Struggling to be productive? It can sometimes be hard to stay top of things in our work lives. I know my life has been super busy since I decided to put more focus on my blog and YouTube channel. Some of these apps have saved me from extra stress by helping me stay in line with everything needed to do.
I have compiled a list of the apps I use to help me stay productive no matter where I am. Of course, these are specific to my work life as an actor, director, ASL interpreter, and influencer. But, there is so much you can do with these apps and you're able to customize it to your own needs. These are apps for writing notes, creating graphics for social media, keeping track of your health, keeping track of your financials, and much more. It's the perfect package of apps to have.
Some of these are paid apps; however, they are one time fees and you can use the app to its full potential.
Note Taking
There are billion and one note taking apps. I have tried quite a few of them and so far my favorite has been GoodNotes. It is a paid app, but I use it a lot so I didn't mind the price.
GoodNotes
When it comes to notating ANYTHING, I love to use GoodNotes. I use it for my monthly, weekly, and daily planner as well as my journaling and anything else I may write. It has a great search engine to search for words in your saved notebooks, even from the stuff you have handwritten. You can add pictures, highlight, erase, use templates, import from files or pictures, and more. I absolutely love this app and use it for everything. I use it mostly on my iPad; however, it is easily accessible through your phone or computer.
Cost: $7.99 one time price
Mood Tracker
I have tried so many apps for tracking my moods and I didn't like any until I came across Daylio.
Daylio
I use Daylio as my mood tracker. I love using Daylio because it is easily customizable to what I want to track. You can add activities or moods or anything really. Anything you want to track is easily added. It gives you a monthly view as well. I would even go as far to say you can use it as a diary or journal. It tells you your statistics per tracked item. For example, you can see what you were doing that has made you sad or happy this month. It even allows you to add a picture and notes to each entry. I believe that for the low price, it is totally worth it.
Cost: $2.99 one time price
Graphics and Pictures
There are so many apps for creating and editing graphics and pictures. With so many good options out there, it can be hard to pick. For graphics, I prefer to use Canva. I do have the pro upgrade, because I use Canva for everything, including the graphics on this post (which most of them you could create for free). When you pay for the pro upgrade on Canva you also get the Canva Stories pro, since the accounts are the same. For Pictures, I believe theres nothing better than Adobe Lightroom. Read below to learn why I choose these apps.
Canva
I use it for all things social media related. It is great and easy to use. Canva has a lot of free options. However, Pro users have access to scheduling posts and seeing those posts on a content calendar.
Cost: Free, but can upgrade to pro for $12.99 a month or $119.99 a year
(Only need to upgrade one account and can use both Canva and Canva stories.)
Canva Stories
I use Canva Stories to help produce better quality stories for my Instagram. However, Canva Stories is great for not only Instagram stories, but also any social media story, like FaceBook or Twitter. You can animate the story to add some flare and make it even more interesting to view. You can add graphics and text to any story post and download easily to your camera roll.
Cost: Free, but can upgrade to pro for $12.99 a month or $119.99 a year
(Only need to upgrade one account and can use both Canva and Canva stories.)
Adobe Lightroom
I use Adobe Lightroom to edit my pictures. You can adjust the picture's lighting and sharpness to create a picture that pops out to the audience. You can create a preset to use on multiple pictures with a quick copy and paste settings. This is great when editing multiple pictures. You can find people who sell Lightroom presets with a google search, if you are also interested in that.
Cost: Free, but can upgrade to premium for $4.99 a month
Audio
When it comes to listening to things, I am pretty picky. It all changes and depends on what I'm doing. If I'm working, I can only do subtle low music but nothing that would distract me, as I'm easily distracted. If I'm driving, I like to jam out to my music or listen to a good book. That's why I started using Audible.
Audible
I use Audible to listen to books while on my longer drives to work. They have some really great books on there, from self-help to business to magic. They categorize everything for easy finding. Audible has so many great books to choose from.
Cost: $14.95 a month for one credit.
All things Google
The good thing about using Google Apps is that everything is linked. Therefore, if you need to buy more storage it will be used for all the Google applications, like Google Sheets and Google Drive.
Google Drive
I use Google Drive to keep all my documents in one place. Here, I know my important documents are at hand whenever needed.
Cost: Free up to 15 GB of storage. Can upgrade to get more storage with their multiple option plans available.
Google Sheets
I use Google Sheet for my YouTube, blog, and content calendars. It gives me easy access to edit or view them. I can be out in the world and access them whenever I need to. You can create all types of sheets for your needs.
Cost: Free up to 15 GB of storage. Can upgrade to get more storage with their multiple option plans available.
