If you are like me, you have a lot to do every day. Staying organized and managing the “to-do” list of life is a constant challenge in this world that just gets busier and busier every day. While I do not claim to have expert status when it comes to getting things done, I like to periodically share some tips and tricks that seem to work for me. So in this little post I want to share 3 iphone applications that are great for both productivity and creativity. These little gems have made it easier for me to capture thoughts, generate ideas, organize projects, and make headway in the ongoing battle to get things done.
Evernote – Evernote is a phenomenal web based note taking platform with a great complementary iphone application. You can use evernote to store project notes, take pictures with notes attached, bookmark important web sites, record voice notes, and much more. I have found Evernote to be particularly useful in the time immediately following a meeting. Why? In the minutes just following a meeting, ideas are fresh, energy is high, and there are a number of important things that are top of mind. Instead of waiting to get back to the office, I now plop down in the driver’s seat of my car (before starting it), fire up evernote, and read the notes from the meeting aloud – with evernote capturing all of my thoughts and ideas while they are still fresh. Once done, I can save the audio and email it to myself and others who may be involved. This is a very quick way to get things moving, capture ideas, and stay on top of projects. Evernote has a million other uses, from scanning business cards to remembering where I parked my car. Best of all, the iphone app syncs with evernote account, making my notes accessible from any computer connected to the internet.
Dragon Dictation – Dragon Dictation is another great post meeting application is Dragon Dictation. This is a simple app that does powerful things. Just fire the application up, talk, hit save, and Dragon Dictation converts your speech to text. This text can then be sent off an an email, stored as a note, or sent to applications like Twitter and Facebook. Rather than having to type out quick messages, you can quickly rattle off a note by talking. This is great for sending self reminders, quick comments to colleagues, and other text based messages – particularly when you don’t want to type things out on teeny tiny mobile keyboards.
Mindnode – Mindnode is less a productivity application and more of a creativity application. However, when a significant part of one’s job revolves around developing creative concepts and new ideas, finding helpful tools quickly translates into increased productivity. Mindnode is a mind map application that makes it easy to explore ideas, organize thoughts, and begin outlining concepts in non-linear fashion. Rather than traditional outlining, mind maps allow one to bounce around a little more – focusing on idea generation and then organization. I love mind maps, and having the ability to do them on my mobile device is great. I can save them, send them to my computer, and continue work on them later on the desktop version of mindnode, which is also fantastic.
So, if you are looking for a little productivity boost and happen to be an iphone user, give these apps a test drive. What are your favorite productivity tools?
