3 Apps I Can't Live or Work Without

I don't know about you, but I love finding new (and free) technology that can help me be more productive, work better with my team, and help me in the long and short term. In our current global pandemic, technology has become more necessary than ever before as we navigate a new world of virtual meetings and working remotely. While I began using all three products before the pandemic began, each has been an invaluable tool as our digital needs increase.

Asana

Asana is a project management tool that is useful for teams and individuals managing tasks. It serves as a supped up to do list that allows for multiple projects and collaboration with people inside and outside your organization. Projects can be created for events or just recurring tasks. My favorite part is the ability to duplicate projects. For example, if you plan Parent & Family Weekend, you know that this is a large-scale project involving months of planning. Utilizing Asana you can input and log all your tasks (nothing is too small, even the reminder to buy yourself some chicken salad to have for lunch on your busiest day.

Cost: Free for workspace with up to 15 teammates 

Format: Web based application with no separate Mac or PC application. IOS and Android Apps
available.

Airtable

This is my absolute new favorite! Imagine combining Google Sheets, Excel, Access and Google Forms all into one and you would have Airtable. This super charged spreadsheet is a great way to collaborate on projects and collect and store information. In our office we use this to manage the membership database for our Parent & Family Association, our Parent & Family Weekend registrants, schedule and budget, and so much more. We used it last year as our check in system as it was very nice to not have to reload the information into a different system and have everything in one with easy access for our staff and volunteers. I have also used it to plan a large-scale conference with 17 volunteers which included table purchases, table seating, schedule, social media calendar, vendors, speakers and just about everything else.

My favorite part is the ability to set up different views that can include different filters and sorts for the same table. For example, you pull your Parent & Family Weekend attendee list two weeks into registration because you need to know how many out of state families have signed up. You filter the spreadsheet to find what you need, but then must do all that work when you pull the final list. With Airtable you can set up those filters in a view and just add in the additional registrants and not have to do the work of filtering repeatedly. Our office has saved so much time with this feature alone! It also keeps a 2-week record of any changes made so if you (or someone else) accidentally deletes or changes something that they shouldn't you still have it.

Cost: Free (some limits)
Format: Web based application with no separate Mac or PC application. IOS and Android Apps
available

Notion

If you are familiar with Evernote, you might like Notion just a bit more. Notion is a newer product and calls itself an all in one workspace. It serves as a place for notes, tasks and databases. Notion is incredibly adaptable and easy to build as system that works for you and can be a blank canvas for you to create. If you are a solo practitioner, Notion has similar properties to Asana and could also be used as a task manager. It includes a database feature that is like Airtable, but collaboration requires upgrading to a paid level. Sharing pages is an option without a paid account. I particularly use Notion to prep for and take meeting notes. I will create a page and upload or copy the meeting agenda and set out any questions or discussion points that I have. I can then use it to directly take notes into it or I can hand write my notes and scan them into Notion. You can also connect notes and easily move them around if you have overlapping or connected projects that you need to reference. It does have a web clipper that is helpful when researching or just collecting articles or websites that I might need later as well. I also use Notion for my doctoral program research and have built a database of research that hopefully will be helpful when writing my dissertation. It has been especially helpful in managing my classwork as I have input all my assignments and use it as a distraction free place to write papers and discussion posts. The search feature is robust and can serve as a collection that you can refer back to.

Cost: Free. Those with an .edu email account will be upgraded to Personal Pro Plan for free and can invite Guests to view or edit. 

Format: Web based, Mac and PC applications and IOS and Android Apps available

I encourage you to try out one (or all) of these great apps! Give them a try and let me know if any of them have helped make your life easier. Also, feel free to reach out ([email protected]) as I am always happy to do a tutorial on how we use them in our office as I know new products can be overwhelming sometimes.

Please note: This is not a paid sponsorship. These apps have made my life and work easier and I love passing them on to anyone that might benefit.

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Comments on "3 Apps I Can't Live or Work Without"

Comments 0-5 of 1

Chelsea Petree - Tuesday, December 15, 2020
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I'm impressed every time you show us something on airtable-I need to learn it!

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