Simplicity "Traps" and There's an App for That!
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Vanessa Topic: There's an App for That!
I often get asked about how I stay so organized...a natural question I suppose since I am a professional organizer and all.  Well one of the things that keeps me organized is using technology via my iPhone and iPad.
As a matter of fact, I affectionately call my iPhone my “Mini Command Center.”  It’s got everything I need (or think I need) right at my fingertips.  Like Dan has discussed in the past, our iPhones have replaced so many other physical gadgets...a camera, a vehicle GPS system, a Garmin wrist watch, an iPod/MP3 player, and a calculator just to name a few things.

I thought I would discuss some of my favorite apps.  My main purpose it to get you to think about apps that may help you too. You may not pick the ones I discuss and use, but hopefully when you're wondering if there's a better way to track or do something you'll say, ”Well, I bet there’s an app for that” and then go I searching for one.  

Let me first talk about apps that Dan and I both use. Now, he’s already mentioned them back in Episode 21 when he talked about Menu Bar apps on his desktop but I figured I would share with you how I use them on my iphone and ipad.


1 Password:  This is a password management program that does more than store all of your passwords.  You can also store other important information like ID card numbers, membership numbers and credit cards.  It’s also very helpful when you need access to a variety of other important information...like a family member’s social security number, a student id number, bank account and routing information, business EINs, etc.  We even have our bike locks combinations in there!




Evernote App:  Yes...I am a fan too.  Maybe not as big of a fan as Dan being that he’s done two back to back Episodes on Evernote in Episode 17 and Episode 18.  On my phone, I use evernote to capture pictures, notes, emails, etc. It’s especially handy at meeting and conferences.  Speaking of conferences...I save all pertinent information (notes) regarding my conferences in a notebook where I can quickly reference it....like flight information, emails, itineraries, conference programs, e-handouts, slide presentations, contacts, etc.




Dropbox App:  I’ve been using this one more and more.  Especially since Dan downloads our episode recordings for us to listen to before posting on iTunes. We share our dropbox account and so we also store things like our eBooks, etc.




Google App:  I pretty much do everything in Google....GMail, Google Plus, Google Calendar, YouTube, Google Drive, Picasa, and Google Reader (although that’s going away soon..boo).  I’m a huge fan of one-stop shopping and so this app allows me to access all of those programs instead of cluttering up my iPhone screens with separate apps for each of them.


Other apps that I use and love:


Biz Expense Tracker: Actually I used to love this one but have been having issues lately. It tracks my mileage, expenses, and time.  Although I was totally in love with this app...we’ve been having issues with syncing and sharing. So...we’re still using it but we’re keeping all of our receipts until we figure out a better app or get better confidence in it.




Pandora: Music app where you pick a favorite song or artists and they build channels with similar music around it.  I use it when workout...we also listen to it in the office. Only bummer is the commercials but honestly...they’re so short that I don’t find them a nuisance at all. I’m sure there are other music apps out there but I picked this one and have been happy with it.




Nike + Running app:  Running app that tracks all of your runs by distance and time.  It even calculates your fastest and longest runs and keeps a running tally of the total miles you’ve run.