Tag Archive for: apps

Five Ways to Simplify Your Life in Five Minutes

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Alarm Clock Redux

Alarm Clock Redux (Photo credit: Gnu2000)

We’ve all heard it before, “I’ll be there in five minutes.” or “just give me five more minutes.” Everyone always throws around five minutes even if it’s going to take them 10 or 15 minutes. Throwing five minutes around annoys me. Maybe it’s the producer in me because I’m used to being very precise with time. I’ve been known to have meetings at odd times like 4:37 or 12:23 because I know exactly how long it will take me to get somewhere and every minute counts.

But if you’re smart enough, you can spend those “five minutes” actually doing something really productive. Five minutes is a very valuable chunk of time — if you know how to use it correctly. Here’s a list of things you should use those extra five minutes doing:

1. Prioritize and prepare: Before you go to bed each night, take five minutes to jot down the most important activities that you need to get done tomorrow. This will help you schedule your time appropriately and be productive from the start of your day. Once you have created your list, look through it and identify any ways you can make each task a little easier. If you’re planning on going for a run in the morning, lay out your workout clothes the night before to save you time when you wake up. Not only will this be time efficient, but this will also encourage you to follow through with your workout plans!

2. Refine your list: It’s easy to get caught up in miscellaneous tasks throughout the course of the day. If you find yourself straying from your ‘to-do list’, take five minutes to rework your list. Keep it as simple as possible—if you take on a new task; replace it with a different task on your list. This way, you won’t be taking on more than you can handle. And don’t be afraid to say no when necessary!

3. Limit your media consumption: From cell phones, to social media, to e-mail, it’s easy to get distracted. In order to ensure that you do not stray from your priorities, take five minutes to download apps, such as “AwayFind”, which will send an auto-reply text message stating that you are currently busy. It will also provide emergency contact information just incase. This eliminates the social distractions in your life and allows you to focus on what’s important so you can check another thing off your ‘to-do list’.

4. Clean out your closet: If your clothes drawers are so stuffed that you can’t close them, take a five minutes to give one drawer a once over. Pull everything out, set a timer and get rid of any items you do not use.

5. Eliminate any junk mail: If your email inbox is overflowing with messages, it becomes difficult to find that important email from a few days or weeks ago. Take five minutes to clear out any unneeded messages or spam from your inbox in order to make your account easier to manage. Next time you go to look for an old e-mail, it will be much quicker to find.

Hopefully, the five minutes you took to read these steps will buy you five extra minutes in the future!

Add Fun to Your To-Do List With These Food Apps

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Weekends are great for crossing off to-do’s, but you can’t forget to add fun and relaxation to the list.  Going out for a date night or hitting happy hour with your co-workers are fun ways to unwind from a stressful week. Here are some (free) dining and drinking apps to try out:

                                                             

                                                       Drinking Apps

Untappd: If beer is your go-to drink, this is a great app. Not only will it give you a list of the most popular local bars but you get to share and read beer reviews. Whenever you try a new beer, snap a photo with your phone, upload it, and review it. The app keeps track of all the brews you’ve tried and gives you suggestions.  You can also follow friends to see what they are drinking and you can earn badges for your beer tasting!

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List Of Fun Stuff For Weather Buffs

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weather-icon-set_500x500

(Photo credit: Shmector)

April showers bring May flowers. Emphasis on the SHOWERS this week in NYC! As this wacky weather continues I thought it would be fun to make a list of creative products and apps to get us through the rain, sun, cold, snow, and warm spring days Mother Nature keeps throwing our way.

DarkSky app: This is one of my all-time favorite apps! If snow or rain is heading your way this app will be the first to let you know! DarkSky uses your GPS location and can give you a weather forecast down to the very minute it will begin to rain. It will also send you an alert when a storm is approaching – even if you don’t have the app open ($3.99) (see more useful emergency apps here)

GustBuster Umbrella: If you’ve ever had a fight with an umbrella, had one turn inside out, or bust through the frame during a downpour — you need to buy one of these for yourself and a friend. I’ve had my current Gustbuster for 11 years! You can find them at most golf stores and online too. It’s much more productive to buy one umbrella that really works instead of going through one after another of those cheapy ones you can get on the street.

