Work smarter, not harder. We’ve all heard this before, but how? If you’re looking for ways to save time and increase your productivity the right apps can help. I use each of these apps every day and they’ve saved me hundreds of hours.
1. TextExpander
TextExpander has easily saved me dozens, if not hundreds of hours writing emails. This app lets you assign short word snippets to expand into anything you want. I could easily write an entire article on different ways you can use TextExpander. Here’s some time saving ways you can use it:
- Respond to common customer questions with snippets.
- Write your most common emails in seconds instead of minutes.
- Create custom signatures (for example, one for your design clients and one for Creative Market customers).
2. CloudApp
Do you send a lot of small to medium sized files? CloudApp makes it easy to send files quickly. Just drag them from your desktop to the icon on top of your menu bar. CloudApp instantly uploads the file and pastes a link in your clipboard. I use CloudApp as a hassle-free way to send customers free gifts and updates. Instead of having to upload something to the cloud and send a link I can just drag into into my menu bar and paste it in my Creative Market message.
3. Evernote
Evernote is one of those apps that’s hard to explain. The best way I can describe it is as a simple and powerful work environment. You can use it to write, collect any type of media and create presentations. Plus, it works on all your devices including laptops, tablets and smartphones. Here are some of my favorite uses: Create Idea Files. I love to collect ideas for new products. I can save collections of images I’ve taken on my iPhone or found on the web in well organized folders. Then refer back to them with ease when I’m looking for inspiration. Develop Products. Recently, I started organizing entire products in Evernote. I’ll create a folder that includes product descriptions, preview images, mood boards, tutorial videos and more. Organize Business Paperwork. I recently finished my taxes for the year and Evernote made it crazy easy. I scanned receipts and tax documents with my iPhone and sent them to Evernote in less then 10 minutes. Then I shared the file with my accountant. Done!
4. Rescue Time
Do you ever spend all day working on a project and then wonder where all your time went? RescueTime is a powerful app tracks your time and improves your productivity. It tracks every place you work on your computer and logs it based on how productive you’ve ranked the activity. Here are some of the useful features for Creative Market shop owners:
- Analyze your work day and find your most and least productive activities.
- Launch focus sessions where RescueTime will block you from time sucking sites like Facebook and Reddit.
- Create goals for how much time you spend working on different parts of your business. Then have RescueTime monitor them to make sure you hit them all.
5. ColorSnapper
This is a quick and simple little app. But I had to include it because I use it saves me time every day. Have you ever tried to find the color of something online by looking for the HEX value in the code. Or even worse, tried to get it by eye. ColorSnapper is a tool in my top bar that let’s me grab colors quickly. This tool is really simple, but you wouldn’t believe how much time it’s saved me.
6. WunderList
I’m a huge fan of keeping things simple. Make a piece of software too complicated and I’ll never use it. That’s why I love WunderList. It’s a dead simple to-do list app that makes it easy to add, prioritize and rearrange tasks (it was voted Mac App of the year in 2013). At the beginning of my day I prioritize my tasks by typing them into Wunderlist. Then check them off as I go. I know, this sounds really simple. But trust me, the simplicity of this is extremely freeing! Here’s my favorite way to use Wunderlist:
- Make a list for each day of the week.
- Add tasks that I want to get done each day.
- Arrange by importance.
- Move tasks that don’t get completed to new days.
What Apps Do You Use to Save Time?
I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite apps to save time and get more done? Let me know in the comments below.
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Dustin Lee is the owner of RetroSupply, a Creative Market shop focused on unconventional retro inspired design goods. He also has a newsletter for shop owners you can sign up for here. 
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RetroSupply makes brushes, textures, fonts, and templates for retro-loving illustrators and designers. Our products are made by a full-time team of creatives for use in Procreate, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Affinity.
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