Productivity Apps That Will Save You Time
Some technology I can handle and sometimes I leave it to the experts. One support person I have in place is my technology guru-Peter Adams of Ping! Development. Whether someone just hacked into my blog post (did you get a blog from me in Polish a few months ago–yep, a hacker, that wasn’t me) or there is a glitch, Peter is the guy I call for the tech issues that go beyond my tech knowledge. He wrote a great blog on productivity apps that work well for him. I wanted to pass along his great advice to you.
–Margo Crawford Productivity Coach and Professional OrganizerFive Productivity Apps That Save My Bacon
By Peter Adams
Ping! Development
These days, nobody leaves their house without their smart phone and technology drives everything. Personally, I rely on it to make sure I know what my plans are for the day and what I need to get done. Here are a few of the apps where I spend the most time.
Feedly
I’m a bit of a news junkie, but I don’t like have to go into five or six apps or twenty different Web sites to look at the news of the world, geek culture, or the latest alerts. I use Feedly to bring all my news feeds into one spot. They have a number of news feeds in their directory, but if you know the RSS feed address for anything, you can add it. From there, I can keep track of what’s happening in the world and share the great stories with my friends or through my business social media pages. Which brings me to my next app..
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is the best app available for digital marketing. I use the Web site periodically (mostly to make sure my posts get scheduled on Google+ since the mobile app doesn’t support posting to Google+), but I can share links through Hootsuite directly from almost any app, but I’m usually doing it through Feedly. The best part about Hootsuite is that I can auto-schedule my posts so I don’t randomly saturate my social media pages when I happen to be looking at the news. Hootsuite will automatically pick the most ideal time to post the link for maximum impact.
Google Calendar
Whether you’re an iPhile or part of the Droid army, Google Calendar is my calendar of choice. More than once I’ve been caught off guard when a colleague says “see you tomorrow morning!” and I reply with “For what?”. I rely on Google Calendar to tell me where I need to be and keep appointments straight, so I don’t tend to know where I’m going for the day until that morning. I add all my appointments to Google Calendar while I’m standing next to (or on the phone with) the other party and let the reminders pop up.
LastPass
I have to remember a lot of passwords. Well, not really. I just have to remember my LastPass password and then let LastPass fill in my login forms. I’m never hunting around for the password or cycling through the usual suspects until I get the right password and that saves me quite a bit of time. LastPass is free for use on any desktop or laptop. For the privilege of using it on mobile devices (including tablets), it’s a modest $15 per year. The best part, you can generate random passwords so you aren’t reusing passwords and that makes your data more secure.
CrashPlan
I really don’t spend a lot of time in CrashPlan and it’s not exactly a mobile app, but I can’t not mention this app. For $60 per year, I can backup as many computers as I want (which means my laptop, my servers, anything). Included in that price is 500 GB of online storage and it’s got a pretty simple interface so anyone can install the backup client on their computer. I found out just how great a job the app does when I had to reinstall my laptop operating system. All my project files, code, presentations, and application configurations came back as fast as everything could download. If you aren’t backing up, you’re asking for trouble.
There will be times when we need apps to make our lives run more smoothly. What apps have you used that have ‘saved your bacon?’
Peter Adams of Ping! Development
Ping! Development is a Phoenix-area software development firm, specializing in custom Web and mobile applications, Web design, and mobile marketing strategy. We work with small businesses to create the channels they will use to successfully connect with their customers and teach them how to use them effectively. Peter is a native of Colorado, he was graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Management Information Systems.Check out all that he and his company has to offer at Ping! Development.
Margo Crawford is a Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer with Wave Productivity. She works with entrepreneurs, small business owners and business professionals to help them get more focused, organized and productive in their workplace. She coaches by phone nationally and in person in Phoenix, Providence and Massachusetts. If you want to get more organized in your office and in your home call 602-677-8275 or email [email protected]