15 Days To Freedom Blog Challenge
15 Days to Freedom Blog Challenge - Day 4 - Online Tools and Apps
05:04
Natalie Sisson said this would be challenge and it is certainly living up to it's name! Finding the time to blog is hard! Anyway onto day 4, and I thought I would talk about my nine favourite apps/online tools that help with my business and personal wellbeing. I also think if you are currently in the process of planning your wedding some of these would be a fantastic help. I have put stars next to the ones I think would be most useful.
I have found these tools through word of month, blogs, podcasts, as well as just stumbling upon them.
- Dropbox App and Online *- I don't know where I would be without dropbox! As a user of multiple technologies it is important I can access my documents and files from anyway and dropbox is my saviour. I pay for added storage so I can literally store everything on there. I do have a back up on my computer but cloud computing is the way forward. Plus you can share files with people you are working with anywhere in the world. I would actually be lost if I didn't have this...or at the very least be confused!
- Evernote App and Online* - This is a fantastic piece of kit. It is essentially a digital notebook which is brilliant for me as I can never find piece of paper and pen when I need one, but I always have my phone on me. Evernote can be divided into different 'notebooks' and you can add tags, make presentation slides, clip in photos and much more. I am currently using it for business ideas, shopping lists, recipe planning, holiday planning, event management, password management and taking notes in meetings.
- Hootsuite App and Online - A brilliant free social media management tool, though you can pay to upgrade. This is available as an app and online, though the app doesn't support google+ so I tend to just use it online. Great for monitoring different social feeds and scheduling posts. Though I still recommend checking in with the actual social media platforms from time to time too.
- Facebook Pages Manager App - As much as I love Hootsuite, Facebook Pages has turned into a great little app and is getting better all the time. Facebook do prefer it when you post directly from them, so I try to do both. You can schedule posts, create adverts, check analytics and reply to messages. I find this really valuable as I have removed the main social Facebook app from my phone, it was causing me to many distractions and I ended up going down the black hole of social media! But this way I can keep an eye on my business without finding out what so and so's baby had for dinner last night!
- Phonto App - This is a little app for your phone. I found this by chance as I was looking to watermarking photographs of my cakes before posting them on social media. But this app is so much more, really easy to use and a great range of fantastic fonts. You can add photos and overlay with text and other graphics, or start with a plain background and create super looking inspiration quotes.
- Eraser App - Another app for your phone. I was about to take the plunge and purchase photoshop just so I could cut out an image (crazy I know!), when I came across this great app. It is a bit fiddly but saves buying photoshop and you can create fab cut out images with a little bit of patience.
- Moneydash Board* - I discovered this three months ago and don't know how I lived without it before! It keeps a check on your finances and helpfully compiles weekly reports. You have to use your bank details to sign in but it is all very secure you can't move your money around, you can only view what is going in and out of your account. I urge you to sign up if finances are not your thing!
- Penzu* - This is an online journal. Ever since I was a teenager I have written a journal on and off. About 5 years ago I discovered penzu, as I prefer typing over writing this was the answer for me plus it is neatly, and privately, stored in the cloud. I write when I feel like writing, so not everyday but I particularly use it when I am feeling stressed and have something on my mind I need to bash out. My journal is a bit like my sounding board and helps relax my thoughts.
- Headspace* - This is my newest download. As an entrepreneur I am constantly thinking and buzzing with things to do and new ideas, and needed something to help calm my mind other than penzu. This fantastic app takes you on a journey of meditation for 10 mins a day. I have only just started using it and already I am feeling the benefits.
Other great tools:
- Mailchimp - This is a great tool for creating free of charge professional looking newsletters. It is easy to use and I highly recommend it. My newsletters have sort of gone to pot but I aim to start them up again this year. Hence why this is in other tools and not in the above list.
- Asana* - I have just signed up for this after Natalie Sisson recommended it on her blog. It is a project management tool and so far looks easy to use. I have dabbled with a few project management programmes in the past and found they were often more hassle then they were worth. But this one looks different and as I want to grow my business I need to start implementing these types of tools ready for when I take on staff. However, I am not sure if all this could just been done in Evernote?
I hope you find some of these tools useful for your life. Let me know if you have any tools/apps that really help you too.
Best wishes,
Pia x
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