When you have a lot to do, you need to be able to do things as quickly and efficiently as possible. The right tools serve as shortcuts that will help you maximize your productivity. Since we all rely on our phones to do just about everything, it doesn’t hurt to rely on a few smart iPhone apps designed to help you get work done.
If you don’t already have an iPhone but you’d like to get one for the business apps, it’s easy enough to purchase a secondhand iPhone and unlock it yourself.
1. Square
Square makes fast transactions easy. It’s an app that comes with a credit or debit card reader that pops right onto your iPhone or iPad. You can process payments and accept signatures via the touch screen. Square makes it easy to vend at events. If you have a product you’d like to sell or a service you want to sign people up for at an expo, you can do it all from your phone. It eliminates the need for extra equipment and keeps your digital transactions secure.
2. HelloSign
HelloSign makes it easy to work from home. If you need to read and sign documents, but you have to leave the office early to spend time with your kids, you can bring them home with you with HelloSign. This app lets you sign secure PDF documents with your fingertip and send them off. They can be printed and filed just like any other kind of document. This makes for one less thing you’ll have to do at the office, allowing you to address your priorities wisely.
3. Pocket
Pocket stores important things for you. If you have videos, blog posts, or articles about your industry that you’d been meaning to read, you can save them with Pocket. You don’t even need to be online to view them later. If you’re waiting to pick up your children from school, you can easily catch up on your reading. This app also comes in handy if you ride a train or take a cab to work, allowing you to learn about upcoming trends while you’re sipping your coffee.
4. Wunderlist
Wunderlist is the quintessential app for the working mom. It’s a giant to-do list aggregator. All of the things you need to get done can be stored and checked off in one place. Need to go grocery shopping and office supply shopping? Looking to sort through the kids’ clothes to donate what doesn’t fit and also reorganize your filing system? You can create and optimize special lists for every aspect of your personal and professional life all with one easy interface.
5. Wave
This is an app that helps you generate quick invoices and receipts. You can even draw up cost estimates. It allows you to access and use tons of web-based software designed to help small business owners. You can’t always take your laptop everywhere. When you need to work on the go, Wave will let you do almost anything you can do with the financial tools on your computer.
6. Trello
Trello is a pocket sized project manager. As a mompreneur you serve many roles. Project manager is likely one of those roles. You can organize active projects into cards, boards, or lists. You can easily keep track of what’s being worked on, who is working on it and when the work is supposed to be accomplished. You can also use it to chart things like household chores or projects, which is perfect when your kids are at the age where they can be helping at home.
7. Workflow
Workflow is the perfect complement to every app imaginable. It allows you to organize all of your apps within a single interface so you can work on multiple things at once. You can set things up to work in a single tap, synchronizing your projects. Do you need to publish documents after you’ve electronically signed them? Workflow lets you do it all in a single pass.
As a one-woman workforce, you deserve an easier way to do things. Nothing can put more hours in the day, but these apps can certainly reduce the amount of time it takes you to get things done. The sooner you finish, the sooner you can get in some good, old-fashioned “me” time.
Meet the Author: Rachel Jackson
Rachel is a mother of 2 beautiful boys. She loves to hike and write about traveling, education, and business. She is a Senior Content Manager at NYBizDb – an online resource of relevant business information.