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6 Time Saving Apps All Association Executives Should Use
6 different apps (almost all of them free) that can turn your workday from a scrambled race for time to an organized and productive process.
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6 different apps (almost all of them free) that can turn your workday from a scrambled race for time to an organized and productive process.
These days, it feels like time is flying by faster than ever before. Like most people, you might find yourself at the end of the work day wondering where the time in the day went. You’re scrambling to finish up projects and deadlines, and the process repeats over and over. Time management can be a huge struggle for many professionals. There are tons of distractions, organizational problems, and mundane tasks that can get in the way of your important work.
As an association executive, finding extra time in your day can seem impossible. There are so many moving parts in an association to look after, and your time is as valuable as money. So, if you’re looking for more time in your work day to dedicate towards creating more success, you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of 6 amazing time-saving apps that every association executive should use. The apps range in function, from organizational apps to email apps and anything in between. With these apps, you can be sure to create more time in your day to get more work tasks done and boost your association towards future success
.Let’s take a look (and start saving you time already!)
Looking for a way to eliminate distractions from your day? Let’s be honest, most of us are. That’s why RescueTime is a great app to have equipped to your mobile device. RescueTime is an application that tracks your mobile/online use and gives you an accurate depiction of where your time is being spent throughout the day. It also allows you to block distracting websites, eliminating the temptation to wander during the work day. It includes other great features, like the ability to log highlights of what you worked on during the day. It also allows you to track at your own pace, allowing you to stop and start time tracking at your leisure.
RescueTime can be downloaded both on mobile devices and on desktops (making it a great add-on to your work computer). While there are paid versions of this app that offer you a variety of premium features, RescueTime offers a “lite” version of the app for free. This is great for anyone looking to test out the app features before making a purchase. If you’re someone who struggles with time management, RescueTime is a great solution for you.
Want a way to have all of your work projects and team member projects organized in the same place? Look to Asana. Asana is an app that’s used by many high-brow organizations like NASA, Uber, and other global companies. And there’s a reason why- it works.
Asana is an app that allows teams and companies to create, monitor, and keep track of work tasks. You can conceptualize a task from the very start and see it come to life and get finished all on the Asana app. The Asana app is great for time management because it allows for online collaboration. You can add multiple team members onto one task, saving you the time of having to meet and discuss task progress. Asana even allows for in-app communication and options to upload files in order to make the work process seamless.
With Asana, you’ll know exactly what your team is working on, and when they accomplish it. This gives your a faster and more organized sense of staying on track with your association’s goals. Asana also allows for both a free and a premium paid version of the app, making it perfect for associations with every type of price range.
If you function better in bursts of productivity, you’ll love the Focus Booster app. Focus Booster is a time management app that strays from the beaten app as far as typical time management apps go.
Focus Booster tracks your time and boosts productivity by using a technique known as the pomodoro technique. The pomodoro technique is a proven and highly used time management practice that centers around the idea of working in timed bursts. For this technique, the app guides you to work for 25 minutes straight, followed by a short five minute break.
In this break, you’re asked to step completely away from your work, taking your mind off of the subject. The Focus Booster app helps boost productivity within these work bursts. It also tracks your progress throughout the day, giving you a timesheet at the end of the day to analyze.
Again, the Focus Booster app offers a free version as well as two other paid versions. The paid versions of the Focus Booster app come at a surprisingly cheap cost, with the individual plan at $3/month and the professional at $5/month. Check out Focus Booster and see how your productivity can be boosted for maximum time management.
Let’s move onto email. It’s something relatively simple, but that can take up a lot of time in your day. Did you know that the average professional can spend up to 28% of their day going through emails? That’s right, a quarter of your day can be spent going through your inbox- talk about a waste of time! So, if email management has you down, you need an app that allows you to save time sifting through unnecessary emails- like Sanebox.
Sanebox is an app that organizes your email inbox based on importance of emails. The app separates your emails into important ones that should be opened, and less important/frivolous emails that your time shouldn’t be spent on. It then summarizes those less important emails into a daily report, which you can read through whenever you’d like. Think of this app like a personal assistant, sifting through your inbox and bringing you only the information that needs addressing. Sanebox also allows users to hit snooze on emails, automatically upload email attachments to the cloud, and organize no-reply emails. With Sanebox, you can make going through your email inbox a less - well, insane - process.
Another app that allows you to manage your time in a more creative way is 1-3-5 List.
1-3-5 List is an organizational tool that offers a simple solution to the way your day is managed. But, a simple solution that is extremely effective for 1-3-5 List users. The tool is based off of a system that allows you to choose your schedule your day. You’re allowed to choose one big task, three medium sized tasks, and five smaller tasks to accomplish in your day. You can also create lists and prioritize your tasks to fit your association’s needs, your needs, or anything in between. While this feature doesn’t necessarily fall under the app category, it is an amazingly helpful tool that can be used on any device, mobile or desktop. And again, this is another service that offer a free and premium service.
And last, but certainly not least, we have another time saving app that works similar to a budgeting app. My MInutes is an app that specializes in time budgeting for professionals. Yes, just like a normal budget, you can allot yourself specific time limits for each of your daily tasks. This app starts by letting you set timed goals for important tasks in your day. It then allows you to add or subtract time from other areas in your day, therefore making up the entire time of your work day. With My Minutes, you can ensure that every minute in your day is being spent doing something productive. You can set timed goals in either “at least” or “at most”, giving you options when it comes to time management.
The My Minutes app is the only app on this list that does not come with a free version. However, at the low cost of a $3 one-time payment, the app is an affordable option for almost anyone. Check out My Minutes to see how you can spend every minute in your day focusing yourself on your future success.
6 different apps (almost all of them free) that can take your work day from a scrambled race for time to an organized and productive process. Consider checking out these apps in order to make your association work less of a hassle. Who knows, you could be saving time that will help you reach goals you never thought would happen.
