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Staying organized as a working mom can be overwhelming and difficult. These are my top 5 productivity apps for working moms that have made my life a lot easier!
Update: I recently published a new list of 9 Must Have Apps for Working Moms which is a great addition to the apps below.
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5 Productivity Apps for Working Moms
#1 Evernote
Evernote may have saved my life, it is beyond fabulous! My quest for a neat note taking app started when my work’s firewall started blocking the online sync of Microsoft’s OneNote (which is stupid since we use Office, right?). Not only was OneNote difficult to understand and use, I couldn’t access what I was writing on my computer on my iPhone or iPad immediately upon walking into a meeting. Currently, I have Evernote up all day long at work. I use it to take notes on conference calls, create to-do lists and save important emails that I need to reference. I can also save PDFs, word docs and excel sheets too. I even save important blog emails in there and have a separate “notebook” for my blog from work. There is an attachment you can install in Outlook and in Gmail so all my email applications are covered. Price: Free
Need help getting started? Evernote Essentials by Brett Kelly is an excellent resource for those new to Evernote.
#2 Wunderlist
It was pretty difficult for me to decide which app I should put as #1. Wunderlist has kept my sanity and eliminated sticky notes. I was the sticky note queen!  I have always felt like if I write it down then I am free to let it go from my mind because I always have a place to reference it. This led to sticky notes all over my house, in my purse and on my desk at work. I remember one time early in my career sitting through a training at work about Franklin Covey planners (ha, paper planners!) and the trainer said, “sticky notes were the devil!” I keep lists for grocery shopping, vacations, my blog to-do list and much more. The most important feature to me is the ability to share important lists with my husband so when he is suddenly out of deodorant or uses the last garbage bag he can add it to that week’s shopping list. It has allowed me to keep the house running much more efficiently in my limited time outside of working hours and after my daughter is asleep! Price: Free
#3 Google Drive
Ok, I am an iPhone girl so I was really slow at adapting to Google technology. I hopped on the Gmail bandwagon in 2009, leaving behind my beloved AOL account. I refused to adapt to Google apps because I did not like how things worked “slightly” different from Microsoft Office. I have since adapted a bit to fit my husband’s awesome budget spreadsheet that we can both edit on Google drive. Â So why Google Drive? Â It’s everywhere! I installed Chrome on my work computer and home computer so that I have easy access to Google drive on both of my primary computers. I installed the Google Drive app on my home computer to easily backup my photos of my daughter and I can put the app on my iPhone and iPad. Wherever I am now, I am not without an important document that “I wish I had on this computer!” Price: Free
#4 Gmail
This one I was slow to buy into. I started my smartphone journey with two BlackBerry’s and I will say that their email setup integration was the best. I loved having a universal inbox. I can still get that on my iPhone (3 gmail accounts, work email, AOL email) but it takes a lot of space to keep them all, so I archive emails (of course!). What happens when I am in the store and want to search for one of my coupons or deals? I can tell you my iPhone doesn’t help because chances are, it is not in my inbox. The Gmail app really solved my problem of having to log into my email account from Safari. I do not use it all the time, but when I need it, it’s there and it makes life easier. You can also load multiple accounts on there. Price: Free
#5 TripIt
This app has been a lifesaver since I took on my new job. My husband is currently pursuing a travel job so he has been on frequent business trips. I also have been called on to go to a few work conferences. Frankly, I do not have the brain capacity to keep all our travel straight. My husband introduced me to this app when I was complaining that I never know what city he is in or when he is coming home. All you do is forward your confirmation emails (airplane, car rentals, hotel) to your TripIt account and it creates an itinerary, you can also share that itinerary with other people. Now I always know where he is and when I am supposed to be gone too. The best part is, we work for the same company and our online travel system automatically syncs to the app now.  The app keeps us from “double booking” and being out-of-town at the same time. Price: Free
So there you have it! Â This is how I keep my brain-less scattered and a house that is in semi-order! What do you do to keep your life a little less chaotic?
Additional Reading: Popular Articles
Company Benefits Working Moms Need
The Real Reason I Left Corporate America
Thanks for the recommendations! I am going to download the Wunderlist app right now. I am also a post-it note queen, so it sounds perfect for me! 🙂
Wow I’ve never heard of Triplit, Wunderlist or Evernote. I was cracking up when I read what you used to do with sticky notes lol. Too funny! It’s funny that blackberry was my first smart phone too. I guess I’ve never used mine for my homemaking stuff but I will check them out because I want to start organizing a to do list each day for my homemaking duties and things I need to do for my blog each day. Thanks so much for sharing with us on Mommy Monday! xoxo
Now those apps are amazing. Specially Google drive. It gives you access to your stored files anytime anywhere.
