It’s February and that resolution you made about enjoying an organized 2017 is a literal mess.
Your office is spotted with scraps of paper and a mound of to-be-completed invoices. The floor is pockmarked with coffee spills and a random napkin or two. This past week you were late to a couple of meetings because you got lost in other tasks.
You may have given up on yourself already, but we haven’t.
You’ve still got 11 months left to nail your New Year’s resolution and we’ve found four apps that will help you get it done.
Dropbox (Browser and app)
If you haven’t started using this beauty of a cloud storage solution, drop what you’re doing and sign up for Dropbox right now.
There are those who will scoff at DB and hail the virtues of Google Drive. We have no complaints there, but we will say this: Dropbox gets the upper hand because you don’t have to be logged into your Google account to access your files.
If you’ve ever had to deal with Google’s crazy log-in/log-out process to get from one account’s Drive to another, then you know what we’re talking about.
Dropbox gives you drag-and-drop capabilities and allows you to share documents and folders with just one click. This solution may not worked in a highly-regulated office environment, but it’s a godsend for startups or freelancers.
Basecamp (Browser and app)
There are plenty of great team-management tools out there – Asana and Basecamp are at the top of the list in terms of function and fanfare.
We give Basecamp the edge because its browser interface is easier to navigate. New tasks can be created instantly and are fully customizable, thanks to Basecamp’s stripped down functionality.
Team members are added with ease and project updates can be sent out as soon as they happen, every couple of hours, every day and more.
If you’re running a team of developers or writers, Basecamp provides that simple solution you’ve been wanting. Asana has an aesthetic edge, but we believe Basecamp’s functionality makes it the best way to manage a team, set tasks and create deadlines.
24me (App only)
If you’re looking for a magic wand to organize your non-work life, 24me is about as close as you’re going to get.
The app combines task management and calendar functions to give you an all-in-one virtual personal assistant whose functionality is just as elegant as its UX.
“Receive billing, event, and birthday reminders, or have the app pay your bills and send gifts to friends. The app even lets you know what time you should leave for your meeting based on current traffic,” PopSugar wrote in a January 2017 article.
Sound like the perfect match? We agree.
LastPass (Browser and app)
Do you ever get that frantic feeling when you’re in desperate need of a certain app, but you can’t remember your password and it’s making a searing ball of stress rise up in your chest?
LastPass is your solution for that tense personal moment. The app stores passwords for every single app on your phone. And it gets better: LastPass works on your browser, too.
In the realm of free password storage, this app reigns supreme. PC Mag gave LastPass a 5 out of 5 and nearly 100,000 in the Google Play store give it 4.5 stars.
This past November the app’s developers released an update that made the LastPass experience an even better one.
“The breadth of features in this free password manager is amazing,” PC Mag’s Neil J. Rubenking wrote. “LastPass 4.0 remains an Editor’s Choice for free password managers.”
A Few Other Tips
Can we talk about your cubicle for a minute? It’s one of the only things in your office that an app can’t fix.
So, let’s start with your work desk. Take five minutes at the end of the day to tidy things up. Trust us; a little housecleaning at 5 p.m. is worth the slight delay getting home.
On Fridays, devote 10 minutes to your cleaning routine. Do the usual tidying up for five minutes, and then crack open a tube of Clorox disinfectant wipes. Give your desktop, keyboard and computer screen a quick scrub. Dump out your trash and perform a final inspection before charging off into the weekend.
As for your home life, consider taking the first 10 minutes of the day to meditate on what you’d like to see happen at home and at work. Doing this mental checklist before the craziness begins will work wonders on your ability to stay focused and, more importantly, stay organized.
