1. THE TO-DO LIST: Trello
Trust me over the years, I’ve tried every permutation of the “to-do list” going and I was introduced to this one back in corporate life as a way of helping coordinate teams at various stages of a process. I’ve used it for everything from managing my massive relocation and house move, my shoot editing workflow, my marketing plans and website launch. I love its flexibility and although i tend to use it alone It’s also possible to share boards with colleagues or clients if you’re collaborating on a project together.
My favourite features:
- Syncs between mobile and desktop
- drag and drop tasks
- Date reminders
Don’t just take my word for it…. Enterprise Nation reviewed it here as one of their top apps for business growth.
Find it at: trello.com/
2. THE DESIGN TOOL: Canva
My graphic designer introduced me to Canva by creating some templates for me when we created my branding. Even as a creative who spends a lot of time in editing apps I always found designing marketing material a bit fiddly but I love the drag and drop ease of Canva and the massive library of pre-made layouts, icons etc available to use. I personally always personalise these to fit my branding fonts and colours but even doing this they’re such a great starting point for inspiration and I’ve designed everything from leaflets, brochures and gift vouchers to social media banners and posts on Canva. There are premium features available but I’ve managed ok with a free account so far and love that it saves all my designs to come back time and again.
My favourite features:
- Drag and drop
- Able to set custom dimensions
- Massive library of content for inspiration that’s easy to adapt
Find it here: https://www.canva.com/templates/
3. (ELECTRONIC) POST-ITS: Simple Antnotes
Think of it as post-it notes for your desktop! I’ve always loved post-its but can’t stand the mess and clutter on my desk and given I barely sit at a desk these days often working from a Macbook on the move this is the ideal solution…. It’s an easy way to keep things I copy-paste frequently right at hand (like my branding colour hex codes and font guidelines), keep a to-do list (eg. receipts still to process into my accounting software) or to just jot down ideas when they occur to me like blog post ideas – this one was on there at one point!
My favourite features:
- Super simple to use
- multiple colour options
- WAY tidier than scraps of paper
Get it for Mac here.
4. SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULER: Planoly
I hear mixed reports about social media scheduling apps and the impact they have on your posts’ reach but I’m also all in favour of batching tasks and doing whatever makes it easier to get routine tasks done and Planoly has definitely helped me with my Instagram – I reckon if scheduling helps me show up more consistently that’s gotta be better than not posting at all, or only posting once in a blue moon.. this way I can set aside some time and spend an afternoon planning a month of posts and then spend just a few clicks each day to post (although there is an auto post feature too I just can’t let go that much!) vs scrambling every day to post from scratch. There are some premium features available on paid plans but so far I’ve found the free plan sufficient for my business.
My favourite features:
- Ability to save hashtags in categories
- Calendar view shows how posts will look on the grid together when posted
- Super easy to upload files and schedule on desktop, and then post from mobile later
Learn more at: planoly.com/
Now you’re “bossing” everything else, think you might need some help telling your business story visually? Read more about my business photography services here.
