I’m a technology magpie, flying around poking and picking up shiny objects. I bring them back to my nest and play with them for a while, trying to decide if they’re worthy of a permanent space on my phone, iPad, or desktop.
To justify my habit, I share what I’ve found. That way I can tell myself I’m doing it “for work.”
Here are the 5 mobile apps that have improved my work productivity.
Sunrise Calendar
I have to admit that I didn’t find this one. My husband did, and it was surprising to me that he was “cheating on” Fantastical, the most recent calendar app we’d fallen in love with. However, Sunrise is even more beautiful than Fantastical. It easily brings together all of your disparate calendars into one interface, and adding events is a breeze. It analyzes the words used in your event titles, and uses appropriate icons (anything with “party” in it triggers a balloon). Did I mention that it’s free?
Yodelay
This cool app does one thing–it helps you stay on top of your search engine rankings. You tell Yodelay which search terms you’re trying to rank for, and it will keep running data on where your site falls in the list. This is useful because it’s difficult to get “pure” unpersonalized information by searching yourself. This one is also free.
Lanyrd
Lanyrd on the desktop is pretty awesome, with conference/event speakers, schedules, attendee lists, and a million ways to connect with them. The mobile app is also extremely useful. Open it up during a conference, and have instant access to your fellow attendees, that conference agenda you left at breakfast, official hashtag, and more. Set up a “want to meet” alert so you never miss out on meeting those important contacts again. It’s free, and available on both iPhone and Android, as well as iPad.
30/30 Task Manager
The 30/30 app is for anyone who needs extra help staying on task. Use it to set up a series of tasks, with estimated completion times, and it will alert you when it’s time to move on to the next task. The interface is easy and fun to use, and knowing there’s a clock ticking down will either spark your competitive juices, or drive you crazy. After some trial and error, I’ve decided that it’s used best for a series of recurring tasks (for example, your wake-up routine).
vSnap
Another handy app is vSnap, a single-purpose app that just makes it crazy easy to send a quick (less than 60 seconds) personal video to your contacts. It differs from Vine or Instagram videos in that it’s meant to be a one-to-one communication. Contacts who receive the videos don’t have to have an account or login, and they simply click a link to see your video. Great for adding a personal touch to your business communications, without having to send a huge file. This one has a free version, but paid upgrades available.