Attention Pays,
Neen
I do not have a techie bone in my body, yet I find myself relying more and more on my phone to keep me organized. With the New Year, and promises of better, more productive selves around the corner, I thought I would share the apps that make my hectic life run a little smoother.
1. Instacart: I started using Instacart a few months ago, and it is by far the best app/service I discovered all year. Instacart is a grocery delivery service that connects you to a personal shopper who goes to your favorite market (mine is Whole Foods). You order your groceries online, and they are delivered to your door within a few hours. I love to cook but hate grocery shopping, especially on the weekends when the stores are so overly crowded. With Instacart, I can sit at my desk, with my cookbooks and list and only order what I need. I paid an annual fee initially that has already paid for itself, and you tip the shopper. Even if I end up spending a little more than I would in the store, I save so much time and sanity. Plus, I get stuff done around the house or work while I wait, making me extra productive.
2. Open Table: I’m always surprised when someone doesn’t have Open Table on their phone. It makes grabbing dinner reservations anywhere in the country easy peasy. I use mine constantly, often within minutes of wanting to walk in somewhere.
3. TripIt: If you travel frequently, TripIt is for you. TripIt allows you to keep your itinerary organized. It’s super easy to use. Once you make your hotel reservation, forward the email to Tripit, and it automatically updates your agenda. Do the same with your flight information, car service, etc. On the day of your trip, everything you need, from your reservations to your boarding pass, is in one place.
4. Uber: I use Uber all the time. From airport pick-ups to nights that go a little too late with a little too much wine, it makes getting safely from point A to point B easy.
5. Circle of 6: Circle of 6 was originally designed for college-aged women, to help keep them safe on campus. Essentially, it’s an app that lets you send a message to 6 individuals of your choosing. For example, one message reads, “Call and pretend you need me. I need an interruption.” It also sends your GPS coordinates. Every woman should have this on her phone. It’s a no-brainer.
6. Sleep Pillow: Having spent more time in hotels this year than I care to think about, one thing I know for sure is that hotels, for the most part, are noisy. You can be stuck by the elevator, the ice machine or just next a very rude and nocturnal neighbor. The Sleep Pillowapp is a white noise machine and alarm clock in one. My favorite sounds are beach waves and thunderstorm. While the free app is great, I upgraded to the paid version, which allows you to play the noise all night and be gently woken up by the app in the morning.
7. Sleep Cycle Power Nap: Speaking of sleeping, I’m a big fan of napping. The Sleep Cycle Power Nap app guides you to sleep easily and wakes you gently before you fall into a deep sleep. It offers several different nap cycles, my favorite being the “recovery nap”. You get a solid 45 minutes and wake up feeling like the better version of you.
8. Evernote: The standard for note taking apps and for good reason. It’s intuitive, easy to use and cross-functional allowing you to use it on your phone and desktop. I need to write things down; it helps me process information and commit to it. However, once I vet out my to-do list, I write it in Evernote, because I will likely forget to pack my notebook, but I always remember my phone. It’s an extra step, but one I am happy to take to stay on top of my never-ending, always growing to-do list.
9. Last Pass: Last Pass holds all of your passwords, keeping them secure. When you need to log into one of your accounts, it self-populates. Having been the person who kept all of my passwords written in the back of my day journal, this makes my life so much easier and safer.With Last Pass you’ll never have to remember your passwords again.
10. Mint: Mint helps keep your finances in order, so you never miss a bill, always know how much cash you have on hand and your current credit score. I know too many women, who are otherwise brilliant and accomplished, with no knowledge of their financial situation. With Mint, you can have all of your accounts linked together for a real-time snapshot of your money health. If being more financially savvy is on your list of New Year resolutions, get on Mint today.
11. Dropbox: If you own a business or work as a freelancer, Dropbox is a life saver. You can store all of your important documents, photos and share files. We use it all the time, across all of our businesses. For example, when a potential client requests additional information about our private services, we can very easily send them our information PDF from our phones. This cuts down the time it takes to convert a lead to a client. Dropbox will help streamline your systems, keep your business organized and help you look organized.
12. Shutterfly: While I use Dropbox to store pictures, I also use Shutterfly. I keep the Shutterfly app on my phone. When photos are uploaded, they are automatically time stamped to when they were originally taken. Then I can go in and sort them, create albums, even order custom books, all from my phone.
Let us know in the comments below your favorite apps and how you use them!
The post 12 Best Apps for Busy Women – Guest Blog by Megan Kristel appeared first on Neen James.
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