By Fiona Pullen

As creative business owners, we have to keep on top of many things at once. Sometimes it can feel like we spend more time tied to the computer than crafting, and that’s not a great feeling! Fiona Pullen is the owner of The Sewing Directory and the author of Craft a Creative Business. She uses a series of apps to stay productive and organized and work more efficiently. Learn to use a few of these apps and you’ll free up the time to focus on what you really enjoy.

Forest

Increase your productivity and save the world at the same time – sounds too good to be true? This is what Forest helps you to do. It helps you stop that urge to keep checking your phone, getting sidetracked from the job you should be focused on. You get awarded credits for not using your phone and can use those credits to plant trees around the world.

Alternatives – Focus Now or Clearlock

Hootsuite

Manage all your social media accounts from one place, and pre-schedule your updates so you aren’t tied to your social media accounts with Hootsuite. Prescheduling updates is a great time saver, put aside a couple hours start of the week to get that done and then you can focus on other tasks the rest of the week.

Alternatives – Buffer or Tweetdeck

Google Keep

Google Keep lets you make lists, save notes, add images, schedule reminders and even share your notes with others. It looks like a post-it board with the notes/lists you’ve saved. It will sync between your phone, tablet, and computer. You can also sort the notes into categories too.

Alternatives – Evernote or One Note

Trello

Trello is a project management app which helps you get your tasks organized and prioritized. It is another app which allows you to collaborate with others. You organize the tasks on digital cards and can assign due dates, attach files, add labels and filters etc. There’s a great guide to the app by Erin on the Craft Industry Alliance blog here.

Alternatives – Asana or Yalla

Dropbox

Not only can you back up all your files on Dropbox (if you install it they will sync with the files on your device) but you can also access and edit them on the go. So instead of having to turn on the computer to check a spreadsheet, add a last-minute update to a document etc you can access them on your phone or tablet, view or make changes. You can also share files, or entire folders with others either with a view only link or give them full access to edit too. What’s more, you can even scan full documents into your Dropbox using your mobile. If like me you tend to have your phone with you most the time you will always have access to your files no matter where you are.

Alternatives – One Drive or Google Drive

Google Calendar

This free time management and scheduling app willl allow you to keep track of what you need to do every day/week/month. You can keep track of meetings, to do’s, tasks, and appointments on this calendar which syncs across devices. You can share calendars with others and can set events to repeat on a regular basis. You can also create e-mail or notification reminders to ensure you don’t forget anything.

Alternatives – Todoist or Simpliday

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Do you have any apps that help you to be more productive? Please do share in the comments below.