5 Apps Designers Should Use To Save Time

You know how it goes, you have items piling up on your to-do list that just never seem to to get done. Time and time again, you remind yourself that they are there, but things come up (dogs sick, kids sick, client changes their mind on a project and then changes their mind again...) or your are just too busy running your business to take on anything else right now. Yep, I am totally there with you. I have goals galore, but the whole extra-time thing is lacking(especially after adding a new little in October). That's why I am always on the hunt to save time, and I like to share those things with you guys when I find them. We're better together, right?

You all know I am a virtual assistant for interior designers, but you may be shocked to know that I never used a virtual assistant myself until a few months ago. The first time didn't go quite as planned. Our communication was off and the results were not what I was expecting. But the next time was definitely reassuring! I get how hard it is to hand over the reins on your projects. Those experiences encouraged me to streamline my process and add extra systems to help ensure my designers and I are on the same page. I couldn't possibly tell you about all these opportunities to save time without at least reminding you that I am here as well to help take some of that load off for those design tasks. It's the holidays! You want to be spending time with friends and family, not bogged down at the office, right? If you need a little reminder about how I can help, just get my welcome packet here! Now, on to those apps I promised!

Fin- This is a general virtual assistant service that can get those pesky little things done that you just have a hard time making time for, like research for a next step you are wanting to take in business, scheduling a trip or massage or even buying a gift online. I have used this service a couple times. It's super easy to get started and even easier to use.
PLANN- I have just started using this app for my instagram. It allows you to plan your posts so you can see how everything looks together. You can store your captions and hashtags within the app so you aren't having to think of some masterful story at the time of posting. It is all in one convenient location.
Trello- I know I have mentioned this before, but I seriously use it for everything. I have boards set up for my personal goals, my business goals, things I want to remember. I had a pre-delivery checklist created to make sure we had everything we needed before baby arrived. If you are at all scatter brained or, like me, experiencing some serious mom-brain, then this is where it's at.
Google Calendar- I know what you're thinking, "Gee, how revolutionary, I already use this..." But, how do you use it? I used to just plan on working on projects on certain days. The flaw with that was that I wasn't always truly inspecting how long those projects were going to take me and I had a LOT of late nights trying to cram everything. Now, I block out time for the projects with the estimated time it will take to work on them, time for answering emails and even time for nursing my daughter in between (although I don't think our calendars have synced because she is totally NOT staying on track).
Google Forms- I LOVE this one and have just started to incorporate this into my business. I use it for new project submissions so designers have an easy to follow format for what information I need. Plus, it keeps all the information in a tidy space. Bonus, I used Zapier to link Google forms and Trello for free. Now, when someone submits a new task, it gets added to my Trello To-Do list with details and due date included. I've created a new client questionnaire for you all, it's just going through final edits. I'll share it with folks subscribed to my newsletter first, so don't forget to sign up on my home page.

I guess that was technically 6 apps/programs, but each one is so stinkin helpful if you don't already have things in place. Have a game changing app you have used in your business? I would love to hear about it! Shoot me an email here.