3 Apps to Organize Your Daily Work
Apps can often be a distraction. Especially when you need to get work done but just like to feel productive. Before you get into this post, ask yourself if you're procrastinating right now - if you are, bookmark this for later and go do what needs to be done. If you're actually looking for ways to get more organized, either at work or at home, keep reading.
01. Notion
My true love. Notion is like an Evernote + Asana + Airtable + a personal wiki all rolled into one. It can be a bit overwhelming to start because there are literally so many uses for the app, but I found that watching YouTube videos about it and getting an idea of how different people are using it really helped me figure out how to make it suit my needs.
Notion has replaced google drive, sheets, and docs. It's replaced Evernote, Asana, and even ToDoist. It's even replaced notebooks at work and sticky notes on my desk.
The main reason I included Notion on this list, is because I no longer have to switch between 14 different apps and tools at my day job or at home. I know everything lives in one unique system that I built especially for my needs. That being said, I want to give you some ideas to get started in Notion since it can have a steep learning curve.
Here is a playlist of great Notion walkthroughs to inspire you, and here is free access to my Notion templates to help you get started.
02. Google Calendar
Notion has become my hub for everything, but when it comes to collaboration and overall planning, I still use and sync everything to my google calendar (the moment Notion releases an API that will let me connect Google Cal + Notion will be the day all my productivity dreams come true).
Google Calendar is so good because it's so dang simple. You can add multiple calendars to keep different parts of your life separate (I have one for my family's schedules, one for work, one for birthdays, and even one for football). You can easily hide or show calendars together so you get an overall look at your schedule.
Google calendars also integrate with basically everything. You can send events to friends, set up meetings, and call within the interface and any events you sign up for or get invited to usually have the handy "add to calendar" button that adds the event to your calendar in seconds.
If you don't already use a digital calendar, take some time to play in Google Cal and get it set up to your liking. My google calendar is my home for ALL my events, when I'm making plans I can pull it up on my computer or phone and have my entire schedule in front of me.
You can get really into it with time-blocking or routine planning as well. There are some great resources about other ways you can use Google Calendar on this YouTube playlist.
03. Google Tasks
With the addition of Add-ons to Google Calendar (and Gmail), you can easily view your task lists right in the Google Calendar sidebar. I use mine to track habits, plan grocery lists, and remember general to-do's.
Tasks are not the most feature-rich app I've ever used, but the way it integrates so simply with my existing system makes it worth keeping. If you're not a fan of the Google system, ToDoist is one of my all-time favorite task apps and they do a really wonderful job with it.
Bonus: Marinara Timer
I am a huge fan of the Pomodoro method. The basic idea is that you work for 25 minutes, with a 5-minute break and after every 1 hour of work (or 4 pomodoros) you take a 15-minute break.
I use this timer for large projects or on my batch days. It not only helps me to move around and not get sore from sitting too long, but it helps me keep my mind focused on the task as well. There are a million different Pomodoro apps, but I like this one because you can share the link and your entire team can see the same timer as you.
This can be great for accountability, and for working in an office setting. I don't use the team feature often, but it's also just an insanely easy (and free) timer that is quick to activate when I need it.
