It is no secret that I love my iPhone and my iPad. I feel blessed to have two of the greatest pieces of technology in my possession. These aren’t simply toys and fashion accessories. They are tools for productivity and they enable me to get better at what I do each and every day. I am very selective about the apps I put on these devices and whatever does make the cut had better perform. Here are the apps that are currently making the grade and helping me get stuff done!
Evernote
I have a lot of notes laying around. I have notes from my last staff meeting, notes from that podcast I listened to yesterday, notes from a creative meeting last week, a recipe for some BBQ that I want to try out, a To-Do list for this week, a To-Do Vision list for the coming year, and even a list of lists!
Evernote helps me stay organized.
For example, I have to outline my class for Wednesday and I have ideas I’m collecting for a sermon series at the end of the Summer. Evernote allows me to compile all these notes, organize them by category (stacks) and have them accessible at all times on all my devices. Each note is stored in the cloud, searchable, and taggable. I can insert pictures, clips from the web, or documents. I can email notes to my Evernote account and I can share notes through email or social networks.
Michael Hyatt has written extensively about Evernote and how to maximize the effectiveness of this app. Check out his definitive posts on the greatness that is Evernote.
Wunderkit
The best To-Do, To-Collaborate, To-Plan, and To-Execute app out there. Wunderkit allows me to organize my life and achieve goals based on the different areas of focus in my life or projects. It also allows me to invite friends or colleagues to join me in those tasks. For example, the youth minister and I share a folder where we can assign tasks to one another, collaborate on notes, and communicate changes to one another. It has been a real asset in helping us come together on a shared agenda for weekly staff meetings.
Right now, Wunderkit is available on the iPhone and the Mac (you can get Wunderlist HD for the iPad. It is the best To-Do list I’ve used.)
Pulse
The app is all about helping you “take control” of all the information, news, blogs, and articles you read. With a clean and beautiful interface, I am about to gather all the blogs that I read in one place so I can read them offline when it is convenient for me. No more watching my RSS feed fill up and mock me with some ridiculous number of unread posts. With Pulse, I open it up, sync with the new content, and then read at my leisure. This app also allows me to post articles I like to Facebook or Twitter. I can even email posts to friends directly from this app.
Dropbox
Do you need to share documents and files between different computers or devices? I know I do. Often I don’t have a flash drive handy or I need to move something from my MacBook to my iPad. Dropbox is the solution.
Dropbox allows me to easily share files between devices or share files with friends. It is the easiest cloud-based digital firebox I have used. One of my favorite uses it a community file where you and your friends/team members can share files for better collaboration. I use this app almost every single day and twice on Sundays! I love it.
So what about you? What are your top apps for helping you get stuff dine? Share your Top Productivity Apps in the comment section.