You’re running a wedding planning business, trying to have personal life, and perhaps also working at a job, so you need to figure out how to get organized and manage your time. Here are some online tools that will help you do just that.
Note – I am not affiliated with any of these services, they’re just things I find useful and thought you might too. Services are free but some have paid versions that are more robust.
These are available for use on your computer and most smartphone and tablet devices:
Evernote – Keep notes, contracts, images, web pages, spreadsheets, and other files that you are using to plan a wedding, market your business, or plan a family vacation, in different notebooks that are available from anywhere you can access the web. I use Penultimate, a handwriting app that lets me write on my iPad as if it was a paper notebook, then I save what I’ve written to my Evernote account.
Pocket – Ever come across an interesting article on the web, not have time to read it right away, then never be able to find it again? With Pocket you can save articles, videos, and images to see later. You can go to your account via your computer, tablet, or smartphone, and review what you have saved.
Remember The Milk – To-do lists are a necessity when you’re a wedding planner and trying to get multiple projects done. Remember the Milk allows you to create multiple to-do lists, share them across your devices and share tasks with others who have accounts, such as your assistants.
Skype – Many of you might be using this to make video calls to family and friends, but it’s also a useful business tool. You can meet with brides and vendors and show each other ideas over video. You can also use it for audio only and instant messages. I shared some rules for business video calls over Skype on a recent blog post.
Amazon – This not a service but I had to add this. Amazon is not just for buying books and gifts. With a few clicks of the mouse you can get everyday items delivered to your door, and they are often cheaper than you can buy locally. This will save you the time and expense of driving around town while you should be busy planning weddings and marketing your business. With an Amazon Prime account, you can get free two day shipping on many items.
These are apps that are only available on specific devices:
30/30 – For iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch – This is a great, easy-to-use task management app that lets you schedule tasks for specific lengths of time. You start the timer when you begin the task then you get an alert when the time is up. This might be a good tool for you to use to manage your time on social media. For example, if you have ever decided to just go on Facebook or Pinterest for 20 minutes and discovered that two hours have passed, you’ll want to use this app to track your time and alert you to move onto your next task.
The app is also helpful when you offer free 20 minute consultations. Set the timer when you start your conversation with a bride and you’ll know when to wrap up and ask the bride for a commitment.
Flipboard – For iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, Kindle Fire and Nook – This app allows you to gather content from the web – stories, photos, audio, and your social media accounts – all in one place, to read later, and it formats the content to look like a magazine that was created just for you.
You have a lot to do! Try some of these services and apps to help you manage your time wisely.
