We all want to be more productive, right? Are you a list person? I am! I also love tools that make doing my job (and life) a little more productive. I wanted to share some of my favorites in case they may be useful in your business or daily life.
One thing to remember, though: a tool is only helpful if you will actually use it and enjoy using it. Don’t just use a tool because someone recommends it. I can’t tell you how many times I have tried a tool or app because someone recommended it, only to have to go unused on my desktop or home screen. Test out different tools until you find what works for you and your life.
Project Management
Asana: Asana lets you easily organize and plan workflows, projects, and more, so you can keep you and your team’s work on schedule. I have used Asana with teams, but also for myself and keeping things organized for different clients. When working with teams you can easily assign tasks to specific people, add due dates and share files.
Trello: Trello lets you work more collaboratively and get more done. Trello’s boards, lists, and cards enable you to organize and prioritize your projects in a fun, flexible and rewarding way. If you like the layout of Hootsuite, and are used to that, Trello will feel familiar.
Wrike: Wrike is a cloud-based collaboration and project management software that scales across teams in any business. It lets you turn your strategy into an actionable plan to achieve success.
Social Media Scheduling
Buffer: This is my preferred social media scheduling tool. It allows you to schedule posts to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Pinterest and Instagram. You can also see analytics and re-post past content with high engagement. There are a variety of plans ranging in price from free to $399/month depending on your needs and how many accounts you need to manage. I also love Buffer’s browser extension that allows you to schedule content as you come across it. Find an article that would make a great post? Click the extension button and schedule it to the right page(s).
Hootsuite: Hootsuite has been around since the beginning of social media scheduling. Hootsuite works well if you are managing social media for just one company. However, I feel it gets a little overwhelming when used for several brands. It all depends on your needs and if you will use it. Hootsuite can be helpful for social monitoring if you have a brand or are in an industry that you want to conduct “social listening” on.
Content Curation
Feedly: Feedly allows you to add multiple content sources to a single feed and also allows you to organize by topic. Rather than visiting individual sites to read the latest content, everything lives in one place. You can then organize, read, and share what matters to you.
Graphic Design
Canva: Canva makes designing graphics for social, email, print and more simple and easy. The drag and drop tool, and pre-formatted templates makes it easy to create graphics that are the right size and will catch your customers’ attention.
Unsplash: Unsplash is a community where photographers have generously donated their exceptional photos to be used by the public. Credit is encouraged, but not required.
To Do Lists
Google Tasks: Manage, capture, and edit your tasks from anywhere, at anytime, with to-dos that sync across all your devices. Integrations with Gmail and Google Calendar help you get tasks done—faster. I love that my to-do list is synched on my phone and in my email so I can access it in multiple places. You can also add due dates and subtasks.
Wunderlist: Wunderlist is a simple task manager app. Whether you’re sharing a grocery list with a loved one, working on a project, or planning a vacation, Wunderlist makes it easy to capture, share, and complete your todos. Wunderlist syncs between your phone, tablet and computer, so you can access all your tasks from anywhere.
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amanda holliday 