In today’s digital age, we are bombarded with hundreds of new and so-called “innovative” ways to make our life easier, to make our business run more efficiently, to increase our productivity, blah blah blah. But do they really help? We decided to take a deeper dive into this world of “productivity applications” so you don’t have to. Below are some mostly free (or paid if you are a big baller) apps for business that will drive your productivity, efficiency and collaboration both at home and at work to new levels. These are the business apps we came up with:
Scheduling:
Doodle: How many times have you tried to schedule a meeting with a group of people sending countless emails back and forth, each suggesting times that work or don’t work for a meeting? This is not only time consuming, but also frankly a pain in the ass. Worry no more! Doodle makes scheduling a meeting simple and easy! The best part is you don’t need everyone to sign up for an account to make it work. All you do is input everyone’s email, suggest a bunch of times, and let everyone choose the ones that work best for them. In no time flat, you will have a time that works perfect for the group. A complete scheduling game changer!
Email:
Unroll.me: One simple question, who likes spam? Is that even a question? We all know the answer, NOBODY. But we all get hundreds, and thousands into our box that take up valuable time, space and become a huge pain each and every day. Well worry no more. Unroll me allows you to toss all that junk email out of your inbox with just one click. How it works is it identifies all the subscription emails you are “opted in” to, neatly organizes them for you, then allows you to decide which ones you want and which ones you want the heck out of your inbox. Trust me, your inbox will never be cleaner!
Mailbox: Unlike Unroll.me, Mailbox is a brand new look on your email inbox. If you are like most of the world, you probably spend more time then you‘d like getting to, replying and managing your emails each and every day. Mailbox has come along, and although it’s only for mobile at the time, it makes your email much easier to manage. From its modern redesigned interface to ease of use, this app turns your boring old inbox into a supermodel!
Online Meetings:
Join.me: How often do you have to set up an online meeting and share screens? If you are like us, the answer is all the time. The problem with many solutions on the market today is that all parties have to download, register or install a particular software to collaborate online. Not anymore. Join.me allows you to quickly show someone what you are working on directly from your desktop without having him or her download software or be a member of a particular program. Join.me allows you to open a browser, go to their website and share your screen with anyone you want. All you do is provide others with your “private” code and boom…. they quickly see what you want on your screen!
Skype: In this day and age, we are communicating with people around the world like they are sitting right in front of us. Most people have heard of or used Skype, but not a lot of people use all the functionality that is available to them. Skype is literally the most popular video service on the market today and is also available on iPhone, iPad and Android. Chances are most professionals you come in contact with have a Skype account. The key benefit that I want to touch on is the amount of money it could save you on long distance phone calls. You no longer have to incur those overseas calls! Just set up a Skype call and it is completely free! If you are an international business or even someone with friends and family overseas, there is no reason you should be paying for any international phone bills!
Digital Storage:
Google Docs: Google did not let us down with Google Docs. I mean, it integrates with Google’s entire ecosystem, which in my opinion, is the heart of the Internet! Google Docs provides file sharing and collaboration tools that let users easily work on shared projects. From spread sheets, to slide shows, to word documents, Google Docs offers a one-stop solution for collaborative work online.
DropBox: How many times have you tried to send someone an attachment but it was too large to send? Or have you ever had your computer crash and lost all the important documents that were on your hard drive? Well Dropbox has changed the game when it comes to cloud storage. You can now bring your documents, photos, and videos to a digital storage to share or store to make your life much easier. Imagine it as your online locker, except you can access it anywhere! This app is great for both personal and business!
Social Media Management Tool
Hootsuite: Getting a few likes or shares on social media is great, but saving time managing all your social networks is even better. Hootsuite allows users a real time social media dashboard to monitor and post to all their networks simultaneously. From Twitter, to Facebook, all the way down to FourSquare, Hootsuite takes care of it all! You can write, send, schedule and track posts from one place. If this does not save you time, move on to the next section!
Note Taking:
Dragon Dictation: If you are a slow typer or a fast talker, or simply hate typing millions of keystrokes a day, this is the app for you. It turns what you say (or dictate) into text. Picture this, your computer just turned into your personal secretary who listens to every word you say and writes it down for you so you don’t have to. Your hands and fingers will thank Dragon Dictation for taking the manual labor out of typing.
Evernote: This is a great app for organizing and keeping track of everything that you come across online. Their goal is “to help the world remember everything, communicate effectively and get things done.” Trust us, it really does. From saving your thoughts and ideas in their note section, to making to-do lists, to saving webpage and articles of interest, Evernote helps with their collection of apps.
Wrap Up
Life is short and time is precious for small business owners! Trust us when we say these are just a few of thousands of apps for businesses on the market today. We would love to hear what apps and productivity softwares you use and how to make our lives more productive!