So with all of this you’d think it would be hard to pick my top three, but it’s not. And best of all, they are all free! These are the best 3 business tools I simply can’t live without.
1. Evernote
Colleagues of mine introduced me to Evernote when we needed to collaborate on some project notes, that was four years ago now and I’ve never looked back. I’m constantly making notes, preparing for meetings, writing odd bits of copy, and even planning emails. Creating hundreds of Word or Google Docs is just a messy and frankly overkill most of the time. Evernote fills that slot right in between TextEdit and Word.
Being able to create notebooks to segment notes into groups, able to search easily through old notes and notes to share with colleagues means I so rarely have to pick up a pen and paper these days (and when I do I have an Evernote Moleskin that can be scanned straight into my Evernote account). Sending out meeting notes is simple and when I need to write down those all important thoughts at 1am, I pick up my phone and open Evernote. Perfectly synced when I sit at my desk the next day with everything else I have ever written.
2. Wunderlist
Before I found the wonder that is Wunderlist I used to write my to-do lists in TextEdit. They were basic and messy, but they worked. That was until I got busy and things became more serious with the agency. Then I needed an equally serious way of making sure I didn’t miss an important item or reminder.
Wunderlist is so beautifully simple and easy to use it makes managing to-do lists effortless. Multiple lists, dated to-do’s, reminders and attaching files makes it the best tool you will ever use to manage your working day.
Sure, there are other products out there that have to-do’s built in. Evernote is one of them, but Wunderlist is not trying to be anything else. It’s a one trick pony and the best damn pony in the paddock. Available on your phone (as any self respecting SaaS is) you can tick things off any time, any day and in any place.
3. Google Calendar
OK so strictly speaking we pay for this now – because as an agency we switched to Google Apps for business, now known as ‘G Suite’. And it was one of the best decisions we ever made, however it wasn’t always like that.
When it was just me making appointments, meeting clients and attending pitches I could manage my bookings in a good old fashioned paper diary. (In fact I’ve still got them somewhere.) Then I switched to a personal and free version of Google Calendar. And it was brilliant. It was quick and easy and never got lost in my drawer.
Then other people started to need to make appointments for me, to know when I was free or even to come to meetings with me, so everyone signed up to Google for a personal calendar and we shared them together. When that became too complicated to manage we switched to Apps for Business. And every step of the way Google Calendar has been there for us, able to assist our growth and provide the perfect solution.
My first email every morning is from Google Calendar and the last thing I check every night are my upcoming appointments. It’s the first and last thing I use every single day of my working life which is why it made this top three.
And incase you’re wondering. I made a reminder in Wunderlist to write this, it was written in Evernote, and I’m now about to check my Google Calendar for my next appointment.