Organize Your Life and Business With This App
The right tool for organizing your life and business can make the difference between a stress-free entrepreneur and an overwhelmed business owner. I’ve searched high and low for the right way to organize my business ever since founding my social media marketing business and tried it all.
Calendar blocking - too structured.
Asana or Trello - too robust.
Notes app - too messy.
Planner and sticky notes - not digital.
All great ways to stay on top of your to-dos if they work for you, but they all failed to keep me organized (and sane). I found myself loosing sticky notes, forgetting where I stored a new task, and overbooking my days on the regular until I discovered this app at the top of the new year.
The featured app called “Things” can be found for Mac and iOS. Not only did it take less than 30 minutes to set up, it instantly became a welcome part of my routine. Months later and Things is still a vital part of how I stay on top of my to-dos and plan my week.
Things App Features
Things is an app created to organized tasks and projects. The app has a simple interface that allows you to stay focused on today’s tasks while also offering features for planning ahead for future projects. It’s as simple as creating a new task, setting a date or subtasks to the project, and dragging and dropping it as plans change. Adding notes, checklists, and reminders allow you to stay on top of your tasks in detail.
My workflow with the app looks a bit like this using its smart features:
I can easily jot down my thoughts when I have them. Since the iOS app, desktop app, and Apple watch widget all sync, I can access Things with ease.
When it comes to planning for bigger projects and goals, the checklists and notes in each app helps me plan ahead while not getting too overwhelmed by urgent to-dos for the day.
One of my favorite features is that the app sync with my calendar to show any meetings or events within Things. So no more going back and forth from iCal, I know to look in one place for all of the tasks for the day and upcoming week.
How I Use Things
Let’s take a quick tour through my personal Things app.
Area
When first setting up Things, I suggest starting with adding new “Areas” to the app. The areas, or workspaces, is the way I prefer to organize to-dos (which Things refers to as Projects). I have three main Areas I work in: Personal, Sol Studio, and Client Work. If I’m looking to organize one area of my business, these different work areas help me keep them separate while still having them as apart of today’s projects. If I have a client-focused work day, I can easily go into the Client Work Area and view upcoming projects. I eventually added the addition of for specific workspaces. For example, my Instagram Area helps me keep track of topics I want to post about, live streams that are coming up, or content I need to create for Sol Studio’s Instagram.
Projects
Projects are the main way to organize and add to the Things app. These Projects can consist of basic to-dos or even more specific tasks. For example, you can add checklists within the app to create smaller tasks within one project. You can also add notes, dates that will be added to Upcoming, repeating projects, and reminders for projects. Adding projects can be simple, but they also have these features to allow you to provide the details you need to stay on top of your tasks.
Today
The Today tab is easily one of my favorite features within the app because it helps me stay focused on any tasks marked for the day. It also allows me to add tasks on to the Today section if things come up during the workday or errands for during my personal time. Also, if a task as a date after Today’s date it will have a friendly reminder with a yellow dot to help you prioritize tasks. You also have the ability to label tasks for This Evening if you like to tackle certain things at night and outside of work hours.
Upcoming
Each Sunday, I sit down the review my Projects and meetings for the week to help me prepare for the week. I like to add in any workout classes, reflect on anything I need to add, or rearrange tasks depending on my week. I love how I can go into the Upcoming section and see what’s timely in the upcoming weeks and months. This is perfect for planning for new meetings, events, and staying on top of your week.
Worth The Investment?
Absolutely, yes! There are incredible features within the app that makes staying organized easy. When it comes to running my business, it’s a no brainer. But the different work Areas and Today’s projects allow me to manage my personal errands as well. The mobile app is $9.99 and the desktop app is $49.99. While I love having both so I can access things from anywhere, you may only need one depending on your needs.
