Today, I'm talking about the 2 apps that I literally could not run my business without. I started using both of these on Day 1, and they're so engrained in everything I do now. I have both apps open and in use all day, everyday. Ok, ok, what are they?! Asana and Evernote. (Pssst, they're both free, too.)
ASANA
Asana is a highly detailed project management system that any business can use to organize their workflow. I use it almost like Google calendar. Before I used Asana, my day-to-day felt very frazzled and I was always worried I would forget about something. I had a thousand scraps of paper with random lists and ideas scattered on my desk and in notebooks. My business is centered around organization, and my own system was not at all organized! Asana lets me breathe, because I can jot down even the smallest of tasks, put a date on it, so it's out of my head.
I can see all my tasks combined on each day, so I know what my upcoming weeks look like. I color-code tasks in categories like The InDesign Field Guide course, email marketing, social media, specific client projects, and more. Asana has even bled over into my personal life, and I include those tasks on the same calendar so I can see it all together. As a one-woman show, my personal life is very intertwined with my business work time, so it makes sense for me to see lists and schedules for both parts of my life at the same time. If I see that I have several personal tasks on one day, I'll know not to add too many business tasks to that day. To visually see that balance every day has helped me stop my workaholic tendencies over the years.
I even build in times for rest, hobbies (ceramics!), and house projects so nothing falls through the cracks. Attaching a date to a task has revolutionized how I work. I can easily drag + drop tasks around my calendar as needed (and I do this A LOT), but I know that once it's on my calendar, I won't forget about it. Click here to read my full behind-the-scenes of how I use Asana to keep my business organized. It was written a few years ago, so the Asana screenshots are their old interface design, and my business model has changed a bit since then, but I still use the app in the same way. (But the image above is my current use of Asana!)
EVERNOTE
My other BFF is Evernote. If you also have a desk buried in notebooks, post-its, index cards, and back-of-napkin lists, I definitely recommend giving Evernote a try. Evernote is basically a giant, digital notebook. It has been a life-saver in keeping all my running lists and ideas in one place.
I use Evernote for everything from blog writing to canned response emails to meeting notes with clients to yearly goals to launch planning. Evernote is organized into notebooks. Within each notebook, you can have individual notes, which are basically just blank windows for you to fill up with ideas, lists, images, outlines, any notes you can think of. I even started journalling in Evernote because I found I could type much faster than writing by hand. Click here to read more about how I use Evernote in my business (same caveat as Asana, this is an older post with old interface screenshots, but the concept is exactly the same. And the screenshot above is my current Evernote account.)
NOTION
I've also heard great things about Notion, which combines a lot of these types of features from Asana and Evernote, with a dash of spreadsheets. Like I said before, I've used Asana and Evernote since Day 1, and my business is so engrained in those two apps now, there's no point in moving it all to a new system. But if I were to start over today, I would definitely test out Notion. Here's a great article about how my friends Caroline + Jason Zook use Notion to run their business, Wandering Aimfully.
DIGITAL VS. PHYSICAL PLANNING
While both of these systems are all digital, I'm still a sucker for a physical planner. I've used a Golden Coil planner for the last several years, and I absolutely love their minimal, versatile design. They let you customize your planner by choosing your own layouts from a huge library of options. I use a weekly layout with one side of the spread being the full weekly view, and the other side being a notes page that I use like scratch paper throughout the week. Every Sunday night, I look at the week ahead in Asana, drag + drop tasks around as needed to make each day feel balanced + build in rest, then transfer the week's tasks + schedule to my physical planner. This helps me plan for the week ahead, and I usually pick out 2-3 main goals to focus on for the week so I don't get too scattered.
TRYING A NEW PLANNING SYSTEM
If you’re intimidated by an entire app just for jotting down ideas or making to do lists, don’t be afraid! Just use the parts of a new system that are helpful to you for now, and learn more detail as you go. This is true of any type of online tool or app for keeping yourself organized. Overwhelm can be a turn-off for a lot of these programs, but starting small and learning as you go is the best way to get the most use out of them.
