12 Days of Holidays - Day 7: 6 Apps I Can't Live Without!

Let's face it, our phones have pretty much become an extension of our brains. I'll be honest... I'm trying to break the habit of being on my damn phone ALL THE TIME but it's not easy.

Here's my favorite apps that I use to organize my life/time in hopes that I'll be efficient with my usage of my phone and can be more present in the Real World.

1. EVERNOTE - This one is simply great. I use it for AmandaLouise, my engineering career, AND my regular life. It's a note taking app (that is SO much more than that) which helps you organize literally everything you can think of. You now have to pay to put it on multiple devices, but if you're primarily on your phone, it should still be free.

2. GOOGLE CALENDAR - I used to just use the iPhone calendar app and link it to my google calendar, but I must say the actual Google app is awesome. I love how user friendly it is.

3. RETAIL ME NOT - For the bargain shopper in all of us :) This app is great if you're out shopping and want to see if there are any coupons available. Simply open the app, search for the store you're in, and BAM... coupons on your phone. My favorite places to use it are Kohls and Michael's.

4. FACEBOOK PAGES & GROUPS - So, in an effort to get my ass off the mindless scrolling... I deleted the Facebook App from my phone. That said, I am involved in a couple groups that I love, and obviously want to keep in constant contact with my business page. SO, I use two separate apps, the Pages App and the Groups App so I have direct access to those portions of Facebook, but not my general news feed. It has honestly been a game-changer for productivity. I still check my personal facebook on occasion (usually from my desktop) but it's not my go-to click when I'm "bored" anymore.

5. AUDIBLE - So by now you know I'm a podcast junkie. In addition to podcasts, I also LOVE to read. The issue is that I really don't have time to read, except for right before I go to bed... and if the book is good, it keeps me awake. UGH. So, this year I've been using Audible to listen to books on tape throughout my commute and whenever I'm doing tasks where I can focus on what I'm listening to while still being productive (like doing laundry or cooking.) I mostly chow down on business books, but I gave myself a little brain candy with The Magnolia Story recently... and SO worth it. If you like the show Fixer Upper, their book is a must.

6. DROPBOX - If you're like me and have a million pictures on your phone, it can be a pain to get them off. Using Dropbox is a total dream!! They make it super easy to upload your photos to a Dropbox folder straight from the app... and you can even share those folders easily too. SO much easier than the old days of having to email every picture to yourself. YUCK.

There you have it... a little glimpse of the apps that are normally running on my phone. If you have a favorite app, I'd love to hear about it! Comment below.

Stay Beautiful...