Being a parent while at the same time an entrepreneur can be hard. It entails a lot of responsibilities, both professional and personal, that need to be filled on a daily basis. Your business needs to maintain productivity and family needs love and organization. Without time management and self-discipline, it would be impossible to attain a harmonious work-life balance.
In recognition of July’s Parent’s Day, here are some popular tools to help keep the parent entrepreneurs of the world sane by organizing and balancing personal life and work.
1. Evernote
Coined as one of this generation’s most accessible apps, Evernote is a handy tool that can set reminders, save notes (audio and text), organize photos, and upload attachments, all synced across desktops and mobile gadgets. Evernote is also great for those who keep on jumping devices. The tool’s bookmarklet is simplified, making articles easy to clip, storing them for later reading on alternate devices.
2. e.ggtimer.com
Who said timers were outdated? Timers are useful for a variety of productivity needs. Sure, your phone has a countdown timer, but that’s about the extent of its versatility. That’s where e.ggtimer.com comes in.
The simplicity of e.ggtimer.com allows you to set timers for any increment or cycle. Set your url to e.ggtimer.com/15minutes for a 15 minute timer. Need a 1 hour timer? Done. Want a pomodoro timer for 25/5 minute cycles? Done. Use an infinite number of time frames or variables in the url of e.ggtimer.com to set yourself up to stay on task.
A timer helps keep you on track. Gone are the days of going for a “quick break” and returning an hour later. Have a task to knock out that should take only 20 minutes? Make sure you stay on track and set a timer for 20 minutes. Stay on task, increase productivity, and move on to the next priority.
3. Doodle.com
Meetings, meetings, meetings. It seems like getting in sync with other meeting attendees to confirm a meeting time that works for everyone takes longer than the meeting itself. You spend minutes checking your schedule to figure out a time to propose to meet with others. You send off the meeting request. One person accepts while the other propose alternate times. Other accept the alternate time proposal, but it doesn’t work for you. So repeats the cycle.
Doodle aims to streamline organizing meeting times. Sync your favorite Google Calendar or iCal and send off your custom URL to let others spend time easily viewing your availability and choosing a meeting time that works with your schedule. No more wasting time on your end.