If you’re anything like I am, I talk about it and I think about it but it takes me a hot minute to actually do it and get organized. Some of these are my favorite apps and I use them all of the time, my whole team uses them. So let’s jump in!

1.) Google Calendar

If you’re not using all of the neat stuff on Google, you are totally missing out. There are just so many cool tools and Chrome extensions from Google. Google Calendar is a great way to get organized. You can put in your personal information, your work information, color code everything, share pieces of information, it’s just a really great tool. With Google Calendar, you’re not constantly updating every calendar you have — it’s all in one. I love Google Calendar and use it every day.

2.) Trello

Trello is an organizational tool that allows you to store information. It’s great for teams because as long as you have a password you can get in from anywhere. One of the cool things about it is you can protect information. So I can share some information with a client, or not. We have different boards for different clients and one of our boards is hidden, it’s just for our team so nobody else can see it. But we have a client board in there so clients can put in things like images, upload changes if there’s a change to their brand, upload video — anything they want to upload. If the client or one of my team members makes a change, they can tag me and I’ll get a notification that a change has been made. Plus, I just like the way Trello looks, it’s very organized-looking. I know that sounds silly, but sometimes being organized is a perception so it helps to feel like you’ve got all your ducks in a row.

3.) Google Drive

It’s a bit similar to Trello, and it’s one of my new favorite toys. I messed around a bit with it last year but our team has gotten really Google Drive-focused in the last six months. It’s huge for organization. I can put notes in there and you can search based on keywords or titles. You can also search by formats, so I can just go in and search for Sheets to find all my spreadsheets. I love Trello, don’t get me wrong, but Google Drive allows me to create anything. I can do Slides, I can do Sheets, I can do Documents and put all of that information into a single file for a customer and share it. It’s very easy, and it’s especially easy to add video. We’ve been working pretty diligently for Social University and it’s a great way to house all that information without having to worry about links. It’s a great organizational tool and you don’t have to worry about it taking up too much room; it’s Google, you can put whatever you want in there! If you get to a certain amount of space, you might have to pay for additional storage but that takes some serious storage. It would be literally hundreds of videos before you actually hit the limit. I’m in Google Drive constantly and I love it. I keep running notes for my Facebook Lives and it allows me to go back and look at what I’ve done. It just makes my life so much easier, I love Google Drive.

4.) Todoist

You can access this app from your phone or your desktop or laptop and it’s exactly what it says: a to-do list. It allows you to maintain your list is. So if you’re one of these folks that write down notes in a notebook, you may lose the notebook, or you email them and can’t find the email, or you send a text in the middle of the night — I have been known to do this — because you have an epiphany and don’t want to forget it. Todoist allows you to create a master to-do list for you and your team. If I have an idea or there’s something I need Virginia to do I can add it to a general list for her and she’ll see it. The cool thing is I can put a date on it and then I can get daily reminders emailed to me so I can see if the stuff on the list is getting done. I can make my own list, a personal list that I can keep private. It’s a really quick way to jot down information so that you get it out of your head and onto a list. It’s portable and it’s very easy to use. I am the queen of to-do lists and I like being able to check items off, which Todoist allows you to do. You can add repeating tasks to your to-do list. But I like it the most because your whole team can use it and you can see what they’ve got and add to their list. It’s great for a team but also for personal use, too.

5.) Audible or podcasts

I am constantly listening to a podcast or something on Audible. I love Brooke Castillo’s The Life Coach School. Her podcast is about how to move forward and get your head on straight. Whether it’s marketing podcasts and and Social Media Examiner’s podcasts, I listen to this stuff constantly, especially if I’m in the car. There’s no reason you can’t be feeding your mind or your spirit while you’re driving around. I think this is huge for organization. Why does this matter? Because I get great ideas from my podcasts and my Audible books and it helps me get focused. I might think, “Oh, that’s a great idea!” or find something I can implement or a piece of information I can change to make it work for me in a different way. Podcasts and Audible keep me going and keep my mind fresh, plus it helps me know what’s going on right now.

I know some of you are probably saying “Podcasts aren’t organization,” but I think they are. Part of being organized is making sure you have your head on straight. If you’re anything like me, when I’m surrounded by chaos it cause me complete and total stress. I got so stressed out when I was taking down all the Christmas stuff because there was just chaos everywhere. You can’t be organized or streamlined in the midst of chaos. But if I’m listening to an educational podcast it helps me get my head on and that helps me get organized. It helps put me in the right mindset to move forward. And as long as you’re moving forward,  you’re in a good place!