Hunter Rain Boots: I went through a ton of rain boots before I just gave in and brought the expensive ones. They are pricey but worth it! They have been amazing for the past two years, and you can choose from various colors and styles.

Tieks travel flats: Cold in the am, toasty by the afternoon? Swap out your winter boats during the work day for these on-the-go adorable flats. They are super comfy, and fold up to fit in your purse or drawer. You can take them with you in case the weather changes or store them in your desk for when the sun decides to peak out!

The Sole Mates: Have an upcoming outdoor picnic, wedding, or event to attend? Well, if you plan on wearing heels Sole Mates are a great buy. They keep you from sinking into muddy grass or falling into concrete cracks. Great way to save your heels (and your ankles).

Funny Doormats: Keep the pollen and mud away from your floors by adding one of these hilarious doormats to your front decor. They have a multitude of categories to choose from and they are great conversation starters.

2n1 Ponytail & Bracelet: Bad hair days are bound to happen with rainy or humid weather. In case your hair decides to friz up, disguise these ponytail holders on your wrist. They look like bracelets so you can still be fashionable yet throw up a sock bun in a moments notice!

Hoter waterproof, reusable bags: Instead of ruining your purse or briefcase in the rain you can use of these bags! They are totally waterproof to keep everything dry and they come in various colors and styles. You can use these for groceries, double as a diaper bag, or a tote for the beach.

Weather playlists: Be on the look out for this awesome new feature from The Weather Channel and Songza. They are teaming up to create music playlists that are “weather appropriate”!

Hope these help you enjoy the crazy weather! Happy April 🙂

Make Scheduling Appointments Easier

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calendar year (12-30-08)

calendar year (12-30-08) (Photo credit: sun dazed)

Scheduling appointments and meetings can get confusing when there are multiple people involved. There’s always a few people who can’t meet the same time or day, and it can take multiple emails and phone calls to finally decide the best time.

With the help of technology, it comes as no surprise that there are tools out there that can help make scheduling important meeting and events a lot easier.

Doodle: This website is so simple and is perfect for scheduling anything from a hang out with the girls, to a business meeting. With the FREE version you select “time proposals,” which are just a few dates along with times for people to choose from. The site creates a poll, which you can email to your friends or colleagues to see what works for their schedule. The results will end up with a meeting time that everyone can make. You can also sync these to your calendar automatically. Doodle also has a premium account that will send automatic reminders, see who is missing from meetings, and more! (Basic plan = free. Premium = $39 a year. Free trial for 30 days)

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Business Card Organization

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English: Photo of two free business cards

English: Photo of two free business cards (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am constantly meeting new people, which means I have stacks and stacks of business cards, possibly from fantastic business card providers similar to Metal Kards Business Cards, stuffed in my desk drawer. I’m sure most of you know the feeling. Also, when you’ve got networking events to go to and you know that you forgot your business cards, at that moment, it feels like the worst thing ever! You had one job, but when you think about it, it’s not the end of the world.

CardMunch: This is a free iPhone app that turns your business cards into contacts. All you have to do is take a photo of the business card and it uploads all the info automatically. My favorite part is it also connects you to the person’s Linkedin profile.

Evernote Hello: Whenever you meet someone you can input their info manually or scan their business card in this app. There is also a “hello connect” feature that can connect you to a group of people instantly. Once you do this, the app will bring in any other related info from your calendar, Evernote account, and social media and build a profile. The app also builds a history of all your meet and greets, so you will never forget anyone! You can download this to your computer or your smartphone.

ScanBizCards: Take a photo and scan in any business card, add in notes, forward contacts to colleagues, and assign and create groups. This app can also remind you to follow-up with people and will connect you to Linkedin. You are also able to sync all this info to your other devices! ($1.99)

Time to scan away! How do you keep your contacts organized?