Living in today’s digital age can be challenging. We are inundated with information – emails, tweets, texts, social feeds, stories and videos – and it can be hard to stay focused, on track and organized. But the rise of digital and virtual communication has a silver lining – there are more resources than ever to manage the overwhelm.
But where do you start?
We pulled together some of our favorite tools to share with you, in hopes that it will make life in the age of ever-expanding technology a little bit easier. Take a look and let us know what you think. Don’t see your favorite digital resource listed? Please share with us in the comments below.
Outlook
Before I started using this, my email was a little bit all over the place. I would read an email on my phone and then delete it, but it would show up later in my inbox on my laptop. Now, I’m completely synced across all of my devices, so there’s no redundancy and no confusion. The entire Office 365 suite is great if you are working with a small team that needs to be connected and share resources.
Todoist
I have always been a pen and paper girl, but a couple of years ago, I realized that I had too many lists going at once in too many different notebooks. Our Web Developer, Elizabeth, recommended that I use a digital app for keeping track of daily and weekly to-do’s – and even though I originally chafed at the thought – I now can’t live without Todoist. The one device that I always have with me is my iPhone, so now my master to-do list travels with me wherever I go. It’s super easy to set up and delete reminders, create both personal and business lists and much, much more. The free version works just fine, and their premium paid version (only $29/year) has more bells and whistles for those who like to get fancy and color code or share to-do lists with their team.
CLIENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
INSTAGRAM: @shelleycarling
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/shelleycarling
And Co
Without And Co I might feel like a crazy person. Not only does it help me stay organized with clients, invoicing and time tracking, it also has a ‘Shoebox’ feature, where I can upload files via direct upload or email. All receipts are now in one place, digitally. So simple! So easy! So how-did-I-live-without-this??
Airtable
It’s true, I am a sucker for lists. From working with clients and creative collaborations to upcoming trips and home projects, I love to dump everything into a list so that I can see it in front of me. Airtable let’s me create and tailor databases to my needs. Now I can have everything in one place, drop in some visuals, use color coding and collaborate in real-time.
FollowUp
FollowUp is an email tool that keeps email conversations and tasks from slipping through the cracks. As for how it works, you bcc the date you want to send a follow up email and the reminder arrives on the same email thread, at the top of your inbox, on your chosen date and time. I love that my main to do list is not cluttered with reminders for email follow up. FollowUp has many other features including a send later feature, “snoozing” an email, email open/click tracking, and automatic follow up emails.
Blackblaze
Backblaze is an inexpensive ($6/month), secure, set it and forget back up system for your computer. It runs in the background and automatically backs up all your files including documents, photos, music and movies. The number of files is unlimited as well as the file size. You can download a free restore for 1 file or all your files at anytime.
DIGITAL STRATEGY DEPARTMENT
INSTAGRAM: @instagabber
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/WhoisGabrielleRose
Trello
Trello is an agile management system, and for those of us who are more obsessive notetakers, it’s also a complete inventory of each step taken on a specific project. You can look back on this to compare notes for future projects, or to answer that age old question, “why did I do it this way?” I no longer wake up in the middle of the night with that paranoid feeling that I may have missed something. Bonus tip: I even copy and paste snippets of email correspondence to my Trello tickets, so I don’t have to dig through my email. Extra bonus: it’s free.
Toggl
Ever wonder how long it takes to actually complete a task, as opposed to saying, “5 minutes?” Toggl is a free time tracker that syncs with Trello (although not required), so you can track step-by-step, minute-to-minute how much time it takes to finish a whole task, or one step of a task. You can sync with the rest of your team (which is especially great for remote teams) to make your process that much more efficient.
Loom
Loom is a screen and video recording tool that automatically uploads videos to your account for you to share and comment on with others via link. I LOVE it. I use it to record feedback for revisions, walkthroughs for clients, and to record my design processes for my Jr. designer. It’s free and well designed.
Notion
Literally the most flexible project management tool ever. Notion is an all-in-one everyday workspace for teams. It is your to-do list, spreadsheet, content calendar, and note app in one. I use it to keep track of projects, client tasks, financials, and my content calendar, as well as personal to-do lists and finances.
CLIENT SERVICES & EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE
INSTAGRAM: @jennlhansen
TWITTER: @jennlhansen
Snagit
There are a lot of screen capture tools out there, but Snagit is the most reliable I’ve found. Things are much clearer when explained with a visual, so I take screenshots and video recordings often when communicating with clients or our team. One of the features that makes it worth buying is the ability to take scrolling screenshots of longer pages, and the peace of mind knowing it won’t crash while I’m working. ????
Monday
Monday is great for keeping projects organized and moving. It’s as easy as creating a group, then creating a task in the group. I love how customizable it is. You can setup the columns with whatever information you’d like. I can keep tabs on what the status of the task is, who’s working on it, what day it’s due, what client it’s for, and leave notes or updates for others on the team within each task. You can even have different boards if you work for multiple teams!
