As an executive, you’re constantly juggling a lot of things: team management, new clients, business insights, project performance, and more. You may be on the road a lot, in endless meetings, or constantly putting out fires. Whatever your role, make sure you’re using technology to organize your business life. You’ll find that the right apps simplify communication, tasks, and to-do lists in a way that makes your whole day more manageable.
Trello
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The free Android and iOS Trello app is like a to-do list on steroids. You use the app to create boards to represent your projects, then customize the workflow for each board by assigning tasks, adding to-do lists, and attaching information from Google Drive, Dropbox, and other sources. When you need to organize a team project, invite your team members to participate in the board and assign them tasks. You can all comment on items on the board for real-time communication, too.
Freckle
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Part of being a manager, owner, executive, or entrepreneur is tracking time. Sometimes you’re tracking your own projects and sometimes you’re managing the time for an entire team of people. The wrong app will drive you batty, while the right app will make time tracking as easy as a tedious task can possibly be. Freckle is an online program that you can operate from your phone. Your team uses hashtags to keep track of time, and the app gives you insights like how much time you spend per client. It’s designed to increase the amount of time you have to actually run your business.
MindNode
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How do you record the ideas you have? MindNode is an idea-mapping app that starts with the tap of a finger and blooms into a huge brainstorming map where you can record and organize all your ideas. Seeing everything laid out on the screen in a form you can manipulate helps you make connections and inspire yourself in ways you might lack with a pen and paper or a word document. You can also share your mind maps with others to get even more feedback and expand the brilliance.
RescueTime
No matter how organized you are, you probably get sucked into your smartphone and end up wasting valuable time at least a few times a week. RescueTime is a time management app that works on the latest Android devices such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. It lets you know just how much time your phone is vacuuming out of your day. It tracks how much time you spend in your mobile apps, how much time you spend talking on the phone, what websites you visit, and more. It also gives you reports, so you can set goals for yourself and see your own progress. Whether you spend too much time answering e-mails or playing Angry Birds, RescueTime will let you know. But, With the S7 Edge’s beautiful 5.5 inch Quad HD Super AMOLED screen, contoured dual edge display, and 4G LTE capabilities, it might be hard to stay off of this smartphone.
Hightail
Hightail is software built to make developing projects, sharing ideas, and overall collaboration happen more smoothly and in a more timely manner. The Android app puts all the best parts of Hightail straight on your smartphone. You’ll have access to all your projects, get the latest updates when something is edited, have the ability to upload files, and more. When you’re unable to actually be at work, the Hightail app keeps you connected with your most time-sensitive projects so you don’t miss anything.
HipChat
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Communication in the digital world is key, especially when team members might be scattered among different offices, telecommuting from home, or on business trips. HipChat is a private group chat service that gives you secure, unlimited group chats, which include file sharing and the ability to invite guests. You get a chat history and integration with other communication apps. This is the solution to unwieldy e-mail threads.
Your day might not actually become less busy when you download these apps, but you will enjoy how convenient they make tasks that previously consumed a lot of your time. From communication to project management, you’ll be in better control of the toughest parts of your schedule. Now, if only there were an app that would add hours to the day!
