone.
Twuffer
If you use social media to market, then automation is your very best friend! Twuffer allows you to automate and schedule all your tweets in advance – something I do once a month with the help of my calendar. This reminds my team and clients what’s happening without me having to worry. Twuffer – unlike other tweet schedulers – does not add to or change anything in your tweet.