Printing
As an American Sign Language interpreter, I have to print out verification forms for each assignment. That obviously requires a printer. I went and bought myself a HP printer. Their app is marvelous for all my needs.
HP Smart
I use HP Smart to connect with my HP printer easily. It allows me to scan documents from my phone's camera or the printer itself. It shows me what is being scanned and lets me share or save to any device in any form. That being my computer, a text, an email, and much more.
Cost: Free
Finances
We all know there are plenty of apps for tracking your finances, but do you trust them? I mean, you'll have to give your actual financial information. I have been skeptical about using apps like these because I just didn't feel safe. However, that was before I came across these two apps.
Mint
I use Mint to keep track of my money. It is so helpful. It can assist with budgeting, transaction tracking, bill reminders, tracking your credit score, and more. You will need to put in your credit cards and financial banks information. They also offer email or text alerts for unusual account activity, bill reminders, and low balances. I recommend this app for anyone who wants to track their spending habits.
It is not only an app you can use on your phone or tablet, but also you can use it on a computer by going to their website.
Cost: Free
Truebill
Truebill is similar to Mint as it helps with keeping track of your money. Truebill I great for budgeting, financial tracking, savings goals, checking credit score, and bill negotiation. It can also be useful for identifying and canceling subscriptions you no longer need. Truebill offers bill negotiation services to help lower bills that are too high for you and it can also help you get refunds on fees and outages. There is a 40% fee for these services, but saving 60% is better than saving nothing.
It is not only an app you can use on your phone or tablet, but also you can use it on a computer by going to their website.
Cost: Free, with optional paid features
Social Media Tools
Social media runs the world now-a-days. I hate to admit it but it's true. As an influencer, I have to make sure my pages are attractive, easy to move around, and fun. I have gone through so many apps for my Instagram bio link and for planning my Instagram feed. Read below to learn why I choose these apps.
Milkshake
I use Milkshake for my Instagram bio link. There are other apps for this if this one doesn't call your attention. However, I tried others and preferred this app. It allows you to customize your page and add all the links you need. It also allows you to create multiple pages.
Cost: Free but if you want to remove the milkshake card from your site you can pay $2.99 a month
Plann
I use Plann to schedule and plan out my Instagram feed. It allows me to see what my feed would look like as I post. The free version sends you a notification when it's time to post. I also like it because it makes it easy to add spaces to your instagram captions. The upgraded plans allow you to plan for Facebook and LinkedIn as well. To start off, I recommend the free version until you grow enough that you may need the upgrades. There are limitations to how much you can post a month; however, they seem realistic.
Cost: Free, but can upgrade starting at $7 a month with their multiple option plans available.
YT Studio
I use the official YouTube Studio app to keep track of my channel. The app makes it faster and easier to manage your YouTube channels while on the go. You can check out your latest stats, respond to comments, upload custom video thumbnail images, schedule videos, and get notifications so you can stay connected and productive from anywhere.
Cost: Free
Transportation
I have three apps I use for GPS services. I use my regular Apple Maps for quick directions, Google Maps when I might have extra stops, and Waze for longer trips. Here, I wanted to tell you about Waze and Google Maps.
Waze
I use Waze whenever I go on longer trips, because it tells me when there are obstacles or cops on the road. I believe this app is great for safety reasons as well. There could be an obstacle that may take you off the road or lose control. But using Waze, you'll know beforehand and be able to maneuver around it. Waze doesn’t ask permission like Google Maps does when getting around obstacles. It simply tries to get you somewhere in the shortest amount of time possible. You can also download maps to use offline.
Cost: Free
Google Maps
I use Google Maps whenever I am going to make stops along the way or when I need to search for public or alternative transportation. It is the best for googling places while on route. I'm not saying use your phone while driving. I just think Google Maps is the easiest when it comes to add stops. When it comes to public and alternative transportation, Google Maps shows you everything you may need to know, from trains and busses to Lyft and Uber. It does show advertisements, but they are subtle and not in your face. You can also download maps to use offline.
Cost: Free
Communication
As humans, we need to interact with other humans to stay sane. In the world we live in today, that can sometimes become difficult. We can't always just go to someone's house for a quick chat. I prefer to use Zoom for that (and of course FaceTime, but thats not listed here).
Zoom
With amazing video and audio quality, Zoom provides a safe place to meet others virtually. I use Zoom for doctor appointments, meetings, workshops, and more. It is a great way to connect with friends and family, if they are too far to meet in person.
Cost: Free
With this blog post, I show you a few apps I use to make sure I stay on top of things. From planning to meeting others to keeping track of my life. These all help me live a less stressful life everyday.
I hope these apps can help you too! I'm sure some may be very useful to you in your life once you customize them to what you want to track and how you want to live.