I always push my self to use google drive as I’m more comfortable with it.
I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s equally educative and interesting, and without a doubt, you’ve
hit the nail on the head. The problem is something that not enough folks are speaking intelligently about.
Now i’m very happy I found this in my hunt for something concerning this.
Currently using Wunderlist sync to my Mac and I love it. Haven’t heard of TripIt though, would definitely check this app out.
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I love Google Drive. I’ve tried Evernote and it didn’t really work for me…but maybe I should give it another try! I’m not exactly the most organized person ever. It’s definitely something I am working on. Have a wonderful SITS Day today! Glad to “meet” you!
I love Evernote and will have to try wunderlist. (It’s funny–I was a lot more organized doing it the old-fashioned way with paper than using computers.) I use dropbox for my documents so I can access them from any computer. I also use skydrivelive–which I think is onedrive now. This allows more than one person to work on a document/spreadsheet simultaneously. For payments made by customers/clients when I’m out on the road, I use Square.
Yep, we are pretty similar. I still have my old AOL account, but I also hopped on gmail. I’ve got Evernote, but I’m not using it much yet. Believe it or not, I still adore my paper planner!! But I will check out Wunderlist because I think I would use that. Happy SITS day:)
Thanks for sharing these Apps, I have installed Google Drive but not quite sure how it works. I am going to have to study it. I came by from SITS to congratulate you on your feature day. Enjoy every moment!
My husband loves Evernote but I just haven’t gotten a comfort level with it. I think I need to give it one more shot.
As far as Google Docs goes, that’s all my kids use for school so I guess I need to get on board too!
I am a veteran working mom of more than 30 years, so I am proof that it can be done and still retain at least SOME of your sanity! I have tried OneNote and was not too impressed with it. I need to try Evernote. I just downloaded Any.do and that is helping as is iCal. One thing I would suggest to you is Unroll.me. It’s a great service for eliminating some emails and putting many others into a daily digest. I find it very helpful. I also have a recent post on managing shopping emails in gmail that you might find helpful.
What great tips! Thanks for sharing 🙂
YEA! I have been looking for a list like this and so appreciate the reviews……I am gone for almost 13 hours a day and really hate making time for trivial things once I get home. Sounds like there’s one or two of these that could help! Thanks for sharing 🙂
These are some great suggestions. I will have to try the Gmail app. I have multiple Gmail accounts, and I have run into the same search problems with the iPhone. Have you tried the Cozi family calendar app? My husband can never remember my schedule, and now he doesn’t have to ask 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Happy SITS day to you! I love this post. I think I need to try Evernote and Wunderlist ASAP! Pinning!
I am so glad that I read this post. I will be installing some of these apps tonight. The worst thing is to be on my ipad and not able to access a document! I will be pinning this info.
Hi! Paying you a visit via The SITS Girls. Great post! If there is something that a busy woman needs are productivity apps to make her day go smoother!
Evernote, Gmail and GoogleDrive are my faves…I had never heard of Wunderlist so thatnks for the introduction…:D
I am a total Apple iPhone gal too but Hubby is talking me into a Windows laptop…wish me luck with all those squares! :0
Love, love this list! Found you via SITS and will definitely be adding you to my regular read. Great tips.
Those are awesome tips, I can’t wait to try Evernote and Wunderlist! I was using One Note also, and got very frustrated. The idea of it was great, but I always had problems!
Happy SITS Day, a day late. 🙂
Great app suggestions! I’ll have to look into them further. Thanks & happy SITS day!
Monica, these are all awesome apps, but I would also like to introduce you to LifeTopix, which might save you some money because it does not have subscriptions fees. It is an all-in-one productivity app that also has to do lists, calendar views, projects, tasks and reminders (and more); however, it also works with Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Evernote and other online services for document management, notes and cloud storage. it will give you the ability to organize and access those documents that you store in the cloud by associating them with projects, services, events, goals and more (on your iPhone or iPad). You can learn more at: http://www.lightarrow.com
These are great recommendations! Most of my iPhone apps are Google-related! Drive is so helpful, isn’t it? I’ve never heard of TripIt before – I’ll have to look into that one.
I love Evernote. I listened to a Michael Hyatt podcast about he uses the app, and he says he keeps all his medical info in there. It saved him 15 minutes from filling out health forms last time he went to the doctors.
This is great!