Fab Find: Stop Waiting On Hold With Fast Customer

As far as annoying things go — waiting on hold is right at the top of the list. It can literally take hours out of your life that you will never get back. Talk about being unproductive — well, luckily there is another way and it’s my Fab Find.

I recently had to call customer service to report a duplicate charge on my credit card. Instead of being aggravated and waiting on hold, I tried out a new app called FastCustomer. It does the waiting for you! Skip the menus and bad hold music – with a few taps you can choose what business you need to speak to and then sip coffee, check email, whatever – a representative will call you when the wait time is over!

It works for major companies like American Express, Bank of America, 1800 Flowers, insurance companies and even airlines. It is really a great way to outsource a necessary but irritating task. When I used it — the app called me back and I waited an additional three minutes for a representative. I think that’s time well spent.

Think about all the things you can do while someone else is waiting on hold for you!

1. Read a few articles on ListProducer.com for a more productive day

2. Clean out your email inbox Read more

Fab Find For Good: PaperKarma

You know how it is — you come home, bring in the mail and sift through tons of unwanted ads, credit card deals, flyers and magazines for things you’ll never buy. This paper waste takes up precious counter space and also head space as you sift through it all. It’s so annoying! Sometimes it can sit around for weeks before you can “deal” with it all.

About a month ago, I discovered the solution – PaperKarma. This fabulous little app lets you snap a picture of your junk mail and then they contact the mailer and remove you from their distribution list. Easy, right? That’s why it’s my “Fab Find“this week – because what good are fabulous things if you don’t share them?

I’ve made about 15 requests so far with this app and only one took more than a few seconds to be successful. The nice thing about this app is that they follow up with you because sometimes it can take a few weeks for companies to take you off of their lists. It’s been a great tool that I’ve now made part of my mail-reading routine. I simply open my mail and scan the stuff I don’t want to get any more. Done. Read more

20 Apps To Beat Holiday Stress

Christmas gifts.The holidays are here!  It’s easy to Install apps so if you need an app to beat the holiday stress, it’s easy to do. But not this year! I’m still making lists, but I’ve learned to simplify my holiday season with a few great apps that do everything from finding the best deals to preparing the perfect meal for all of your guests.

If the holiday season is overwhelming you, download a few of these apps to help you stay sane:

1. Food 52: Is a vegan coming to your Thanksgiving dinner? Do you want to learn how to set a holiday table? Or brine a turkey? This app features recipes, advice, and products to teach you how to become a “smarter, better, happier cook.” It’s a great, quick reference for all things food.

2. TaskRabbit: I love this app so much! Think about all the things you could be outsourcing this holiday season: writing out holiday cards, waiting in line for the new “it” gift, shopping for all the items on your holiday grocery list…the list just goes on and on! Have someone else run your holiday errands for you!

Read more

Fab Find: TalkTo App Is A Free Assistant

talkto copyA lot of people think that in order to save time they need to completely reorganize their schedule or give up doing one thing to make time to do another. What most people don’t realize, though, is how much time is wasted each week on hold with a customer service rep, searching for your size at the shoe store, and figuring out if the convenience store down the street sells your favorite paper soap.  Add that up over the course of a week or a month, and suddenly you’ll realize that you do have time to clean your apartment or take a yoga class. Read more

5 Reasons to Give Evernote a Second Chance

Evernote

Evernote (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I should get a commission from Evernote because I literally tell everyone I meet about it. It’s one of the top-rated productivity apps in the iTunes App Store and I couldn’t live without it. But people tell me all the time that they’ve downloaded it but could just “never get into it,” or make it work for them.

I get that – Evernote does require a little bit of a commitment at first to be really useful. Usually, I pass along some great advice from LifeHacker.com about how to use Evernote effectively, but sometimes people just want the basics.

Here is my own list of Tips and Tricks to help make Evernote work for you:

1.  Use it Often: The more you use it the more useful it becomes. Believe me. Notes in Evernote last forever, unlike that post-it stuck to your cell phone. When you can go back through weeks of to-do lists and can breathe easy that you didn’t miss a single thing, you’ll know what I mean. Read more